A Qualitative Review of Canine Assisted Reading Therapy

Abstract

A qualitative review of existing research on the use of Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) dogs as a means of reading intervention for struggling readers was conducted. Research suggests the physiological and psychological benefits, along with young students’ motivation to read to a dog, would make implementing a reading therapy dog in a school setting beneficial. There is some evidence that supports the hypothesis that AAT dogs can have a positive effect on students’ reading, but there is no study yet that directly correlates the two. More quality empirical studies are needed to better understand the relationship between AAT dogs and struggling readers.