The Dog Mentor programme has built upon the benefits of the human-animal bond by providing children positive experiences with dogs that can help them educationally, developmentally, emotionally and socially.

Over the last five years, The Dog Mentor programme has been proven to have a positive impact on children in all areas including self-esteem, behaviour, peer relationships and better engagement skills. These improvements then result in improved academic achievement.

Benefits include:

• Cognitive – companionship with a dog stimulates memory, problem-solving and game-playing

• Social – a dog provides a positive mutual topic for discussion, encourages responsibility, wellbeing and focused interaction with others

• Emotional – a school dog improves self-esteem, acceptance from others and lifts mood, often provoking laughter and fun. Dogs can also teach compassion and respect for other living things as well as relieving anxiety.

• Physical – interaction with a furry friend reduces blood pressure, provides tactile stimulation, assists with pain management, gives motivation to move, walk and stimulates the senses

• Environmental – a dog in a school increases the sense of a family environment, with all of the above benefits continuing long after the school day is over.

• Reading to dogs has been proven to help children develop literacy skills and build confidence, through both the calming effect they have on children as well as the fact that a dog will listen to children read without being judgemental or critical. This comforting environment helps to nurture children’s enthusiasm for reading and provides them with the confidence to read aloud.

Amanda and our wonderful dog Teddy, who is our school mentor dog, works with a number of children to support them in their development.