How dogs can help children learn to read

With a teachers’ strike looming, you might think that the headline is some type of out-of-season April Fool joke. But it’s true: the Kennel Club is launching a charitable foundation that will support charities that bring dogs into classrooms as reading companions for children.

There’s no doubt that there’s a serious literacy problem in British schools: one in four children in London leave primary school unable to read or write properly at the age of eleven. As part of a raft of measures to tackle this issue, it seems that dogs could play a strong role.

This is not some new hare-brained scheme: the Reading Assistance Dogs (Read) programme was first established in the USA in 1999. Thousands of dogs now regularly visit schools and libraries to act as reading companions for children. Studies have shown that the dogs’ intervention can make a significant difference to a child’s ability to read and write.

How does it work? The child sits in the company of the dog, reading aloud to the animal. The dog, understandably, is entirely non-judgmental about the child’s performance. In response to this, the child gains in confidence and ability. It’s simple, but apparently it’s very effective.

There are two charities that take dogs into schools in the UK: Reading Education Assistance Dogs (READ), and Pets As Therapy, through their Read 2 Dogs programme. As Caroline Kisko, the Kennel Club Secretary says: “Dogs don’t judge, they don’t laugh or correct if a child makes a mistake. In short, dogs are simply great listeners which makes all the difference for children who are struggling to read.”

I’ve tried reading to my own dog to see what it’s like. Funnily enough, it was strangely relaxing. Spot looked at me steadily and loyally while I read to him, as if he didn't want to miss a word. He seemed far less easily distracted than my young children used to be when I read them bedtime stories.

The Kennel Club’s new “Bark and Read Foundation” is being launched next weekend at the annual Discover Dogs event in London. If you know a local school that could do with a little canine intervention on the teaching front, why not go along and find out more about it?