Should Hamilton Bring Therapy Dogs During Exam Days?
Ernie, a midwest conservation dog, recently visited Hamilton to preview the importance of using our canine friends to help find endangered species. Photo by Ritika Patel.
Therapy dogs have been employed to soothe people for years. In some cases, therapy dog teams are brought to hospitals to help patients relax and to increase their overall happiness. In elderly homes, it has been proven that having therapy dogs present reduces depression and increases social interaction in residents (2). Recently, therapy dogs have even been brought into schools to help reduce student anxiety and stress. For example, Arrowhead High School brought in therapy dogs at exam time to help relax their students. As bringing therapy dogs to school becomes more common, a new question is raised: should Hamilton bring in therapy dogs during exams to try and improve students’ mental health?
First of all, what even is a therapy dog? Contrary to common belief, therapy dogs and service dogs are not the same thing. According to The Conversation, the job of therapy dogs is to react and respond to people and their environment (1). They facilitate wellbeing in many different situations as well as encourage more social interaction and cognitive functioning. According to a study published by the National Institutes of Health, having a therapy dog present promotes a positive mood and lowers stress hormones, and simply the presence of the dog creates a feeling of connection between students (2). Most people bond easily with dogs, and that bond gives them and their peers a commonality. In addition, it is proven in a study discussed by the National Institute of Health that children with physical or mental health problems experience an improved mood after interactions with a therapy dog (2). All of these elements (increased social interaction, positive mood, stress relief, etc.) are needed desperately by students during exam time and would be greatly assisted by the presence of a therapy dog.
On top of this, therapy dogs are proven to increase cognitive functioning, which can help students achieve higher exam scores. According to a study by Janet P. Trammell on the effect of therapy dogs on exam stress and memory, “Participants who chose to interact with the therapy dogs showed a significantly larger stress decrease and scored 5.5 points higher on their final exams than those who did not interact.” (4)
Not only do therapy dogs reduce stress and anxiety about exams, but they also improve exam scores and memory. In addition, therapy dogs encourage social interaction and a feeling of community, which can make people feel more comfortable in the school environment and help them feel more open to discussing their stress. Because of this social encouragement, therapy dogs are called “social catalysts” and are very beneficial to people in stressful situations (2). According to We Are Teachers, the presence of therapy dogs also produces health benefits, increased attendance, increased problem-solving skills, reduced depression rates, improved reading skills, and optimized executive functioning (3). Therefore, therapy dogs have many social, emotional, and intellectual benefits that would be beneficial to exams and student mental health.
At Arrowhead, therapy dogs were brought in during exams in an attempt to reduce student anxiety. When asked about the effectiveness of bringing in the dogs, the associate principal of Arrowhead’s North Campus Becky Gordon stated, “I guess I can't say for a fact, but knowing how much [the students] love the dogs coming and how much they look forward to seeing them, I believe they relieved stress in some way. And if nothing else, [the therapy dogs] brought a smile to their faces.” Everything Gordon said about the dogs was positive. She discussed how the staff and the students loved the therapy dogs, and that they plan to continue this tradition. The success of therapy dogs in other schools is encouraging, and further evidence that Hamilton should attempt to bring therapy dogs in to support its students during exams.
There are some issues involved with bringing dogs into the school, but most of them are easily solvable. For example, some students may fear dogs. The solution for this is simple: have students go to the dogs instead of the dogs go to the students. At Arrowhead, the dogs were placed in the library, and students who wanted to go pet them could while the students who didn't want to weren’t subjected to having to interact with the dogs. This also solves the issue of students being distracted by the dogs. During the actual exams, they won’t be walking around the halls and pulling the students’ attention away from their tests. Another issue is allergies. Some students may have allergies to pet dander and have a more difficult time focusing during exams if those allergies are acting up. Containing the dogs is the best solution once again, and trainers also bathe and groom their dogs beforehand to reduce pet dander floating around the school (3). The last main issue people have with bringing therapy dogs into school is cleanliness and the spreading of germs. However, therapy dogs are trained not to scratch or lick, decreasing the chances of spreading germs. Also, the dogs always have a trainer with them to take them outside when needed (3). Though there are many potential issues with bringing in therapy dogs, they are all pretty easy to fix, leaving little negatives to bringing dogs in during exams.
I believe that bringing in dogs would greatly improve the overall wellbeing of students during exam times. Many students are highly stressed out during exams, and dogs are proven to help lower stress and increase happiness, which is much needed for the test takers. Many students also agree that bringing in these dogs would create a more positive atmosphere, and when asked if she would like therapy dogs during exam times, Emma Hartman said, “I would absolutely love it if therapy dogs were brought in! I think that dogs could really calm people down and take a lot of unnecessary stress away. During finals week it would be nice to have a reminder not to overthink exams and instead spend some time with dogs!” Izzy Prochazka agreed with this, saying that bringing in the dogs would be beneficial, and it could “take people's minds off the exams.” Because of all of the mental, emotional, and social benefits of bringing therapy dogs into schools during stressful times, Hamilton should consider bringing in therapy dogs to better comfort students.
Sources:
(1) Grove, Christine. Henderson, Linda. “Therapy Dogs Can Help Reduce Student Stress, Anxiety and Improve School Attendance.” The Conversation, March 19, 2018. http://theconversation.com/therapy-dogs-can-help-reduce-student-stress-anxiety-and-improve-school-attendance-93073
(2) Beetz, Andrea. Uvnas-Moberg, Kerstin. Julius, Henri. Kotrschal, Kurt. “Psychosocial and Psychophysiological Effects of Human-Animal Interactions: The Possible Role of Oxytocin.” Frontiers in Psychology, July 9, 2012. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3408111/
(3) Mulvahill, Elizabeth. “Dogs in the Classroom Improve SEL, Cognitive, and Even Reading Skills.” We are Teachers, October 25, 2019. https://www.weareteachers.com/dogs-in-the-classroom/?utm_content=1581033781&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook
(4) Trammell, Janet. “The Effect of Therapy Dogs on Exam Stress and Memory.” APA PsycNET, 2017. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-55820-006
