Bullying is becoming increasingly prevalent in Spain, or at least the coverage it receives in the media means it is being seen more and more in educational institutions.
Many organizations and educational institutions develop and implement strategies to prevent and combat bullying. However, one association has decided to include dogs in education to eradicate this problem.
At ARISTOPET, we have often discussed the different therapies in which dogs become genuine medicine for people. They are capable of changing and helping improve people's quality of life. On other occasions, we have talked about therapies with dogs for children with hyperactivity problems, and we even had the pleasure of speaking with a mother and veterinarian who experienced it firsthand with her son.
What does the therapy involve?
The Entrecanes Association carries out a project with dogs to help prevent bullying in classrooms. “The objective is to improve coexistence in the classroom, group cohesion, and work on aspects such as emotions, conflict resolution, and empathy,” explains Óscar Bueno, the organization's spokesperson, in an interview with the newspaper El País.
As Óscar rightly points out, the idea behind these workshops is to prevent bullying. To this end, they create group activities in which the animals take part. The activity focuses on teaching the animal something, so the group of students must reach an agreement and make a decision as a group about how to carry it out. Psychologists, teachers, and education specialists always supervise the activity so that it is conducted based on respect and the objectives of the workshops.
Regarding the type of dog, the association states that there is no “specific dog breed prototype for these workshops. The factor that distinguishes a domestic dog from a therapy dog is its temperament and how it manages external elements that may cause it stress.” They work with Golden Retrievers, Labradors, Border Collies, and mixed-breed dogs from shelters. Ultimately, whether a dog is suitable or not for therapy depends on the canine education it receives.
It prevents bullying
These types of activities do not eliminate bullying outright; the aim is to prevent it. Therefore, they cannot be carried out in groups where a case of bullying has already occurred.
These activities with dogs encourage children to manage situations and make decisions as a group, learning the values of teamwork. This association uses dog-assisted education, which is a type of informal education that involves incorporating a dog into the teaching and learning process.
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