Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
Rosco's First Day as a Reading Dog!!! (with pictures!)
Rosco had his first session as a reading assistance therapy dog (official title?) at our library yesterday and it went very well =)
Right before our visit I stopped by Wal Mart and bought a brand new large dog bed for this occasion--a bed that will ONLY be used for library visits.
Because this is only the second time they have done this (started early this year, but took the summer off) and the program isn't super well known, we had a room that was open to the rest of the children's section of the library. The librarian also gave us a screen to use if needed--we were the only dog team there.
Kids were allowed to come and go as they wished, we'll probably have more structure later, but for now it was pretty flexible.
The kids really enjoyed it! Three cute stories:
1) A little girl too young to read stopped by. I can't tell age really so I asked her if she'd like to get a book to read to Rosco. She flew off and came back with two. Read TWO books to him by making up words to go with the photos...
2) While we had two boys hanging out and one reading...another little girl and her mom stopped by. The little girl sat down and I asked her about her book. She seemed shy but said that she practices with that book (as if practicing is not the same as reading). Both her mom, another woman and I tried different tactics to convince her reading to Rosco would be fun. But she was hesitant. Then just as she was about to leave the mother of the two boys caught on and got her boys to leave with her so the little girl could have privacy. I offered her my seat (which had my back to the screen) and she accepted now that there was no audience. She read quietly but well and I was SOOO proud of her!
3) First little girl who made up the story in her book, came back toward the end while we were meeting other staff. She asked "Can I just say a story with my mouth?" LOL She proceeded to tell a fabulous story! It was soo cute and at the end she just ran off...no "The End" no bow...it was hilarious!
Okay picture time:
Right before our visit I stopped by Wal Mart and bought a brand new large dog bed for this occasion--a bed that will ONLY be used for library visits.
Because this is only the second time they have done this (started early this year, but took the summer off) and the program isn't super well known, we had a room that was open to the rest of the children's section of the library. The librarian also gave us a screen to use if needed--we were the only dog team there.
Kids were allowed to come and go as they wished, we'll probably have more structure later, but for now it was pretty flexible.
The kids really enjoyed it! Three cute stories:
1) A little girl too young to read stopped by. I can't tell age really so I asked her if she'd like to get a book to read to Rosco. She flew off and came back with two. Read TWO books to him by making up words to go with the photos...
2) While we had two boys hanging out and one reading...another little girl and her mom stopped by. The little girl sat down and I asked her about her book. She seemed shy but said that she practices with that book (as if practicing is not the same as reading). Both her mom, another woman and I tried different tactics to convince her reading to Rosco would be fun. But she was hesitant. Then just as she was about to leave the mother of the two boys caught on and got her boys to leave with her so the little girl could have privacy. I offered her my seat (which had my back to the screen) and she accepted now that there was no audience. She read quietly but well and I was SOOO proud of her!
3) First little girl who made up the story in her book, came back toward the end while we were meeting other staff. She asked "Can I just say a story with my mouth?" LOL She proceeded to tell a fabulous story! It was soo cute and at the end she just ran off...no "The End" no bow...it was hilarious!
Okay picture time:
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Carole (*Koda*Monty*Bindi) on
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Oh those stories are priceless! I can't wait until Ali and Gaston can do that too. Ali tutors ESL (english as a second language) children at our local library and was just mentioning last night that she'd better teach Gaston some spanish! LOL
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Permalink Reply by 2hl9mp3c2fuam on
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That is so wonderful. My daughter's 1st grade teacher would LOVE this story. She was a HUGE advocate for reading!! How sweet Rosco is. I really want to do this therapy stuff!!! I just need more time!!!
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Permalink Reply by Leslie and Halas on
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That's so great. I'd like to be able to do this with Halas some day. We're going for his CGC first, and then we'll go from there.
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Permalink Reply by Adina P on
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Once he passes his CGC he will be very ready for a Delta workshop or continued training. You just have to show that you can be a team, that he's controllable in public and can handle crowds.
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Permalink Reply by Tamara & Giada on
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Yeah Rosco!!! that is great!! Boy, you guys sure are busy.I would like to do this in my retirement years. With all you do with your dogs, I bet you'll be a wonderful Mom one day :)
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I don't FEEL busy. I feel like I am ignoring my furry kids most of the time while I'm 'busy' online ;-)
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Permalink Reply by Joy Williams on
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How cool is this!! I know you had to be the proudest mama there! I would love to get our girls to do these things, but there's just no time it seems to work with them and get them to slow down enough to learn how to do them. I also wish they had had this type of program when our "2 legged girls" were learning to read!
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If you get registered with Delta Society then you can use the READ program and they are a ready-to-go program you can buy materials from, etc. There is a fee, but it is not unreasonable for a school. Then you don't have to start from scratch. At our library we are starting from scratch but it's a casual approach so there really is not money involved as far as extra staff time or materials (all the books are there!).
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Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on
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Oh, Rosco, I wish I could come and read to you! Good job, sweetie!
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If only I could take him to Chicago with me...I'd let you read to him...Only TWO MORE WEEKS! We'll have to exchange cell phone numbers soon!
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Permalink Reply by 388ao497p1iqj on
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AWESOME!!!!
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