R.E.A.D. Dogs Minnesota

A growing field of medical research aims to pinpoint exactly why pets can make us happier and healthier. Some studies show that animal interaction can increase a person's level of oxytocin, a hormone associated with love and trust. And the animals also benefit from positive human interaction.

To listen to the National Public Radio story or read the transcript click here.

Those of us who own pets know they make us happy. But a growing body of scientific research is showing that our pets can also make us healthy, or healthier.

That helps explain the increasing use of animals — dogs and cats mostly, but also birds, fish and even horses — in settings ranging from hospitals and nursing homes to schools, jails and mental institutions.

To read or listen to the full National Public Radio story, click here.

The latest issue of the magazine Just Frenchies has a great article about R.E.A.D.   See the attached file for the full story. 

For more information about the magazine go to www.JustFrenchies.com.

According to a pilot study published by the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, a group of sec­ond-graders who read aloud to a dog experienced a slight gain in their reading ability and attitude toward reading, while another group of second-graders who were paired up with veterinary school volunteers (all adults) experienced a decrease on both measures.

Other findings:
* No second-grade readers who were paired up with canine-­counterparts left the group, while one third of those readers paired up with humans, failed to complete the study.
* Reading to a dog is a great way to build confidence and reading skills in a child. The study found the lowest level of stress for a child was when he was reading to a dog, while the highest level was when reading to one of his peers.

Click here to read the full article on how reading to dogs helps kids

_Nancy Brooks is crazy about two things: dogs and books. She never imagined she'd be able to combine the two until she heard about Reading Education Assistance Dogs, a program where volunteers and their pets visit schools and libraries, mentoring kids who need help with reading and communications skills.

The R.E.A.D. method is simple: Instead of reading aloud to a teacher or classroom, which can be intimidating, the child reads to the dog. This makes kids less self-conscious and creates a fun and rewarding opportunity for everyone.

"I thought it was the coolest idea ever," Nancy says. So in 2005, Nancy and her Shetland sheepdog, Sassy, started a R.E.A.D. group in their  hometown of Minneapolis.

To read the rest of the article published in Reader's Digest Fresh Home magazine, open the file below.

"Preliminary results show children who read to dogs are progressing three times faster in words per minute read then their counterparts in control groups without dogs."  Click here to read more about how Dogs Unleash Elementary Students' Reading Skills.

Note: R.E.A.D. program results are beyond anecdotal; see the R.E.A.D. Headquarters' website for a few of the document results.

_Preschool-aged children with disabilities can improve their learning through animal-assisted therapy, according to speech pathologist Dr. Sheila Bernstein.  

The article mentions a few results:

• Four out of five children showed increased number and complexity of utterances and greater use/variety of speech acts in the dog condition.
  
• One child stated, that he was afraid of the dog, but then went on to explain in detail, to the dog, why he was afraid.”Preschool-aged children with disabilities can improve their learning through animal-assisted therapy, according to speech pathologist Dr. Sheila Bernstein.

Click here to read the article.


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R.E.A.D. featured on CNN, October 2009

Meet Bailey. She's a registered therapy dog, but you won't find her in hospitals or nursing homes. Instead, Bailey makes weekly visits to libraries and schools. She sits quietly or snuggles up to kids as they read her a book.

Watch Learning to read? Try talking to a dog...

This article published in the New York Times describes the health benefits of owning a pet.  Many of those benefits carry over into a setting of reading with animals.

Read the article Exploring the Health Benefits of Pets