What do you expect to find in a classroom? Students, books, pens, pencils and dogs? For pupils in primary and high schools in Scotland it is not common to be greeted by a furry friend in the work area. In my opinion, the idea of having trained dogs in the classroom to help with learning is a great one and it’s time to take action and expand on the 0.24% of UK schools that cater to having these dogs.
I know what you’re thinking – surely having an excitable canine running around and disrupting learning would be nothing but extra trouble for teachers. Wouldn’t they distract students from their learning? What are therapy dogs and why would they be useful? Therapy dogs are specially trained dogs that can help with mental and physical problems. These dogs are shown to provide affection, love and comfort to people commonly dealing with stress or trauma. These dogs are commonly used in hospitals to relieve patients of physical pain and cheer them up. This is because of the endorphins people gain from touching the dogs has a calming effect. These dogs also help elderly people and people with mental health problems as they show companionship and affection. In school these dogs are used to focus students and create a calmer and more comfortable environment for learning.
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There are a few noticeable differences between what makes a therapy dog and what makes your run of the norm household canine. Therapy dogs can be any age and any shape and size, they just all have to have one thing is common which is their love for people. These dogs must have basic obedience training, they must be healthy and they must be quiet and calm in all different environments. Companies at a price can provide these dogs: for example, PAT (Pets as Therapy) offers up programs with their dogs for around £40 an hour. Although these companies do encourage normal people to train their own dogs so that they can take the dog into wherever they like as they please. By teachers getting their dogs trained it means that it would be easy to get the dogs to and from school at short notice and it would be sufficiently cheaper for the school.
Being slightly swayed, as I am a dog lover myself, I commonly find it hard to focus when I feel stressed or worried in class. In my opinion I imagine that having a dog in the classroom would make it easier for me to concentrate and make me more at ease and comfortable in the classroom. I wish that one day in the future students don’t have to worry about anxieties in the classroom since they have a furry companion to help them through it.
A friend of mine told me about her dog who was put up for therapy dog training as a puppy and her mother working in the NHS it means that she can take their dog in to cheer up patients. They have said it has made children in the wards calmer and seeing the dogs brightens up their days.
School is a very difficult place for people dealing with mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety making it difficult for students to pay attention and focus on learning. For students who suffer with these cases interacting with the dogs it relives feelings of loneness and isolation and can help pupils manage within school. A recent survey showed a UK school, which contained therapy dogs, had many advantages to their pupil’s wellbeing and their education. Firstly, having the dogs in the classroom meant that pupils felt more trusting and had more confidence. They also gained trusting relationships with others pupils and their teachers since they received love and a sense of being sheltered and protected by the dogs. This means that they can confidently ask questions and feel safe in their environment. It has also been proven that there was an increase in attendance and motivation within the school and grades went up.
In Abertay University in Dundee they introduced therapy dogs for a day to see how the students would react. Interaction with the dogs provided students with much needed breaks in between studying which overall positively impacted their well-being. One of the leaders of the project said: “All companion animals will help people with stress and blood pressure, things like that. It is just some sort of connection when you touch them; you feel this kind of warmth and calmness coming out. They are non-judgmental”. This shows how students just spending seconds with the dogs can be better for them in the long run. A volunteer from Dundee, Jennifer Bird and her dog Grayson have a part of Canine Concern Scotland Trust since January. She said: “We go up to Royal Victoria Hospital in Dundee and we visit patients that are recovering from operations and stress and strokes and things like. He certainly helps. You can see it for yourself; look at the smiles on the students’ faces. They’re loving it”. This shows the wonderful impact these dogs have on people’s lives and how they should be used more often so that everyone can have positive results because of them.
Although there are many advantages there are also a few noticeable drawbacks to having these dogs in schools. Firstly, is the cost, for a professional dog to come into the school it would cost the school £40 an hour and there is the concern that who would look after these dogs when they’re not needed. Also, we need to take allergies into consideration, as it is unfair. To overcome this, I think that teachers and/or pupils could get their own dogs trained and bring them in when needed. Students could sign up to walk dogs at recess and lunchtime, and dogs would not be allowed in classrooms where students have allergies.
I understand that it would be a struggle in order to gain the authorization to have these dogs in schools, but in my opinion the outcome would be too beneficial to not give it a chance.
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