I have loved and utilized two therapy dogs for over 20 years in my elementary and college classrooms. My current golden, Beauty, had the temperament and discipline early on—at only 1 year old—for classroom therapy work. She showed such patience and joy of interaction that she was certified as a reading partner dog. Regular classroom visits from a reading partner dog can amplify a literacy curriculum, producing social as well as academic benefits. I have witnessed how a dog’s gift of unconditional acceptance has social, emotional, and cognitive impacts on students in a classroom.

Creating reading partnerships between dogs and children is a fulfilling way to utilize animal therapy. As a dog listens to students reading aloud, children make huge strides in their literacy skills, including frequency, confidence, and motivation. One teacher I worked with said, “The students don’t even realize they’re learning reading strategies because they are so engrossed with their reading to the dog, and the strategies are offered in a natural, nonjudgmental way.”

Finding a Reading Partner Therapy Dog

It’s vital that you only use a reading partner team certified by a reputable organization. The American Kennel Club maintains a list of approved therapy dog organizations. Many also offer the extended training for reading partner teams. My dog, Beauty, is certified by Dog B.O.N.E.S. (Dogs Building Opportunities for Nurturing and Emotional Support). Beyond the logistics of assuring the health of the dog and the organization-provided liability insurance, the certified dog team will have undergone rigorous training and testing in the principles of therapy dog visitation to facilitate therapy dogs being reading partners.

For example, in Beauty’s basic therapy dog training, she had to walk only to me, unleashed, down a long hallway with people in the rooms along the way calling to her. She had to ride in an elevator, have books dropped behind her, and learn the correct way to approach a wheelchair (hint—it’s not from the front).

Read the full article about therapy dogs as reading partners by Joann Nichols at Edutopia.