Spot and Bailey our Therapy Dogs
Introduction
Across the country, schools are beginning to realise the benefits of therapy dogs. At the moment, not all schools have entirely tapped into this extraordinary tool that can greatly serve its students. Anxiety levels are on the rise with school aged children. Social media and the pressure of exams have been identified as contributing factors. Effective coping strategies are often struggling to keep up with this rise. Many schools have found the introduction of a therapy dog helps reduce anxiety and helps to break down issues such as anger management. Interacting with dogs is proven to help reduce blood pressure and anxiety. The presence of a dog in the counselling session helps break down barriers between the children and the Counsellor or Learning Mentor. Yes, there are questions and challenges to adopting a dog therapy programme, but in the end it is worth it.
What we do!
Helping children to listen in the classroom
I use the dogs to develop listening skills of the children. The dogs need to listen to understand what task they have been asked to do. If one dog is listening and completing the task correctly, it looks amazing to the children. The other dog will be sniffing about not listening and then doesn't know what it’s supposed to be doing. The children all want to be the one that has successfully completed the task by listening. They begin to realise they can be just as successful when they listen in class, which helps to demonstrate why listening is so important.
Building confidence
Dogs can also be used to build a child’s confidence. When a child who lacks self-esteem works successfully with the dogs to teach them a new trick, it helps to build trust and gives them a sense of achievement. The process allows the child to feel listened too, through working with the dogs.
A feeling of belonging
Some of our students need support with anxiety or anger management from time to time. When the dogs are present the child has the opportunity to interact and stroke the dogs. This kind of interaction brings the child a sense of calm. Sometimes Bailey will lay his head on a child's lap. This gives us an opportunity to discuss his behaviour and the reasons he may be doing this. The children will usually feel that Bailey must sense that they are a really kind, caring, lovely or brave individual for him to want to do that. This really helps to build a child's belief in themselves and a sense of being part of team.
Helping the perfectionist
Children can often find it hard to make mistakes. When we are working with the dogs we will often deliberately make mistakes during training to show it's ok and mistakes happen. It helps to demonstrate that mistakes happen and we can try again and learn from what went wrong the first time. It’s not the end of the world.
Speech and Language
Using simple commands when working with the dogs like “Sit” “Spin” “Down” “Come” help the children to understand how to form words properly. The dogs will not sit if it is not said properly, so the children have to say the word clearly and accurately. We ensure that they emphasise the S sound and the T at the end when giving the command. When the child says the word correctly they are rewarded by the seeing the dog successfully execute the command. This re enforces the importance to the children to pronounce words properly.
Transitions
Some children find it difficult to stop one activity to start another. Especially if the one they have been asked to stop is more fun. Spot and Bailey have their own “Classroom” on the school field. We let the dogs run around the field doing what they want to do. This is their break time. I then tell the children break time is over. I blow the whistle and the dogs come running back eager to start their “Lessons” We will do a “Retrieve Lesson.” Then the dogs will model how well they can stop what they are doing and start a new lesson which will be some tricks. We will then stop that and we all help put their equipment away (including the dogs). The children love to watch the dogs pick up the ball and put it back in the box. The children will copy this and remember these skills in the classroom.
Helping children with Autism
There have been times where the dogs have encouraged speech and conversation with an autistic child. The classroom can at times be overwhelming for some autistic children. The dogs help to put these children at ease and enable them to feel comfortable maintaining eye contact with their favourite dog. Research has found that children with autism are more social when playing with dogs as opposed to toys. The kindness and softness of the dogs help these children simply by being present. The dog will sit next to the child ready to engage, without any judgement or expectations.
Other Benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy are:
Emotional Benefits
The interactions with the animals in school can improves self-esteem, acceptance from others, as well as lifting mood and frequently provoking laughter. On a rainy day we can do creative activities that involve the dogs, like making masks with a drawing of their faces.
Environmental Benefits
Animals in the school lift the mood for all those in the environment and brings warmth and security. Spot will sit by the door and watch children walk by and Bailey can be seen having a nap behind him. This simple act brings smiles to all those who see them.
Spot and Bailey inspire creativity in others
The dogs can help reduce a child’s stress, anxiety and improve school attendance
- The children are encouraged to stroke Spot and Bailey gently to teach sensitive touch and how to be calm.
- They help with a child’s social and emotional skills. The dogs can be seen as less threatening, non- judgemental and easier to talk to.
- Research suggests that by using dogs in response to traumatic events can help reduce symptoms of depression, post- traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.
- Dogs can increase attachment responses (Oxytocin) a hormone that increases trust in humans.
- Spot and Bailey teach empathy. By looking after the dogs. Brushing them and making sure they are safe, the children learn to understand the needs of another being other than themselves.
- Reports have highlighted children working with Therapy dogs experienced increased motivation for learning, resulting in improved outcomes.
- They can also assist in reading development. The children enjoy reading to the dogs. Here they can practice reading out loud. Gradually, they will build confidence in their reading skills and begin to enjoy the art of reading.
- Increase in school attendance. When children are timetable to see the dogs on a regular basis, they begin to look to coming to school. The children and parents tell us that it makes their day.
