Therapy Dogs Help Struggling Readers
The Use of Pet Therapy to Help Bring Up Low-End Readers
Oct 9, 2009
It has often been said that a dog is man’s best friend. Dogs have been by man’s side for about 14,000 years helping in the hunt for food, keeping company in times of loneliness, and in rescue operations in times of danger. They are often known for their compassionate nature as well as for their intelligence. In recent years however, dogs have been able to add a new category to their expanding resume of duties towards mankind; helping low-end readers succeed.
Definition and Duties of a Therapy Dog
Therapy dogs are defined as dogs who are trained to provide affection and comfort to people who are in hospitals, nursing homes, retirement homes, and schools as well as helping those with learning difficulties and in stressful situations. These dogs must be of good temperament, friendly, comfortable in all situations, patient, and most importantly, very gentle. They must enjoy human contact and be relaxed while being petted, as well as handled, even if it is awkwardly. Therapy dogs must be gentle to strangers and make them feel at ease no matter what the situation.
How Therapy Dogs Help Low-End Readers
Children who are classified as low-end readers usually do not like to read, much less read in front of someone else such as a parent or teacher. These students are known to be shy and avoid reading aloud at all costs. Many of these students will say they don’t enjoy reading at all.
In the bringing in of a therapy dog, children are provided with a “safe haven” when reading aloud. They are given the opportunity to read aloud without fear of being made fun of or nervousness because their partner is simply there to keep them company and listen. In reading to a therapy dog children are able to gain confidence in their abilities. These dogs also give children something to look forward to in relation to reading and help make reading a more enjoyable experience.
Bringing Therapy Dogs to the Classroom
It is common knowledge that in order to get a child to improve on his/her reading abilities they need to practice preferably on a daily basis. If a therapy dog is paired up with a struggling reader for simply 20 minutes a week that reader would greatly improve their capabilities. The obvious improvement is in the reading itself. Because the child is getting an extra 20 minutes of practice a day they are bound to improve. However, the underlying development is in how the child feels about reading. In working with a therapy dog in reading, children will get the motivation and the incentives they need in order to begin to enjoy reading and in essence, become better readers.
In the bringing of a therapy dog to the classroom setting, a teacher is allowing students to become more at ease with the reading process and is giving them something to look forward to. Teachers can use the therapy dogs as incentives for students to practice reading and even as a behavior modification for the low-end reader who uses disruption as the outlet to avoid reading.
Students, especially those who are on the lower end of the reading curve need something to look forward to in reading lessons that strays away from the regular classroom routine. These dogs provide that change of pace that they need and assist in instilling in them a desire to learn something new.
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