I have decided to focus on human animal symbiosis, by which I mean the concept of a human and an animal depending on each other in some way; although this is my focus, the other areas may be touched on in some manner. After thoroughly researching both the history of working animals and discovering every avenue that animals are used for, I decided to focus on dogs, mainly for their versatility. The next stage was to discover all the uses for working dogs and incite my interests in a particular field. I have resolved to concentrate on assistance dogs for the mobility impaired.
Secondary issues:
I began my thinking on the very general topic of animal welfare, when I became interested in pet abandonment and animal prosthetics as well as my primary topic.
Design opportunity:
One of the issues I have found so far is that many of the signals required involve large physical gestures and speech from the handler, which may be troublesome for some disabilities; by tackling this assistance dogs could reach other disabilities, previously prohibited.
Stakeholders:
The main goal will be to improve the relationships between the dog and handler. The eventual product will help trainers and handlers by simplifying and unifying the commands and training techniques.
Experts:
Some of the experts that I have identified are: dogs for the disabled, assistance dogs international, canine helpers for the handicapped, canine working companions and the tower of hope. These are all companies that train place assistance dogs; my goal is to interview as many trainers as I can.
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