With Dogs Not Just for a Smile E-Book

Ágota Juharos

• Herausgeber: Publishdrive
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

We would like to recommed this book  to whoever wishes to look into these helping dog’s wonderful world to every educator, who would like to learn new methods that would make each lesson memorable to every needs educator, who would love to have a four-legged motivational partner, who could make the lessons more successful. To every doctor, psychologist and medical practitioner, who believes that you have to heal the body with your soul.

We recommend it to everyone, who loves dogs, but those who are afriad of them too.

Leseprobe

Dedication

In memory of Terezia Szerencses Radicsne, a special education teacher

Copyright © For A Smile Foundation

All Rights Reserved!

AUTHOR: Ágota Juharos

Reviewed and Edited by: Máte Papp

COVER and Text Design: Judit Török

LAYOUT: Hunor Beliczai, Judit Török

Special thanks for our photographers: György Hamar, Péter Lestár and Tamás Szilágyi.

ISBN 978-615-00-1211-7

2018

Foreword

It has been said that Dogs are humans too – and this is definitely true.

However, in this volume that you are reading now, we will talk about dogs that are worth much more than some fallible humans. Our four legged therapy friends not only have unconditional loyalty, but trust, endless love and active healing powers. They offer comfort and educate those two-legged ones with patients who become vulnerable for some reason or more.

The dog is a four legged, flair nosed, tail wagging love affair for us humans who are worthy of it.

Therapy dogs are much more than this – they represent eternal hope.

Gyula Böszörményi,

Attila József Award winning writer.

About us

There are no coincidences. There was a period in our life when we used to flick between the TV channels and it was always about the fantastic relationship of humans and dogs. Guide dogs, service dogs, switch lights on and off dogs, dogs opening doors, carrying baskets, dogs that respond to epileptic seizures or abnormality of diabetes, cancer sniffing dogs... and therapy dogs. I thought that we should try this amazing thing and it would be interesting to work with, as many children and adults could benefit from this with our presence. We consulted our familes and decided to give it a go with our own two well trained dogs. After our research and enquires, I started to prepare with my goddaughter Reka Juharos, my youngest son Csabi Lestar with our dogs Moczy and Bombi. On the 9th of May 2011, we went to Debrecen to pass our therapy exam. By then, we went through several serious exams in the past through our university degrees, but at this time it was different, as we had to pass with our four-legged partners. We were worried sick throughtout the tasks, yet by the end of the day we all became therapy dog masters, and Bombi and Moczy became therapy dogs.

A couple of months after the successful exam in a couple of months we went to Szekesfehervar and attended the “Dog Therapy, as a special educational method” national congress. By listening to many experienced dog trainers and organizations with years of knowledge, we were convinced that this job is just as tough as wonderful, because we could give many people what they need. But what we get back is much more than that in return of love and loyalty. In our hometown Kecskemet, there was no existing dog therapy organization. Therefore, with our cute little license in our pockets and bubbling with enthusiasm, we made ourselves known to the Principals of the Special Education Institution in Juhar Street and Nyiri Street. We were so lucky, as both principals were dog owners, therefore they immediately welcomed the opportunity offered by us.

With Terezia Szerencses Radicsne from Kiskoros, who was the former head of institute in Juhar St., we were on common grounds immediately. “Terike” as everyone calls her, welcomed us with open arms, because she had been looking for opportunities to try innovative methods such as dog therapy.

Solid plans were made immediately about when, where and who to begin this jouirney with. She appointed two fresh special education teachers who introduced Bombi and Moczy to orphanages, children with speech therapy and autistic school children. Soon after we started our work with children and teachers, we realised that this is what we want to do. Many others were interested and wanted to join our team – and this was not a coincidence. Meanwhile, we established the “With Dogs…For a Smile Foundation” and since then we continuously try to organise and create the working conditions for long-term therapy jobs for many dog handlers. This is to ensure that unusual but effective therapy methods will be accessible for many children and adults in the future.

Terezia Szerencses Radicsne, or as everyone called her Terike, regularly visited our lessons and followed our work with great enthusiasm. She wanted to see the outcomes with her own eyes. She requested a report about the initial observations at the National Special Education Congress in Kiskoros that she instigated herself. From Her suggestion, we named our presentation “With Dogs...For a Smile”. She was very proud about the developing dog therapy that was offered to children with disabilities in Kecskemet and later in Kiskoros, which was achieved with her help and support. Terike participated in our teacher training called “Dog as a Teacher Aid” in April 2015 with her usual extraordinary enthusiasm and joy. In those days, we talked a lot about how much she loves doing her work and we discussed that she should write a book about the experiences. We exchanged letters and she asked me if I could put together a short video that she could take to presentations about animal assisted therapies. Unfortunately, this is when life was suddenly interrupted and Terike passed away quickly and unexpectedly. But this was a “Terike kind of way”, as she was talking about her beloved profession at the time.

After the initial shock and not comprehending with what really happened so suddenly, we finally understood her message. Her message meant that we must carry on and continue the work that we started together. To honour her memory, we decided to write this book that she had planned herself, even though it may not have been the way Terike could have done it. It is a fun and easy narrative book to read with many examples and stories that provides useful ideas to dog enthusiasts and professionals who are interested in dog therapy. Terike gave a boost to our foundation with those two years in Juhar Street and our institution in Kiskoros were paramount milestones in our history.

​dr. Ágota Juharos

With Dogs For A Smile Foundation’s Secretary

Chapter 2

With dogs not just for a smile

On one occasion, Agota visited a class in a kindergarten with Bömbi – who was already a therapy dog by then – and an enthusiastic little girl kept asking questions about the dog. She began like: “Aunty Bömbi! I would like to ask that….”. And she was right. Mostly the owner and their dogs mirror each other, as dogs have developed their loyalty towards their two-legged pack leader who has established his/her rhythm of life and custom systems in the thousands of years they have been living alongside humans.

