Reading to a Dog

Last week, I mailed in our paperwork (forms, medical history) for the Paws for Reading program, which provides a motivational and non-judgmental venue for young children to improve their reading skills by reading to a friendly dog. Yesterday, I went to our local library to check out a Paws for Reading team at work. This lovely golden retriever Penny was the canine part of the reading team.

While the human part of the reading team got things ready, arranging the furniture, taking out a sign-up clipboard and other materials, several children lined up, waiting for their turn to read. The kids were so cute! I wondered, would kids line up and be so excited to read to a human? I doubt it. But the thought of reading to a snuggly dog (even if the dog doesn't seem to be listening) definitely excited them and motivated them.

Qualifications for being a therapy/reading dog include: accepting a friendly stranger, ignoring food on the floor, negotiating tight spaces, allowing their paws and tail to be handled/grabbed, being calm around medical equipment, quick recovery from loud noises, not reacting to "odd" characteristics (shuffling gait, canes or crutches, wearing unfamiliar clothes or paraphernalia). Dogs must also pass the Canine Good Citizen test, and only flat collars can be used (no metal collars or head collars).

I worried that Penny would be "perfect" and that I would feel discouraged about Cabana's ability to do the job. But somewhat to my relief, Penny was not perfect. She was as sweet as can be, but she licked a lot, licking me, the kids and her handler. She also tried to jump up on the chairs (without any kids sitting in them), and sadly, she wasn't really interested in what the kids were reading! In fact, she dozed off in the middle of a book. I thought the dogs would be trained to at least feign interest! But I guess that's too much to expect, and obviously, the kids didn't care that much whether the dog seemed to be listening or not.

So I left the library feeling encouraged. I haven't heard back from the program yet, but the next class doesn't start until the end of October, so I don't expect to hear anything for a while yet. Gives us a good amount of time to keep working on obedience and walking skills. I've been walking Cabana with just a flat collar lately, in preparation for the testing. She has been doing great, except when other dogs pass by--but we are allowed to use treats, even for the test, so I definitely won't be phasing those out just yet!