- Building confidence
- Decrease in learner anxiety behaviours resulting in improved reading and writing levels
- Enhances relationships with peers and teachers due to experiencing trust and unconditional love from The dogs. This helps children learn how to express their feelings and be part of more trusting relationships.
- Bailey comes in to keep Spot calm and to teach him new behaviours. They also enjoy working together.
The Advantages of a Therapy dog
Figure 1
The boys have their own distinct personality 
The impact of the therapy dog in an educational setting
Just the presence of a therapy dog within the classroom, medical science has shown that a therapy dog can reduce blood pressure, promote physical healing, reduce anxiety, fatigue and depression, as well as provide emotional support. Both our dogs have different characters. Bailey is calm and relaxed. He helps the quieter children. However, Spot’s energetic nature is favoured by the more boisterous children, so the needs of the children are met by one or both of the dogs.
Studies
Seventy- eight 10-13 year olds were asked to tell a story and do mental arithmetic in front of two strangers. Immediately after the stress test, the children were given 15 minutes to de-stress in a small room. Here is where the groups differed. The children in the dog treatment group engaged in unstructured free-play with a certified therapy dog for 15 minutes. While an experimenter was in the room with the child and the dog, they did not interact with the children other than monitoring their interactions with the dogs. The children in the no-treatment control group simply waited for 15 minutes in the room in the presence of an experimenter who did not interact with them. The researchers also wanted to see if playing and petting the dog was any better than simply touching a comforting object. Therefore, a tactile control group was added. These children were given a piece of soft cloth, likened to a security blanket, to hold onto for 15 minutes while they waited in the room with the experimenter. Saliva samples were taken every five minutes during these sessions.
The results are seen in Figure 2.
Figure 2
Dogs may also aid in the classroom. One study found that dogs can help children with ADHD focus their attention. Researchers enrolled two groups of children diagnosed with ADHD into 12-week group therapy sessions. The first group of children read to a therapy dog once a week for 30 minutes. The second group read to puppets that looked like dogs.
Children who read to the real animals showed better social skills and more sharing, cooperation, and volunteering. They also had fewer behavioural problems.
The Growth of the Therapy Dog
The figures show, in the year 2000 there were less than 200 animals used to assist in schools. Now that figure has grown to over 1000 by 2015. The quality for AAI is improving all the time.
Things to Consider:
Bringing dogs into schools could be viewed аѕ a possible risk, there is also the worry of potential liability. Implementing an Animal Assisted Therapy Program takes time, thought and preparation. Fortunately, the benefits to students and adults are plenty. Here are just a few things you might want to consider before starting up your own programme.
Owners responsibility and commitment
We must remember the animals do not belong to the school but have an owner who is responsible for the animal’s welfare. It is not ethical to use an animal who is not comfortable in the school environment. Schools are busy, noisy and unpredictable places and can be stressful to some animals. There is a legal and moral duty of care to the dog at all times. Our school dogs have their own space where they can rest and relax. They always have a choice whether to stay in the room or come out to visit children. If they choose to stay in their safe space, the children will work on coping strategies in an adjacent room. At the end of the session the children may stroke the dogs if the dogs choose to approach them. The dogs also have an hour and a half at lunch time to be left alone to rest. The owner needs to consider, if they change their job, will the dog still have a place in their home? There should also be alternative dog care plans in place before committing their dog to any school in case the dog’s personality does not suit the school environment.
Legal Liability.
In a bid to avoid any potential risk, the dogs at school should have been carefully assessed before they became Therapy Dogs. The assessment can be a professional, registered with PAT (Pets as Therapy.) The test observes if they jump up, pull on a lead, how they react to loud noises and when they are being ignored. They need to show they can remain calm in a number of settings that they might face when they are working. One of our dogs was assessed at birth and picked from the litter for his easy going temperament. He was introduced to the school as a young pup so he got used to the school setting. Additionally, consent forms are provided for children and parents to ensure full awareness and to deter potential liability. The dogs are also insured.
Allergic reactions.
Understandably, parents and staff may be concerned аbоut potential allergic reactions to animals within the school environment. The animals and their surroundings are kept clean and regular grooming takes place. This will minimise allergic reactions. Children and parents are asked if they have any known allergies before coming into contact with animals in the school.
Animal maintenance.
A competent dog handler should always be used who has been trained to understand dog language and to watch out for potential harm to еithеr a child or the dogs. They are the person primarily responsible to manage the dogs when on site.
Fear of dogs.
There will be times where children have had a traumatic experience with a dog in the past and are understandably afraid. All Children will only have contact with the dogs after permission has been granted by a parent or a guardian. The dogs will only be in areas where any contact is supervised at all times.
Conclusion
Research demonstrates that therapy dogs properly managed in the school setting саn make a measurable difference to children in terms of gaining skills ѕuсh аѕ reading and listening, but аlѕо in contributing critically to emotional and social development.
The introduction of a therapy dog саn serve аѕ a catalyst for forming adaptive and successful social interactions. Guided activities and group discussions help teach children how to handle interpersonal conflicts and develop constructive responses.
The Team taking a break
The End