Reading Dogs

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Reading to a dog helps children relax into reading, open up, try harder and have fun reading

The specially chosen, child-friendly, extremely calm dogs are the perfect reading companions. They don’t judge or correct, they allow children to read at their own pace and they’ve proven to be a calming influence on a class. The dog’s temperament, obedience and patient nature is of utmost importance to us, each and every dog we work with has been assessed and been awarded a certificate of suitability and a clean bill of health.

Reading Benefits

Studies show that reading fluency has increased between 12-30% in children after participating in reading dogs programmes
Gives children extra practice with reading and oral skills
Some children feel reading becomes less difficult and become more confident reading aloud
Reading to dogs has motivated children to read more at home, especially to their pets
Children want to try and read more difficult books as they go through the programme
Children feel more confident when answering reading related questions

Emotional Benefits

Children enjoy the programme and think it’s fun. They look forward to coming to the library because they feel the dog is waiting for them.
Children feel comfortable reading to dogs because dogs don’t judge them if they mispronounce a word.
Petting dogs can help with motor skills and are known to be a calming factor as it can reduce stress, blood pressure and anxiety
Children often feel safe when sitting with a dog from the programme
Reading to dogs can boost the confidence of struggling readers and gives them an increased sense of pride
A child can feel like a leader by reading aloud and pretending (s)he is the teacher

Social Benefits

Children learn to take turns while waiting to read to the dog
Children can learn kindness and empathy by petting and interacting with the dog
Communication skills can be improved by practising reading aloud
Participants enjoy communicating with each other and talking about the session, the dog and the book they read

Image Credit: Reading Dogs