By Sarah Abraham, Full-Time Writing Specialist
December 06, 2023

Emotional Influence of Therapy Dogs in Academia

Alliance of Therapy Dogs

Therapy dogs have been used for many years to provide comfort to people in a variety of situations. From natural disaster survivors and military veterans to college students and teachers, therapy dogs help these populations alleviate stress.

Over the past few years, the implementation of therapy dogs in educational settings has been increasing. If you’re a dog lover and/or owner, you would likely know and agree with the fact that your dog helps you reduce your stress levels (except for when he tries to dart across the street to chase a squirrel). Many studies have shown that pet dogs can help their owners reduce cortisol levels, lower blood pressure, and can improve heart health (Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2022).

Some schools have facility dogs, which are dogs that provide comfort to people at one specific school. However, therapy dog organizations, such as the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, have therapy dog and handler teams that visit different places to provide services. Many schools, especially colleges and universities, are utilizing these services during times of high stress levels in the semester, such as mid-terms and finals week(s). Using therapy dogs during these times can reduce stress for students, improve their confidence, and give students a break from the pressure they feel as they give a soft Golden Retriever a pat on the head.

Besides implementing the use of therapy dogs across college and university campuses, they can be used in specific areas of colleges and universities. Counseling centers on campuses and academic advising offices often cater to students that are experiencing challenges, both personal and academic. Therapy dogs can be used to ease the emotional and physical toll that students may feel. Staff in these areas can also feel immense pressure while assisting these students, and therapy dogs can be mutually beneficial to relieving stress of both.

Now, you might be wondering where a therapy dog fits into a writing center. Although the role of a writing center seems straightforward, it is not entirely what it seems. Tutors in writing centers usually play more roles than simply a tutor, but are often reliable listeners, comforters, and peers. Many students seeking writing assistance look to the writing center, but they also rely on the writing center to be a safe space where they can share their writing without judgement, and particularly, if their writing involves a personal and/or sensitive experience.

Therapy dogs can not only support students in writing centers, but they can support staff, as well. Playing a variety of roles as a writing tutor can be taxing, and providing services to a student that writes about a difficult scenario in their lives can be emotionally challenging. A therapy dog helps ease the emotional burden that many writing tutors carry with them while simultaneously reducing student stress. According to Patel with the University of Pennsylvania (2021), studies show that students feel less stressed after interacting with a therapy dog. The University of Pennsylvania has a partnership with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs to have handlers and their therapy dogs come visit with students during final exams.

Questions? Here are some common ones:

I want to be a therapy dog handler… What can I do?

The first question to ask yourself: “Do I have a dog that might have the temperament to perform therapy work?”

Take a quiz here, created by Pet Partners.

Many dogs do not have the appropriate temperament or work ethic to be a therapy dog. Therapy dogs must pass specific certifications and tests with a therapy dog organization in order to go out and work with the public. Check with a therapy dog group near you (see below) and they can help you temperament test your dog and train for the certification.

How can I get a therapy dog to come to my school?

First, check with you school’s resources, they might already have a partnership with an organization! If they don’t, present the idea to them and refer them to a therapy dog organization near you (see below). If you are able, help with reaching out to the organization(s).

I want to know more about facility dogs.

Facility dogs are like therapy dogs, but only work at one specific location. Someone at that location, generally an employee, is the designated handler. The handler cares for the dog and brings the dog to the workplace each day to provide therapy dog services at that specific location. Facility dogs are commonly found in hospitals, counseling centers, doctor’s offices, and occasionally colleges.

Therapy dog resources and organizations: