Exploration of Technology Requirements for the Assistance Canine Training Industry

This paper aims to identify the unmet needs within the assistance canine training (ACT) industry, the limitations and barriers facing the adoption of technology, potential opportunities for the integration of technology and played by Animal Computer Interaction (ACI) within the technology industry from the perspective of the stakeholders of the industry. Interviews were conducted with various stakeholders within the canine training industry, aiming to identify and understand the impetus for change and perceived possibilities to augment canine training practices using targeted technological aids. Interviews also sought to elucidate gaps in ACI technologies that need to be explored. These interviews uncovered several intrinsic areas where technology could play an important role in canine training, as well as a number of hurdles impeding current progress towards this. Overall, stakeholder interviews indicated that expectations and behaviours of the industry align well with ACI research methodology, highlighting the benefits of implementing ACI and adapted HCI practices to assist in the development and integration of technologies for assistance canine training.