Assistance dogs help children with their reading

Dogs are known to have a special educational effect on children, and Emmy the dog is being trained to help children who have inhibitions about reading aloud. Photo: dpa

Emmy, a golden retriever, is lying quietly beside seven-year-old Anna-Maria, who’s holding a book in her hands. The dog, wearing a red neckerchief inscribed with the German word Lesehund – “reading dog” – is a key player in a volunteer project aimed at helping kids who have trouble reading aloud to overcome their inhibitions.

Anna-Maria pets Emmy as she starts to read, and the words come out quite fluently.