Three Things to Know
Despite the increasing presence of therapy dogs in Australian schools, the benefits and challenges of implementing these programs remain understudied. This research employed a qualitative survey to gather feedback from over 100 teachers, health professionals, and school leaders.
Most survey participants expressed a strong intention to improve school well-being and recognized the potential benefits of therapy dog animal-assisted interventions (AAI). However, participants also expressed concerns regarding the welfare and safety of both students and the dogs.
Due to a lack of standardized guidelines, current in-school AAI experiences exhibit significant variability. Participants strongly advocated for the development of standardized guidelines that include clear rules, risk management strategies, and specialized training and certification for all involved. The researchers believe these steps are crucial for gaining school leaders’ support in adopting a therapy dog program.
For Dog Welfare Practitioners:
Studies have demonstrated the significant role dogs can play in the development of infants as well as children. Consequently, therapy dogs are increasingly utilized in Australian educational settings, with a growing network of therapy handler-dog teams supporting these services. However, this research highlights the need for greater structure within this expanding field.
Australian therapy dog organizations must collaborate to address critical issues, such as ensuring the welfare of therapy dogs, prioritizing student safety, and ensuring inclusivity for students with dog phobias. Developed guidelines would serve as valuable resources for professionals in other regions.
While therapy dog professionals may not always work directly with dog welfare educators, collaborative efforts between the two groups offer significant potential. By combining therapy dog-assisted interventions (AAI) with impactful dog safety workshops geared towards children, they can create comprehensive programs that educate students about responsible dog ownership, promote positive human-animal interactions, and simultaneously offer potential therapeutic benefits to the students.
The Full Picture
Poor school well-being can have long-term consequences, such as mental health problems and social isolation. This highlights the crucial role of the education sector in supporting students’ well-being. Therapy dogs, often used in animal-assisted interventions (AAI) to provide support and companionship, are increasingly common in K-12 schools.
Research suggests that therapy dogs can improve students’ moods, reduce anxiety, and increase engagement. However, the reliability of these findings is limited due to methodological shortcomings, small sample sizes, and insufficient control procedures. Similarly, some educators hold concerns regarding therapy dogs, such as safety risks for students and the welfare of the animals themselves.
This study, titled “Therapy dogs and school wellbeing: A qualitative study”, seeks to address these gaps by exploring the perceptions of school leaders, teachers, mental health professionals, and academics regarding the positive and negative effects of therapy dog interventions on students’ wellbeing, as well as the considerations and challenges involved. The research is guided by three key questions:
- What do participants perceive as the positive effects of therapy dog AAIs on K-12 students’ school wellbeing?
- What do participants perceive as the negative effects of therapy dog AAIs on K-12 students’ school wellbeing?
- What do participants perceive as the important considerations and challenges for implementing therapy dog AAI in K-12 school settings?
Study Methods
This qualitative study utilized an online survey with open-ended questions to gather data from professionals with experience in therapy dog-assisted interventions (AAIs) for school-aged students.
A total of 118 participants responded to a 16-question survey exploring various aspects of therapy dog AAIs, including their aims, benefits, challenges, and implementation strategies. Questions probed topics such as the top three emotional benefits for students and factors crucial for program sustainability.
Study Results
Participants comprised diverse professionals, including teachers (43%), health professionals (25%), and school leaders (8%). Their experience spanned early childhood to university settings, with therapy dog experience ranging from one month to over 16 years. Most (63%) utilized trained therapy dogs, while 22% used untrained dogs, and 15% were unsure. Adherence to guidelines varied, with 61% following established procedures.
Analysis of responses to 16 open-ended questions revealed eight key themes:
Aims and Desired Outcome
Theme 1: Enhancing School Wellbeing
The first theme centered on improving students’ social-emotional functioning. Over half (55.5%) of survey participants expressed their intention of using therapy dogs to increase student motivation, social skills, and peer connections. Additionally, 44.5% focused on improving emotional regulation, mood, and confidence. A secondary school psychologist highlighted therapy dogs as models for emotional regulation, with desired outcomes including improved mental health, happiness, and confidence among students.
Strategies Deployed
Theme 2: Dog-Assisted Interventions
The second theme, “Dog-Assisted Interventions,” highlighted the diverse approaches to integrating therapy dogs:
- Animal-Assisted Therapies (AAT) were prevalent, with 44.9% of participants utilizing them to provide physical and emotional comfort, facilitating therapeutic processes and rapport building with professionals.
- Animal-Assisted Activities (AAA) were also popular, with 40.4% of participants employing them to foster spontaneous interactions and leverage the inherent benefits of human-animal bonds.
- Finally, 14.6% of participants implemented Animal-Assisted Education (AAE) programs, such as reading interventions, where students read to therapy dogs in a supportive environment to enhance their reading confidence.
Impact of Therapy Dog AAI
Theme 3: Facilitating Engagement and Regulation
Theme 3 highlighted the positive impact of therapy dogs on students’ social, emotional, behavioral, and learning well-being. Participants recounted how therapy dogs encouraged social interactions, fostering friendships and developing social and communication skills. For example, a social worker noted that therapy dogs helped out-of-home care students build confidence and a sense of belonging.
