Effect of a canine-assisted read aloud intervention on reading ability and physiological response: A pilot study

Canine-assisted reading aloud programs have been attracting growing interest because reading to a dog may contribute to the reading performance of children. The positive effect of a canine-assisted reading aloud program, however, received limited empirical support. Specifically, most of the current papers were papers of expert opinions. The current pilot study aimed at providing preliminary evidence for the effects of reading to dogs on three lower-performing third-graders' reading abilities and understanding their physiological stress responses. The findings of the study implied that canine-assisted reading aloud programs had potential to increase the reading fluency and relaxation level of children with lower performance when reading to a dog. Copyright © 2019 by the author.