The Effects of Therapy Dogs on Student Behavior and Achievement – Haley Dickerson
Haley Dickerson is a first-year student majoring in Elementary Education. She grew up in Centerville, Indiana. This essay was written for Professor Ray Engle’s ENG W131, Reading, Writing & Inquiry, in Fall 2020. Prof. Engle notes that Haley’s “focus and eye for language is a second-sense. Her work was great to read. She has great ability.”
The Effects of Therapy Dogs on Student Behavior and Achievement
The use of animal assisted therapy is growing in prevalence throughout the United States. More recently, it has gained attention for being used in school systems with the goal of improving student behavior and raising achievement. While studies discussing the effectiveness of therapy dogs in terms of student behavior and achievement in k-12 school settings are not abundant, current results have shown that canine-assisted interventions can be effective, especially for students who need extra interventions, when implemented in ways that facilitate reading, life skills, and social and psychological therapy.
Primarily, therapy dogs have a positive effect on student behavior. According to Zents et al. (2017), dogs are a popular tool for school psychology and counseling because dogs provide physiological, phycological, and social support in ways that humans cannot. For example, many students feel more comfortable speaking to a dog, who is nonjudgmental and will not offer criticism, rather than talking to a therapist. The dog acts as a facilitator in allowing the student to feel more comfortable, thus having more productive therapy outcomes. Therapy dogs have been shown to decrease the heart rate, blood pressure, anxiety, depression, fear, aggression, and violence in students (Zents et al., 2017). This is because dogs have a calming effect on students, as students are often able to bond more easily with a dog (Zents et al, 2017). This may be because students typically view dogs as a positive, friendly companion, as opposed to a teacher or therapist whom they may feel uncomfortable around due to negative past experiences. Unless a student has had a past negative experience with a dog, the therapy dog would automatically have the student’s trust, which is a main cause of the success of therapy dog programs. Therapy dogs lead to fewer negative comments, increased use of praise, and more appropriate behavior (Zents et al., 2017). Overall, the implementation of therapy dogs in a school counseling setting has been shown to be productive in both individual student cases, as well as for the student population in general because of the stress relief and calming effect it has on students (Zents et al., 2017).
Not only has the use of therapy dogs been proven to benefit student behavior, but it has also been shown to improve reading ability when used as part of a canine-assisted reading program (Fung, 2017). The majority of research has been conducted within the reading sector specifically. I believe this is because the implication of therapy dogs in classrooms is a fairly new practice. Also, it is extremely simple to implement a dog into a reading program because all the student has to do is read aloud to the dog. In a reading-based program, the dog and the student have a clearly identifiable purpose: the student reads and the dog listens. More research is definitely warranted for other subjects, such as math, science, writing, and language, in order to see if positive effects are observed in these settings as well.
One of the first canine-assisted reading programs was called Reading Education Assistance Dogs (READ) (Fung, 2017). Now, canine-assisted reading programs have various different names, however they have been shown to be beneficial in many ways. One canine-assisted reading program, the Sit Stay Read program, improved student’s oral reading fluency scores. On average, students in the program improved by eight words per minute when reading than students in the control group (Fung, 2017). Findings such as this suggest the importance that canine-assisted reading programs can have on students’ reading ability and confidence. Because dogs are nonjudgmental listeners who will not critique the reading of the students, students typically feel more comfortable reading to dogs, as opposed to their teacher or peers. Canines have positive benefits on social, behavioral, and emotional processes for this reason. Overall, canines foster a positive learning environment that all students can benefit from.
While canines have been proven to lead to better social, emotional, and literacy outcomes, canines are especially helpful to younger students and English language learners (ELL) (Kirnan et al., 2018). A 2018 study by Jean Kirnan et al. found that a canine-assisted reading program directly improved reading test scores for kindergarten students, first grade students, and ELL students. While the usage of therapy dogs in schools can be beneficial to all students in many ways, based on this study it appears that certain groups of students are especially susceptible to the effects of therapy dogs.
