Reading Dogs

Learning to read is often a confusing and frustrating experience. Parents and teachers sometimes create stress flowing from their personal angst to the frustration of the learner. Reading to a non-judgemental creature, who never comments and always appears to pay attention helps to create reading fluency. In the second of a series inspired by Jane Goodall’s movie “When Animals Talk,” we visit with Becky Bishop, founder of Reading With Rover, (www.readingwithrover.org), a program to help children learn to read, and Puppy Manners, (www.puppymanners.com) a dog training school located in Woodenville, Washington, about thirty miles from Seattle. Becky Bishop relies on the close bond between children and dogs creating calm moments and encouraging a learning environment. “Reading With Rover” couples children who have difficulty reading with a dog who listens. Becky Bishop joined us by phone from her home in Washington on February 22, 2010, began by explaining why dogs are better listeners than a teacher or parent and what methods Becky uses to train these pets. The books Becky Bishop recommends are “Living Life As A Thank You: The Transformative Power Of Daily Gratitude,” by Nina Lesowitz and Mary Beth Sammon, and “Walter the Farting Dog,” by William Kotzwinkle, Glenn Murray, Elizabeth Gundy, and Audrey Coleman.