Benefits of Having Dogs in Schools

The presence of a calm, trained school dog has a measurable effect on children's anxiety.

Dogs create a natural calming influence, helping to lower blood pressure and reduce the physical stress response. Children who feel anxious in classroom settings often find their attention shifts away from their own worries and towards the dog, reducing self-consciousness and allowing them to re-engage.

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In a study conducted with The Dog Mentor programme across 58 schools, 98% of school staff reported that the dog mentors helped reduce stress and anxiety in children - including during transitions such as arriving at school, moving between classrooms, and sitting exams.

Working with a dog gives children a unique opportunity to practise empathy, turn-taking and considering someone else's needs before their own. The relationship built with the dog creates a foundation of trust that children can begin to extend to their relationships with peers and adults.

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In schools registered with The Dog Mentor, 86% of staff reported improvement in social interactions, and 84% reported the programme helped children develop greater empathy.

One school noted that pupils who visited their dog mentor regularly developed not only more empathy but a calmer, more considered manner in their wider relationships.

Attention issues and disorders are most commonly associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), but they can also be caused by other things, including anxiety, depression, learning disorders, sensory problems and trauma. Studies have shown the presence of a trained therapy dog has helped:
 

• Increase children's attention and concentration performance

• Provide an outlet for excess energy

• Provide a non-judgemental companion

• Provide social interact opportunities

• Encourage routines

• Decrease stress

• Offer a healthy distraction

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​Staff in 53% of schools reported improvement in children's ability to focus on tasks, and one school noted the dog mentor was effective as a reward for completing work "when no other incentives work."

One of the most consistently reported benefits of the programme is improved self-regulation.

School staff across 88% of participating schools reported that working with the dog mentors helped children learn to manage their emotions, reducing outbursts, supporting calmer returns to the classroom, and building the awareness that they need to be calm in order to interact with the dog.

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This is not passive. The Dog Mentor programme uses the dog as a co-regulation tool, teaching children to recognise and manage their own emotional state as a prerequisite for engagement. That skill transfers directly to classroom behaviour and learning.

75% of schools in the University of Lincoln study reported that the dog mentors improved engagement among children, with staff describing how a calm, dog-supported environment allowed pupils to engage with their learning more fully.

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The dogs were also used directly in curriculum delivery, from encouraging reluctant readers to read aloud to the dog (a patient, non-judgemental listener that reduces reading anxiety) to hands-on maths activities such as measuring and weighing ingredients for dog treats. 44% of schools incorporated the dogs into direct curriculum support in this way.

Children who struggle to communicate, including those with selective mutism, have made progress through the calm, low-pressure environment that the dog mentor creates.

Staff at 69% of schools reported that structured interaction with dogs supported children in communicating more confidently with others.

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One school reported that a child who rarely spoke asked, in a full sentence, to see their dog mentor. Another noted that the therapeutic environment enabled pupils with mutism to begin speaking, with the dog's calming presence reducing the anxiety that had previously blocked communication.