Man's best friend as therapy: dog training program tested for Veterans' PTSD
NCT ID NCT07542431
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study is testing whether adopting and training a shelter dog can reduce PTSD symptoms and improve mental health in veterans. 120 veterans with self-reported PTSD or other mental health conditions will attend eight one-hour dog training sessions over 10 weeks. Researchers will measure changes in PTSD symptoms, stress, and brain activity before and after the program.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- dog adoption and training program
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a non-drug, animal-assisted approach to ease PTSD and related mental health symptoms in veterans.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, single-arm study with no placebo group, so results may be due to other factors. It also requires adopting a dog, which may not suit everyone.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 120 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Feb 2026
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2030
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Military veteran with self-reported posttraumatic stress symptoms and/or other mental health conditions * Over 18 years of age * Applied and approved to adopt a shelter dog for training through the Humane Society of Broward County in Fort Lauderdale, Florida * English speaker (written and spoken) * Home internet access via tablet, computer or smartphone. Exclusion Criteria: * Fear of dogs * Allergies to pet dander * Uncorrected hearing or visual impairment.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Florida Atlantic University
RECRUITINGBoca Raton, Florida, 33431, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can training hospital staff in Trauma-Informed care make childbirth safer?
- Scientists probe brain's reward system in mental illness
- Can a mindfulness class help veterans with concussion and PTSD?
- Can MDMA plus therapy help veterans fight both PTSD and alcohol addiction?
- Can talk therapies quiet the trauma of violence?