The implementation of therapy dogs can be especially useful for students with special education needs (SEN). Canine-assisted reading programs should be implemented for children with SEN especially because the canine is a nonjudgmental audience that allows the student to practice reading without criticism, canines elicit speech for those who are hesitant to speak or who have speech disorders, canines have been shown to empower students through caretaking activities, and the presence of canines has been shown to be comforting and empowering to students (Fung, 2017). Overall, the integration of canines into a reading program will allow students who struggle to not only practice and improve their reading ability in front of the nonjudgmental dog, but also to improve their social and mental health in the process.
The research of Zents et al. (2017) includes several specific examples of how therapy dogs have helped students with SEN. For example, they describe how a second-grade girl was diagnosed with selective mutism and did not talk at school (Zents et al., 2017). Through the implementation of a therapy dog, the school’s psychologist was able to promote verbal communication by allowing the student to first write to the dog, then speak to the dog while the therapist was out of the room, and finally speak to the dog while the therapist and another classmate were in the room (Zents et al., 2017). Eventually, the student was able to increase her communication to outside of the therapy room (Zents et al., 2017). The benefits of therapy dogs also extend to special behavioral circumstances. For example, in the same study by Zents et al. (2017), a middle school student who was chronically absent and tardy was given special tasks to take care of a therapy dog like feeding, walking, and training the dog. After working with the therapy dog, the student only missed three school days for the next year (Zents et al., 2017). Another middle school student who had 80 behavioral referrals in one school year decreased his behavioral referrals by 94% after working with a therapy dog (Zents et al., 2017). There are several individual students who have found success while working with therapy dogs according to the research of Zents et al. (2017). Because of this, it is impossible to ignore the fact that the implementation of therapy dogs is overarchingly beneficial to students who have extenuating needs and circumstances.
Overall, it appears that there is a major theme when it comes to the success of therapy dog programs in schools. The manner of implementation can determine the success of the program. Fung (2017) recommends canine-assisted reading programs that involve the dog during diagnostic reading in which the student reads to the canine, then the teacher asks the student questions related to the reading, making sure to involve the dog in the questions. This style of reading promotes higher order thinking skills, while involving the comforting presence of the dog to increase confidence and engagement. Overall, this style of reading allows a student who may be nervous or lack confidence while reading to overcome that barrier. Furthermore, therapy dogs are also useful in promoting social and life skills according to Zents et al. (2017). In their research, caretaking activities, like walking the dog and giving the dog water, broke down the barriers for students that had a negative narrative of school and counseling. Interacting with dogs facilitates empathy, kindness, and feelings of unconditional love (Zents et al., 2017). These traits are all imperative to future success and happiness; therefore, it is important to know that therapy dogs can facilitate these traits. Finally, as mentioned before, therapeutic uses are one of the most beneficial ways to implement a canine program at a school. It promotes a trusting relationship between the therapist and the student, and the presence of a dog negates much of the anxiety faced by the student (Zents et al., 2017).
In conclusion, while current findings are positive, there is a need for continued research, especially across different academic subjects. Overall, therapy dogs should be implemented in schools because they have been proven to have a positive impact on student behavior and reading achievement, especially for young students, ELL students, and students with exceptional social and behavioral needs. The implementation of canines in K-12 classrooms is most effective when it is done to facilitate reading, life skills, and therapy. Based on current research, one can conclude that the implementation of therapy dogs into classrooms is something that should be prioritized in the future.
References
Fung, S. (2017). Canine-assisted reading programs for children with special educational needs: Rationale and recommendations for the use of dogs in assisting learning. Educational Review. 00131911.2016.1228611
Kirnan, J., Ventresco, N. E., & Gardner, T. (2018). The impact of a therapy dog program on children’s reading: Follow-up and extension to ELL Students. Early Childhood Education Journal. 10.1007/s10643-017-0844-z
Zents, C. E., Fisk, A. K., & Lauback, C. W. (2017). Paws for intervention: Perceptions about the use of dogs in schools. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health. 10.1080/15401383.2016.1189371