Maudsley, Kate (2020) (Wo)man’s Best Friend: Experiencing Ageing with Companion Canines in Queensland’s South Burnett. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
This qualitative research project was designed to explore experiences of older women ageing in place with companion dogs in the South Burnett region of Queensland. It used a reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews (n = 6). There were three areas of interest to this research, which aimed to understand older women’s experiences of: (a) life with a dog; (b) life in stressful situations; and (c) the human-dog relationship. Two overarching themes were identified: (a) life with a dog, which included facets like structure, connection, security, constraint and interdependence; whereas life with more than just a dog includes ever-presented, reciprocity, caregiver, selfless sacrifice, and insecurities. These themes capture two distinct conceptualisations of the human-dog relationships in this sample. Living with a dog seems to provide older women with purpose, but living with a canine companion seems to provide meaning. These findings are discussed in relation to the current situation of exclusionary pet-policy in Australia.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Jan du Preez |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 12 Sep 2025 04:54 |
| Last Modified: | 12 Sep 2025 04:54 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | older people; companion dogs; aged care; qualitative; thematic analysis; |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52541 |
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