Having a dog present in the classroom promotes a positive mood and provides significant anti-stress effects on the body, reducing anxiety and depression which in turn enables the children to focus on learning. Recent research has also proven that, the presence of a therapy dog in a school setting has also been linked to improvements in students attendance, confidence levels and increased motivation to participate in learning activities from the simple act of having a four-legged friend by the students side.
Bale’s Buddies currently has more than several school dogs working in schools across Devon, where teachers and trainers have both witnessed the amazing effects our Therapy dogs have on the students in the classroom with some of them being:
Social and mental benefits
From helping a young child to read and join others in activities to helping college and university students to relieve stress through exam periods, dogs are becoming a more familiar part of the schools communities across the countries. These Loving and lovable 4-legged friends are friendly companions and good listeners who make no judgements. Students are able to bond easily which can simply help them feel more connected and confident. This leads to a reduction in negative behaviour and aggression in the classroom as well outside of school.
Physical benefits
A School/Community Therapy dogs primary duty is to make affectionate contact with an unfamiliar person in what can be sometimes a stressful environment. A Therapy Dog also lowers stress hormones, like cortisol, and increases oxytocin. In other words, by the simple act of petting a dog, it can calm students down when they’re upset and helps reduce the feelings of depression and anxiety which enables them to focus on their learning better and more effectively throughout the day.
Cognitive benefits
Interacting with Therapy dog’s improves students reading skills, stimulates memory and problem-solving skills, and even optimizes their executive-functioning skills. The dog enables the child to feel more involved and confident in themselves whilst doing a task.
Interested in a School Dog?
While therapy dogs might not be the best solution for every school, it is clear that there are a variety of different situations in which a Therapy dog can be extremely useful and beneficial. If you are a school who is interested in our school dog or community dog programme, please contact us via email enquiries@balesbuddies.org or click here and use the get in touch with us form.
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