Tackling the complexity of the “dog situation” in the North: challenges and pathways to success - Johanne Saint-Charles, Cécile Aenishaenslin, Audrey Simon, Francis Lévesque & André Ravel

The research- action project “Mitigating Diseases and Raising Wellness at the Human-Dog Interface in Northern Canada” brings together a transdisciplinary team of researchers from various disciplines as well as local partners and decision makers in order to jointly advance knowledge on the human health risks and the benefits on human wellness at the human-dog interface in Northern Canada. It is our hope to mobilize this knowledge to mitigate the human health risks, while informing and sustaining the important benefits on human wellness. The “dog situation” in the North is a wicked problem that is difficult to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements not easily recognized. Such problems have complex interdependencies that must be addressed as such. In this paper, we will illustrate how the team has tried to tackle this complexity through complementary projects: what challenges have been (and still are) encountered, which pathways seem best conducive to the achievement of our goals and where are the remaining gaps.