Furthermore, therapy dogs were perceived to reduce stress and anxiety, offering unconditional comfort and modeling emotional regulation. A special education teacher observed that students adopted the dogs’ calming behaviors to manage anger.
Therapy dogs also contributed to improved behavioral regulation by modeling self-regulation and assisting students in managing emotional escalations.
Additionally, participants observed increased school attendance, classroom engagement, and motivation in learning tasks. Therapy dogs provided non-judgmental support and were believed to enhance cognitive and executive functions by modeling focused attention.
Theme 4: Welfare and Safety Considerations
Theme 4, “Welfare and Safety Considerations,” highlighted several challenges associated with therapy dog AAIs. Dog phobias were a significant concern, with 38% of participants noting potential distress or severe anxiety in students with past traumatic experiences involving dogs. Furthermore, 33.0% of participants emphasized the lack of standardized guidelines for safe implementation, highlighting concerns about inconsistent risk management.
Therapy dogs were also seen as potential distractions (20.0%), with some students becoming overly competitive for interaction time, leading to behavioral incidents. Additionally, 8.7% of participants expressed concern about students feeling rejected if therapy dogs failed to bond with them, often due to rough handling or overcrowding.
Implementation
Theme 5: Challenges and Barriers
Study participants outlined key difficulties in implementing therapy dog AAIs in K-12 schools.
- Protecting therapy dog welfare was the most significant challenge, identified by 67.9% of participants. Overcrowding and prolonged sessions in small spaces were noted as major stressors for the dogs, leading to anxiety and withdrawal.
- Stakeholder disagreements (32%) also hindered implementation. Conflicts arose between school leaders, teachers, and therapy dog organizations regarding expectations, space allocation, and safety protocols. School leaders often favored large group sessions in limited spaces, while therapy dog organizations sometimes lacked clear goals and risk management strategies.
Theme 6: Risk Management Strategies
Theme 6, “Risk Management Strategies,” emphasizes the need for measures to ensure safe and effective therapy dog AAIs. Pre-implementation screening to identify students with dog phobias, allergies, or behavioral difficulties was considered crucial by 44.3% of participants. Participants also emphasized the need to create student-free spaces for therapy dogs to retreat when overwhelmed. Limiting interaction durations and student numbers was also seen as vital, with recommendations for sessions no longer than 40–50 minutes and involving no more than three to four students at a time to prevent therapy dog fatigue and stress.
Theme 7: Expectations and Rules
Educational professionals emphasized the need for clear guidelines to ensure safe and effective interactions between students and therapy dogs in K-12 schools.
A majority of participants (79.7%) highlighted the importance of setting behavioral expectations for students, such as maintaining a safe distance and respecting turn-taking rules. A teacher also stressed the necessity of educating students on appropriate interactions with the dog, including gentle petting while avoiding actions like striking or pulling a dog’s tail.
Additionally, 20% of participants emphasized the value of establishing measurable aims and goals for therapy dog-assisted interventions (AAIs). This involves having clear strategies to implement and evaluate outcomes, ensuring the interventions deliver positive results for students.
Theme 8: Standardized Regulations
Study participants emphasized the need for consistent guidelines for therapy dog AAIs in school settings.
- Nearly 30% of participants advocated for mandatory, transparent standards to ensure safety and uniformity in dog-assisted interventions. They also called for standardization on therapy dog session structures, including space requirements, time-out areas, screening procedures, session durations, and limits on student numbers.
- 33% of participants stressed the need for specialized training and certification for therapy dog-handler teams, emphasizing the importance of preparing them to address school-specific challenges such as overcrowding and managing students with dog phobias.
These measures were seen as essential for consistent and safe implementation of therapy dog programs across schools.
Conclusion
This study highlights both the potential benefits and challenges of implementing therapy dog-assisted interventions (AAIs) in K-12 schools. Therapy dog AAIs can improve students’ social, emotional, behavioral, and academic well-being by fostering engagement, reducing stress, and supporting emotional regulation.
The study underscores significant practical challenges, including the lack of standardized protocols for safe and effective therapy dog interactions. Educators face risks that may impact the welfare of both students and therapy dogs, such as inappropriate student behaviors or inadequate training of therapy dog-handler teams. School leaders were significantly more likely to emphasize safety and welfare considerations and significantly less likely to endorse dog-assisted interventions compared to other groups.
To address these issues, the study recommends developing screening and implementation protocols that assess risk factors, establish clear interaction guidelines, and align therapy dog AAIs with measurable school well-being goals.
Miscellaneous
Data From Study:
Owned Dogs > What Dogs Bring > Working Dogs
Year of Publication:
2023
External Link:
Robert Baird, Emily Berger, Christine Grové, Therapy dogs and school wellbeing: A qualitative study, Journal of Veterinary Behavior, Volume 68, 2023,Pages 15-23, ISSN 1558-7878, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2023.08.005