Student’s best friend too!

Man’s best friend has been a helpful learning tool in Washington Grove Elementary school, Gaithersburg, MD. Tucker, a Golden Retriever and Ross, an Irish Setter have been helping struggling students with their reading skills.

One day, each week, the little readers get private sessions with one of the trained therapy dogs. The only other person in the classroom is the dog’s handler. The handler guides the lesson by posing her questions as if the dog is the one who wants answers about the story.

The children are inspired by the “nonjudgmental character” of the dog. The dog just listens and loves every word they say. This has helped children overcome their fear of mistakes. The kids don’t question if the dogs are listening, they just assume it.
The principal of the school says this enables a child to relax and enjoy reading. This is the first step for children to improve in pronouncing and comprehending the words.

The dogs are specially trained therapy dogs. They are screened to ensure they have the right skills, temperament, health and cleanliness.
The handlers must go through training with their pets. They do this on a volunteer basis, supported by donations, which means there are no direct costs to schools.

Over the years, dogs have been trained as therapy dogs to help the blind, hearing impaired and the elderly, why not in school?

In college, in my first psychology class, one of the guys in my class brought his Golden Retriever to class everyday. He wasn’t blind or impaired in any way. Those are very good tempered dogs. I could see why those dogs would be helpful to the children.