On the Job Learning with Sky the Therapy Dog: Three Top Skills for Animal-Assisted Speech Therapy
Sky’s clear chestnut eyes looked at me and my heart filled with pride. It was her fourth official work visit and I could see improvement each time. It wasn’t just learning some new tricks, but the learning that was happening on a much deeper level that pleased me.
Sky is the fourth speech therapy dog I’ve worked with and with each new recruit I am better able to appreciate just how much experience it takes to learn the job. Here I’ll discuss the top three skills my canine co-therapists have learned that take on-the-job experience to achieve.
Therapy dog Sky shows how she watches me for signals, a skill I’ve found very helpful for animal-assisted speech therapy but takes time on the job to learn.
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#1 Watching me for signals during animal-assisted speech therapy
This is what made me so proud working with Sky today. When on the go playing with preschoolers she repeatedly looked at me to gauge my reaction and then respond by coming closer or staying back as the situation needed.
I wasn’t asking for a specific obedience skill like stay or come, I just needed her to not crowd too much while still staying ready to join in. Though she’s done this in obedience class for a couple months now, this is the first time I’ve noticed her staying tuned in to me while at work instead of focusing on the child and family we’re playing with.
#2 Energy conservation across a speech therapy dog’s day
Sky is finally napping even when kids are in the room. No matter how much we prepare, bringing a therapy dog into a new environment is stressful and it takes time for them to relax enough to get the rest they need. She loves her luxurious bed and has learned that it’s the best place to go when I’m not directly interacting with her. A spritz of Dog Appeasing Pheromone on the corner of the bed seems to help as well.
Therapy dog Sky learns to take frequent naps in order to be at her best when needed during animal-assisted speech therapy.
#3 Bouncing back from stressful moments during animal-assisted speech therapy activities
Sky is not nearly as skittish as Delta was when I started bringing her to work, but even so she isn’t always sure how to respond when the unexpected happens such as an exercise ball getting out of hand or a parent looming over her wanting pets.
While I keep her welfare in mind at all times and try to set the environment up for success, it’s simply not possible to eliminate every possible surprise when there are impulsive kids around. Seeing Sky so quickly learn that she can move away from a situation and/or look to me for guidance is very encouraging that she’ll be able to handle the inherent stressors of speech therapy dog work.
Even for Delta, now a five-year veteran of the work, I’ve seen continued improvement in her ability to return to a calm state after a chaotic moment.
I like to keep high value rewards in easy reach to redirect the therapy dogs’ attention when something potentially startling happens. I also make sure they have frequent access to favorite chew toys to get some calming endorphins through the chewing process (for my favorites, click here). For safety, I don’t allow chew toys in the same room as I see kids to prevent possible resource guarding.
If you’d like to learn more about Sky, Delta, and the animal-assisted speech therapy we perform together, please follow us @Speech_Dogs on Instagram and check out the other resources I’ve curated on www.speechdogs.com.
And stay tuned for how to get your copy of Paws for Progress: Integrating Animal-Assisted Interventions Into your Speech-Language Pathology Practice coming from ASHA Press in fall ’24!
May your day be filled with puppy wiggles and children’s giggles,
Sharlet
