The school around the corner here (Germany) has a “school dog”. Its job is to help teach kids how to approach dogs, how to stay safe in the presence of dogs, read their body language, stay away from dogs that run around alone, always ask the owner first etc., kids can get a “dog petter licence” by succeding in a test.
The dog’s second job is to be in the class rooms once a week for every class and just go from child to child and help them to calm down.
Kids stop throwing things to the ground because the dog might eat it and get sick. Kids tend to be not so loud because they learn that dogs can hear way better than humans and loud noise can make them feel uncomfortable and even hurt them. The kids learn to make sure the dog’s bowl has always fresh water and when the dog decides to go to its resting place to respect that and not to disturb it. Teachers say it has a good influence on the relationship between teachers and school children and between the children and teachers faces light up too when they can pet a dog after a stressful hour in class. It calms nervous kids down and helps concentration in the class room and who wants to fight if the dog could get nervous and not understands what’s going on?
The older kids are now even involved in helping with training a puppy to also become a school dog.
https://www.brakenhoffschule.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/FullSizeRender.mov
The idea of a police dog in schools is sending shivers down my spine.
If a government treats every child as a potential criminal first before thinking of protecting it, then something is really wrong.
That sounds like a great program, but what do they do with kids who are allergic to dogs?
I have no idea. It will probably depend on the severity of the allergy. Maybe not touching the dog is enough. I know people who have a cat allergy and have cats and cat allergies are usually more severe than the ones against dogs. They seem to have found a way, since the dog(s) are there for a while now. It is estimated that more than 1000 schools in Germany currently have dogs in some form or the other in pedagogic/educational use.
Some schools only use the dogs in one specific school room, some have dogs that only visit the school once in a while and some have them there all the time. Prior to active participation in the dog-assisted lessons, parents were informed in detail and in writing, including a declaration of consent and a questionnaire about the children’s allergies and fears.
