医学界正面临逐步淘汰研究犬实验的压力，理由同时来自科学与伦理：一方面是更逼真的人类细胞培养与其他替代方法正在成熟；另一方面，关于动物认知与情感生活的研究也在改变人们对其可受对待方式的判断。这种转向呼应了过去十年内对圈养黑猩猩研究的类似退场，当时的推力来自对其智力与与人类近缘关系的更深认识。

在实务上，研究机构每年使用成千上万只狗；USDA 资料显示每年使用超过 40,000 只研究犬。牠们常被单独隔离、关在狭小贫瘠的笼舍并承受疼痛程序，有些还会被强制灌喂高剂量农药、杀菌剂或其他危险化学物。证据显示被圈养与隔离会使狗产生压力；舆论也在变化：今年一项 Gallup 民调显示美国人对任何动物实验的道德性正好五五波，且整体反对趋势缓慢上升。

可见度提升与一连串丑闻加速了转变。2018 年，美国国家科学、工程与医学学院针对 4 个退伍军人事务部设施的犬只研究进行审查；2020 年报告认为只有「少数」犬只实验可能仍有必要，并批评以历史突破作为正当性属于「循环论证」，同时指出可透过让生病的狗参与临床试验取得部分对人类健康有用的资料。繁殖场问题也加剧压力：2021 年 USDA 在维吉尼亚州 Cumberland 的 Envigo 发现 70 项《动物福利法》违规，该设施于 2022 年关闭；威斯康辛州 Ridglan Farms 也遭刑事调查，并在 10 月的和解中同意停止供应研究用米格鲁。跨党派盟友（如 White Coat Waste Project）与资金需求，将影响高科技人类替代法能否加速取代。

Pressure is growing to phase out medical experiments on research dogs, driven by both science and ethics. New human cell cultures and other non-animal methods may model disease as well as animals, while research on animal cognition and emotional lives is strengthening the case that what is scientifically convenient is not automatically morally acceptable. This shift echoes the phase-out of captive chimpanzee research in the last decade, propelled by recognition of intelligence and close evolutionary kinship.

In practice, labs use thousands of dogs each year; USDA data indicate more than 40,000 research dogs are used annually. Typical conditions include isolation, confinement in small barren cages, painful procedures, and in some studies force-feeding high doses of pesticides, fungicides, or other hazardous chemicals. Evidence links caging and isolation to stress in dogs, and public opinion is moving: a Gallup poll this year found Americans split 50/50 on the morality of experimenting on any animal, with disapproval slowly increasing.

Visibility and scandals are accelerating change. In 2018, a National Academies panel reviewed dog research at 4 Veterans Administration facilities; a 2020 report concluded that only a small number of dog experiments might still be necessary, called “historical breakthrough” arguments circular, and noted that some human-relevant data can come from clinical trials enrolling sick dogs. Breeding-facility abuses added pressure: in 2021, USDA inspectors cited 70 Animal Welfare Act violations at Envigo in Cumberland, Virginia, which shut down in 2022; Ridglan Farms in Wisconsin faced a criminal investigation and, in an October settlement, agreed to stop supplying beagles for research. With bipartisan allies and growing investment needs, the pace of adopting human alternatives may now determine how fast dog use declines.