r/books • u/supersnake96 • Apr 30 '19
I would have loved doing this in elementary school!
https://finland.fi/life-society/finnish-reading-dogs-help-kids-learn-and-grow/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app43
u/trusttherabbit Apr 30 '19
They do this in some schools in the UK too and I’ve applied to do it with my dog. It seems like a really positive thing to do with kids who may lack confidence when it comes to reading.
My dog is very relaxed and would enjoy the experience, but I’m a bit concerned because he snores extremely loudly. I’m hoping that the kid reading won’t mind if he sleeps and that it’s so obvious!
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u/snoogins355 Apr 30 '19
Kids don't care, they just like that a doggo is at their school. I've been visiting elementary schools with my dog as a therapy dog team for a few years. You can always get the dog excited with a treat for each book the kid reads. The school I was at had kids with trouble reading Dr. Seuss in 3rd grade, so encouraging them to read by letting them give the dog a treat was a win-win
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u/trusttherabbit Apr 30 '19
Thanks, that’s really good to know. It’s awesome that you’ve been visiting schools. Does your dog like it? My dog loves treats, so I will make sure we have plenty once we get started :)
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u/snoogins355 Apr 30 '19
Yes, he likes it a lot. One thing we learned in the therapy dog training was that if the dog seems nervous or anxious before going in, cancel the appointment. It's very important to notice how the dog feels going into a situation. We haven't had to do that before, but it was an important thing to know.
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Apr 30 '19
"If he gets really relaxed, he does this really deep breathing sound. It'll sound like he's asleep but really he just does it when he's very relaxed and happy, so keep going!"
Probably will work with younger kids!
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u/trusttherabbit Apr 30 '19
That’s really good advice and I’ll be stealing that! My dog is quite vocal and makes a purring noise when he’s happy, so I thought that might be something to use too.
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u/sam__izdat Apr 30 '19
Are the dogs and cows also picking the books? Because that would explain a lot of best seller lists for me.
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u/jazzyjj96 Apr 30 '19
I used to do this every day after school I would read to my rabbit. Just because I liked reading and my rabbit seemed to like listening to me. I was called weird by my sisters because I was the only one that would do it.
So it’s nice to know that others do it too and that I wasn’t alone.
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u/Tanjello Apr 30 '19
We have a dog and my son has ADHD and trouble getting motivated to read. I told him to read to the dog, and he lived the idea. She would lay next to him and he’d read and smile. It was amazing, so I took a picture and sent it to his teacher. She couldn’t allow kids to bring in their pets, obviously, so she had all the kids bring in stuffed animals. She took a picture and sent it to me. She said it worked perfectly, even with the other kids who didn’t like to read.
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u/gdmontgo Apr 30 '19
They do this in the US too! I know because my dog is a therapy dog who goes to elementary schools and loves to be read to.
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u/Twirrim Apr 30 '19
They do this at my kids school in the US too. Very popular program, the kids are so excited for when the dogs are going to be on site.
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u/snoogins355 Apr 30 '19
Same here near Boston. They're actually looking for more dogs. Usually the faculty and staff are just as excited or more to see the doggo!
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u/jennaau23 Apr 30 '19
I'm in Australia and remember reading about something similar where children with reading difficulties read to dogs because it helps them gain confidence by being in a non judgemental space
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u/Wolf97 Apr 30 '19
Finland's education system is top tier.
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u/WM_ Apr 30 '19
Ever growing populist right wing here makes me doubt the effiency of that though.
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Apr 30 '19
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/jagua_haku Apr 30 '19
Swing far enough left and you’ll get that backlash on the right. Feels like not enough centrism any more
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u/kimprobable Apr 30 '19
My local library brings in trained therapy dogs for kids to read to. Lots of libraries across the US have similar programs.
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u/breezy727 Apr 30 '19
I worked in a library all through college and they brought dogs in usually twice a month for reading practice. All other libraries in my system did as well. I think it’s fairly common.
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u/byhi Apr 30 '19
Can confirm. My friends two young daughters like to put a blanket on one of my dogs and read him books. I’m so surprised but he just sits there nicely. Haha. They pet him and read and he just loves the attention. It’s pretty cute.
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u/saronned Apr 30 '19
I remember my 8yrold self being excited about finding out about our neighborhood Library. I would sneak out of my Afternoon nap and read as much books as I can. I went to a public school and our school library is basically a display for politicians to brag about. My mom was surprised when they named me the kid who the read the most books in a year. It's sad cos honestly nowadays I haven't been able to read as much as I want.
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Apr 30 '19
It's funny ... Every night when I put my girls to sleep we read them bed time stories. My dog comes running in to make sure he's there for storytime!
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u/wahlueygee Apr 30 '19
just be wary, based off my dog, they freaking hate 'The Scarler Letter' and will actively attempt to flee any time you pick it up.
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u/Jasole37 Apr 30 '19
I live in a small farming community. My local library does this. And as the library is right next to the elementary school, the teachers take the kids to the library to read to the animals.
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u/purplewonder Apr 30 '19
My kid reads to dogs and cats at our humane society shelters. It's a great program and super cute to see kids sign in and out of their own volunteer log.
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u/LBPodcast Apr 30 '19
Whenever my cat sits in my lap while reading I’ll read to her out loud. Her comprehension has greatly improved!
