Llandudno school gets reading dog

A reading dog is a dog that helps children learn to read, not one which reads itself, at least as far as humans are aware at the moment.

Headmaster Ian Jones said: “The idea is very simple, reading with dogs helps children to develop their reading skills, encourages positive behaviour and helps build self-confidence and self-esteem.

Reading with dogs inspires children to have fun and enjoy the experience of reading, In recent years, awareness of the benefits such programmes can bring to schools has grown amongst educators and amongst the dog-loving public at large.

Celyn lives at home with Ian and spends between two and three days a week in the school.

Ian added: “While it is certainly early days, it looks like it is going to be as success. It was funny seeing the children taking their consent forms home seeking permission from parents so they could work with Celyn. Normally we find such slips strewn across the cloakroom and have to remind the children to return them. Not this time. Each child left the school clutching the permission slip as if it were a winning lottery ticket.

“One spin off from having the dog is the potential improvement in Welsh. The children have been told that the dog is Welsh and they make every effort to speak Welsh with Celyn. In fact this has had the greatest impact seeing children who normally are quiet, speaking Welsh with confidence with Celyn. So Celyn has also become the school’s Ci Cymraeg.

“Many people have studied dogs in attempts to decipher their behaviour, and theories abound. However, you just have to witness the interactions between Celyn and children to realise the benefits and we hope that Celyn will enrich the children’s lives both educationally but also emotionally.

The school dog is a male labradoodle, a cross between a Labrador and a poodle. He is normally kept in Ian’s and taken to the reading den for reading sessions with the children.

It is acknowledged a reading dog brings reading, emotional and social benefits.

With the reading benefits studies have shown reading fluency has increased between 12-30% in children after participating in reading dogs programmes. They give children extra practice with reading and oral skills. Some children feel reading becomes less difficult and become more confident reading aloud. Reading to dogs has motivated children to read more at home, especially to their pets. Children want to try and read more difficult books and cthey feel more confident when answering reading related questions.

Among the emotional benefits are children enjoying the experience and think it’s fun. They look forward to reading because they feel the dog is waiting for them. They also feel comfortable reading to dogs because dogs don’t judge them if they mispronounce a word. Petting dogs can help with motor skills and is known to be a calming factor as it can reduce stress, blood pressure and anxiety.

In addition children often feel safe when sitting with a dog. Reading to dogs can boost the confidence of struggling readers and gives them an increased sense of pride. A child can feel like a leader by reading aloud and pretending she or he is the teacher.

Among the social benefits are children learn to take turns while waiting to read to the dog. They can learn kindness and empathy by petting and interacting with the dog. Communication skills can be improved by practicing reading aloud. Participants enjoy communicating with each other and talking about the session, the dog and the book they read.