Brandy and Val

We’ve had our second pet therapy session of 2010 and Val is turning into the major star.  He has learned to roll-over for the children and everyone is so impressed.  Val continues to be very gentle and patient with the kids and his calm demeanor permeates the classroom. This, all according to dad who splits off from Brandy and me when we go to our sessions.   In addition to rolling over, Val and Jay continue to work on hand dexterity by having the kids use a fork to feed Val carrots; grooming and walking.

Brandy continues to make it known that she wishes to be the center of attention.  Since we work with two different age groups and skill levels, we do varied tasks in the two classrooms we visit.  We had a breakthrough in our first, lower skilled class today, when two of the children who wouldn’t walk with Brandy previously was willing to venture out of the room and “take her for a walk” with me.   Brandy did her part in taking the lead and the kids relaxed and concentrated on holding the leash when they realized that Brandy wasn’t threatening to them since she happily greeted everyone in her path.  Both classmates seemed to look relaxed and happy as we all ambled through the hallways!  In our older group, we had a new activity to show everyone.  Since many of the students in this class know their letters and some can read, we had flash cards with Brandy’s favorite commands (sit, stay, down, up, twirl) that the kids would have Brandy do.  They enjoyed being able to read as they worked with Brandy.  Her newest trick, twirl, was a hit and the kids enjoyed going around in a circle at the same time she did.

In order to hold everyone’s interest, we always try to have a new activity to do.   Most of the children we work with are autistic and we always keep in mind that it is important to make sure that the same themes and tasks are reinforced in each session so the kids always feel they are in a comfortable, non-threatening environment!

Today was our first pet therapy session of December.  We work with autistic/cognitively challenged children in elementary through high school classes.  Some are withdrawn and uncommunicative, some think they’re reaching out to pet the dogs but actually have only moved their hands a few inches away from their bodies.  Our missions are to foster interaction and trust!  Lots of times we succeed and that gives us all great feelings of accomplishments.

Brandy and  I work with the older kids and in today’s session we worked on teaching them how to introduce themselves to dogs–friendly or otherwise.  Safety is always a concern when approaching unknown animals but is especially important for both the person and the pet when the individual is disabled in some way.  Animals sense when things aren’t “normal” as they know it and they, too, need to adapt to a different surrounding or personality. Children (and adults!)  need to understand that animals, like people, want an introduction before a friendship is initiated.  So, here are 4 key points that we go over that everyone can benefit from: (more…)

OK, so mom in a previous post talked about pet therapy programs and what they are, but, from the pet’s point of view, why do we like doing it?

We love going to “Read to Rover” programs in libraries because kids come in to read to us. We love having them around and it’s like they’re talking only to us the whole time.  For a whole hour,  we get undivided attention while we basically do nothing.  Then, at the end of every 15 minute reading session we usually GET A TREAT!  That makes 4 an hour!   The most stressful thing we have to do is wag our tails when we say “hi” and “bye” to the kids.  Almost all the kids hug us or scratch our bellies. How great is that?

When we go to school programs, though, we do have to work and think a whole lot more.   The programs are enjoyable but in a different way.  We work with autistic children and lots of times, they don’t talk at all and we have to figure out a way to get them to show they like us.  Maybe they are afraid of us or maybe they really love us but just don’t know how to show it yet.  So, we have to approach each child carefully until we are sure they relate to us in a positive way.  After all, we don’t want to scare them and we don’t want them pulling our ears or tails.  We have been very lucky so far. We have more friends than not and a few of the kids who were afraid of us at the start, now touch us a little bit and that makes us feel good.    During these programs, we get brushed and fed carrots and usually we play a few games that help the kids identify colors or numbers or words.  It’s really great when we hear the kids laugh or when they call our names and want us to come over. We hope that our working with them will help their lives in other situations and make them happier.  They make new friends and so do we.

For over 20 years, I have been involved with a variety of tutor/mentoring programs, teaching English as a second language, promoting adult literacy and working with children in various capacities.  About a year ago, my husband and I wanted to do an activity that we could do together with Brandy and Val, so, after receiving their Canine Good Citizenship certificates, we started working in pet therapy programs.  Our participation to date includes ongoing school and library programs and one-time events such as a Dog Safety Workshop for elementary aged children and their mentors.

What is pet therapy or animal assisted therapy (AAT)?  It’s where animals and their handlers work with individuals to help them overcome specific physical, social or emotional obstacles or help them achieve certain goals that will ultimately improve their health and overall quality of life.  The theory behind a lot of it is that people will relate to animals in ways that they won’t or can’t with other humans.  They become uninhibited, will open up to the pets or even try new tasks since there is no fear of being judged or ridiculed by another adult or peer.  Interaction with pets has also shown to have positive health benefits on lowering blood pressure and stress!

We have worked in library reading programs–”Read to Rover” and “Paws to Read” are popular titles–where children will read to the dogs at 15 minute intervals and, during that time, the kids sit next to Brandy or Val and simply read a book at their own pace without adult intervention.  The children can stop and pet the dogs or they can just keep reading.  At the end of the 15 minutes, there is a little time for Q&A or giving treats.   Some children are excellent readers and just enjoy being around the dogs; others stumble or mumble at first and as the time or program goes on, their confidence seems to build and their reading and elocution improves.

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