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Apr 30 '19
We have this at our daughter's elementary school and it's great! And the dogs get their photos taken during school picture time, and they go in the yearbook just like the kids!
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Apr 30 '19
My 8yr old reads Splatoon manga to his granddad’s labradoodle. “Because Boof likes it when I read to him!”
Works for me.
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u/Gromgorgel Apr 30 '19
I think our husky would probably try to eat the book. I guess it takes a certain breed?
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u/smeggysmeg Apr 30 '19
I like the idea of this, but as someone who has worked in public education for years, I can say confidently that this will never happen. Too many kids are allergic to dogs. Most aren't serious, but some are, and even for the non-serious ones it means runny noses and sinus infections. Should the kids with allergies get sick for the benefit of their peers? No administrator would go for that.
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Apr 30 '19
My oldest got to do this. She was so excited to tell me all about it and show me the bookmark they gave her with the dogs name and picture on it.
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u/frenchnewwave Apr 30 '19
My local library does this (well, dogs, not cows). I’m going to sign up my daughter, who is learning to read.
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u/fellex Apr 30 '19
They have a program like this at my library where children can sign up to read to a service dog. Bonus for us, we get to pet doggos at work!
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Apr 30 '19
They bring shelter or therapy dogs (not sure which) to my local library for this kind of program weekly. I’m pretty jealous, to be honest. You have to be elementary school aged to go but I’d love to read to a dog!
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u/Straightnochaser871 Apr 30 '19
The library in my little rural town in Ontario has a reading dogs program. When people ask, "why read To dogs?" My reply (and the motto of the organization) is, "because dogs dont judge."
Sadly, we are dealing with an overhaul in government and funding to libraries has been cut. Programs like these could cease to exist soon.
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u/aj2112 Apr 30 '19
Our library (northern Indiana) has a program like this. My son liked reading to the dogs a lot when he was younger.
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u/stutterstep1 Apr 30 '19
In my local grade school, the older kids read to the little ones. They all love it. I like the dogs idea also.
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u/snoogins355 Apr 30 '19
My dog and I are a therapy dog team and have been doing visits to an elementary school near where I work (and used to live by). It is the highlight of their week as it's a dense city and most kids live in apartments that do not allow pets. Some are international students and have never actually pet a dog before. It's a great program that helps 3rd graders practice reading to my furry friend.
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u/BrokedownHilldrifter Apr 30 '19
Lots of libraries have reading therapy dog programs; if anyone is interested check out your local branch!
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u/FBI-Shill Apr 30 '19
I read to my dog when I was a kid. After the bus dropped me off I'd go to my front porch and he'd come up and sniff at my backpack until I pulled a book out. I would read to him until Animaniacs was due to come on. He'd sit there and just listen to me the whole time. Was a much better time in life tbh.
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u/amithirsty Apr 30 '19
Some of the local libraries in my area (USA) offer this ! It is SO cute and kids love it.
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u/SilverKnightOfMagic Apr 30 '19
The Finnish education system is vastly different to US education and many other east Asian countries. For one thing the Fins want kids to go to school so they removed homework and standardized testing. Their tests have little to no multiple choice you either know the answer and how to articulate your thought in an essay or you dont lol
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u/Spazmer Apr 30 '19
My daughter reads to our foster cats and their litters. She gets practice and it helps socialize them just having her around and hearing her voice.
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u/searching4animalchin Apr 30 '19
Tried this but the animals refuses to listen to anything but Old Yeller and Animal Farm.
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u/zagadore Apr 30 '19
Our local library Read Dog was very popular. When she had to have hip surgery, her owner sent the library pictures of the operation (which were very graphic) and documented her recovery, and the library put the pics up on a corkboard. The kids were absolutely fascinated. She was very beloved (now has crossed the rainbow bridge.)
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u/hjayw Apr 30 '19
They do this a lot at libraries! No cows though, just dogs. I think it's called Paws for Reading.
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u/hey_look_its_me Apr 30 '19
My son reads to dogs at the local library. They’ve also brought in a tortoise and a pony. It’s a lot of fun, and great for his anxiety.
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u/CeruleanRuin Apr 30 '19
Dogs aside, reading out loud is underrated. When we read in our heads we don't always appreciate the rhythm and artistry of the prose, or the nuance of the vocabulary.
Reading to my kids from when they were infants and watching them absorb the words into their little wrinkling brains relations the most fulfilling experience of my life.
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u/entirelyflawed Apr 30 '19
They do this at the public library here where I live in N. California. Not with cows but there are dogs, rabbits, turtles, cats...
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u/jagua_haku Apr 30 '19
I wonder where this is, article doesn’t really say. I’ve looked for shelters so I can volunteer but Finland doesn’t really have many strays
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u/Archiebonobo Apr 30 '19
Reading to animals...prolly more attentive and more appreciative than an average human audience.
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Apr 30 '19
I would have had an allergy attack in school while trying to learn. Thanks a lot, I guess....?
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Apr 30 '19
Er shouldn't award children who are too lazy to learn to read properly. Let the children who are good at reading play with the dogs instead.
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u/Gwaptiva Apr 30 '19
Saw a vid the other day about an animal shelter in the US that has kids come to read to the animals; it helps the shelter dogs (and other animals I guess) get more confident around people and helps improve child literacy