Background: These days the popularity of dog sports is dynamically increasing. Dog sports are sports, in which dogs participate [1]. Currently, agility is the most well-known dog sport which also has the largest number of both competitive and hobby-level participants [8]. Although some people still only view agility as a hobby, there are an increasing number of dog handlers who consider it a serious sport and even select their dogs to be able to compete and achieve the best possible results in agility events [2].Purpose: The purpose of our study was to collect and summarise previous findings that focused on the psychological aspects of agility.Method: We searched the scientific databases based on keywords and only those studies were selected that met the following criteria: (1) empirical research, (2) participants actively competing in dog sports, (3) results describing a psychological aspect that is relevant in dog sport and (4) the research was published after 2010.Results: After reviewing the available literature we concluded that the effects of the following psychological characteristics have already been studied in the case of agility: the motivation behind participation, interpersonal communication and satisfaction with life, forms of portraying love, effects on relationships, perception of injury prevention and the influence of environmental factors on the competition experience.Conclusion: Based on our literature review we can conclude that participating in agility can have a positive influence on the handlers' mental state.

Purpose: Nowadays, projective methods play an important role in psychodiagnostics when it comes to understanding clients' personalities, because they allow the therapist to get to know the clients' subconscious conflicts, desires and motivations. Measuring and understanding an athlete's psychological state is key to an effective and successful intervention and performance enhancement, for which the athlete apperception technique (AAT) is a perfect tool. The AAT is a projective technique that portrays sport-specific themes. This study aimed to introduce this sport-specific projective method to the Hungarian sport science and to determine the possibilities it could provide during the sport psychodiagnostic work or the sport psychological counselling. Methods: For our study, we used the 10 basic images of the AAT, and we had a total of 11 16-year-old and older Hungarian athlete participants. The analysis of the responses to the images was performed through theory-driven content analysis. Results: Regarding the appearance of the manifest themes in general, in all images, at least two types of themes could be identified in the answers, but in five pictures, certain themes did not appear in any of the answers. In the case of two images, the participants' stories reflected on the latent themes of the images, not the manifest ones. Conclusions: The use of AAT in the sport environment offers great possibilities, especially to the applied sport psychologists since it makes it easier to understand the psychodynamic characteristics, motivation and anxieties of athletes and coaches.

The present study reports the first validation outside North America of the Hungarian adaptation of the Efficacy Scale to Coach Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Athletes (ES). A convenience sample of 346 Hungarian coaches and physical education teachers (50.7% female; Male = 36.6 years, SD = 13.7), recruited through social media and email, completed the 20-item ES alongside the Modern Homonegativity Scale and the Mental Health Test. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the unidimensional structure of the scale with acceptable to strong fit indices (χ²(147) = 322.73, CFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.93, SRMR = 0.05, RMSEA = 0.07, 90% CI [0.06, 0.08]). Internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach’s α = 0.96, CR = 0.94), while the average variance extracted (AVE = 0.46) was marginally below the recommended threshold. Evidence of construct validity was provided by positive associations with well-being (r = 0.26), savoring (r = 0.20), creative–executive efficacy (r = 0.30), and resilience (r = 0.26), and a negative association with homonegativity (r = −0.21). Given that Hungary is among the most homonegativity-disposed countries in Europe, this instrument provides an important tool for research on inclusive coaching in a challenging sociocultural context. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Background : While research on dog sports has traditionally focused on canine physiology, there is a growing need to understand the human psychological factors that drive these activities. This study examines how dog sport participation influences the dog-owner bond, dog-directed parenting styles, and owner physical activity levels. By comparing Hungarian dog sport participants with non-participants, this research explores how cross-species cooperation fosters unique relationship dynamics and healthier human lifestyles. Methods : A total of 715 Hungarian dog owners were recruited via an online survey hosted on social media platforms. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire alongside two instruments validated for the Hungarian language: the Dog-Owner Relationship Scale (DORS) and the Dog-Directed Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (DD-PSDQ). The sample was predominantly female (90.4%, n = 648; male: 9.4%, n = 67), with 41% (n = 294) actively participating in dog sports (mean experience = 5.96 years, SD = 6.04). Statistical analyses, including independent samples t-tests and Chi-square tests, were conducted to compare the profiles of sport participants and non-participants. Results : Dog sport participants scored significantly lower (M = 4.93, SD = 0.97) on the DORS’s Pet-Owner Interaction scale than non-participants (M = 5.34, SD = 1.02). Owners participating in dog sports scored significantly higher (M = 13.07, SD = 2.49) on the DD-PSDQ’s Authoritative training-oriented parenting style scale than owners who do not participate in dog sports (M = 11.82, SD = 3.23). However, non-participants scored significantly higher (M = 9.93, SD = 3.39) for the Authoritative intrinsic value-oriented scale than dog sport participants (M = 7.45, SD = 3.6). No significant difference was found between dog sport participants (56.8%) and non-participants (54.5%) regarding participation in human-only forms of exercise. Conclusions : While dog sports did not influence relationship quality or owner lifestyle factors, participation significantly promoted a training-oriented parenting style characterized by high demands and responsiveness. Rather than a lifestyle intervention, dog sports primarily function as a framework for structured, responsive cross-species management.