Dogs are particularly suitable for therapeutic purposes, as they are extremely adaptive, socialize easily, can easily carry out tasks and enjoy learning. Additionally, they have great non-verbal communication skills and are able to keep eye contact. During therapy, skill development, psychological skills (sensation, perception, thinking, attention, concentration) and facilitating a so-called motor functions (motor coordination, balance and rhythm) have major significance. The different normative behaviour forms influenced in a positive way is just as critical as to improve the quality of life is an important element. Age appropriate discipline, perseverance, sense of responsibility and motivation are the biggest advantages of dog therapy. Not to mention the wide range of motivational strengths is based on the animal’s playfulness. Therefore, the dog is a social stimulus also, as they facilitate contact between partners. (In one way, the common experience deepens social relationships, and in another it generates empathy easier). While the communication with the dog is mainly based on body language, the participants also become more sensitive to non-verbal expression style. Furthermore, working with animals increases the sense of safety and casual dog owners can practice the pack leader role while they also become more obedient.

Csabi Lestár with a dog (Móczy), not just for a smile

Chapter 3

“Hi, Bömbi!​Lovely to see you again”

Edit Nagy is a great example for the above. She started working as a trainee at the Juhar Street Primary School with autistic children and she also had some previous zoological training. Therefore, Terike entrusted her to coordinate some part of the Agota-style therapy dog project. She had a faint idea, as she had seen some work done by dog assistance, however she also experienced the first ever presentations by learning on the job.

First, they only tried to gather the problematic children for only a half an hour lesson per week. Two out of the three boys responded well to the dog’s presence. One of them, then a Year 6 student Peti, would not get involved at all especially with any group acitivies. Yet, he became fond of our large dog Moczy. To please Moczy, Peti managed to do many physical exercises and reading tasks. According to Edit, the effectiveness of our past 5-year work is due to the large part of the dog’s motivational power. After many successful years, Peti gave a dog scarf to Edit as a present, which she believed that this represented their relationships. Another 9-year-old boy called Dani did not talk at all until he managed to master the commands for the dog. This explains that children who are limited within their social interactions are generally closer to the animal than a teacher or a trainer. Agota noted for example that, Dani had an eye contact with the dog well before he had an eye contact with her.

Dani’s eye contact with Moczy was on the very first occasion, but it took 9 months for Dani to look at the trainter for the first time.

We managed to create an atmosphere in the ever-expanding groups, which can -using Edit’s words – mean a considerable motivation for the future for the children. These children can be encouraged without the presence of a dog and if they adhere to the school rules, they will be able to play with Bömbi and Moczy at the next session. Naturally, the most surprising changes occurred with the help of the dogs. For example, Peti never liked to have the windows open. He became furious when he saw that they were open. We had to shut them immediately, no matter what the weather was like (usually it was very hot). There was only one possible way to keep the windows open, if Edit or Agota said that Moczy has a thick coat, he feels very hot and the poor animal is panting a lot because of the heat. In a few weeks time, they realized that Peti himself started opening the windows when Moczy arrived. In a few months, his fear of open windows disappeared even when the dog was not present.

Bömbi visits Peti

Peti also has other battles in his life. He did not welcome guests at home. However, this social disorder was also resolved with the help of the dogs. Edit invented a personalized game for him. She sat in a small tent with Peti and pretended to expect some guests. Bömbi came to visit. When Bömbi barked, they opened the tent and welcomed him. “Hello Bömbi! Lovely to see you”. They offered him food, patted him and then they say good bye “Bye Bömbi! Come again”. This game became Peti’s favourite. His mother told us that even at home Peti’s behaviour was changing towards guests coming to their house. The motivational program was a success, not only on an individual level, but it was observed that the unavoidable shared attention that children can assist each other during a dog therapy development class was accomplished in larger groups also.

Fuge checks the count. The bones help with the addition, and the reward has been placed on the right answer, which only can be eaten by Fuge, if Gabika makes eye contact and he say the “yours” command.

Autistic children also practice patience during shared tasks. Bömbi needs to wait for the correct answer too.

If the answer is correct, we put the reward on the laminated sheet. Then we call the dog to be rewarded.

We deserve the patting and cuddles after the correct answer.

It is to be seen, that autistic and moderate intellectually disabled children respond extremely well to animal assisted educational methods. In the first years, Dr. Zsuzsanna Ruska Hollone, headmistress of the Nyiri Street Primary School, applied for a tender, which allowed to invite Agota and the dogs. She was primarily involved in the individual special development program.

Lilla Csomak Turanyine, a special education teacher, identified a hearing-impaired boy who needed some help to develop isolated sounds first (during the productive individualized lessons not only the teacher, the dog and his/her trainer, but also the parent were present). Another hearing-impaired boy also received dog therapy with the same methods during the week. The playful involvement of the dog therapy was equally a positive effect on him. The following year, group therapy was launched in Dr. Veronika Pachnik Hubayne’s preparatory class, who also, just like Lilla, as a huge animal fan, started to develop the new teaching methods.

Bömbi checks that everyone is well prepared for the task.

Table Of Contents

Dedication

Copyright

Foreword

About us

With dogs not just for a smile

“Hi, Bömbi! Lovely to see you again”

The dog as a teacher aid

The optimistic dog and other wonders

Lesson Plan – Thematics of the Saints of the Árpád dynasty

Lesson Plan – Bookworm / Katalin Varga: Madzag and his friends

The four-legged classmates

Fairy tale stories

Hospital mission

Life saving dog training in progress

Dog profiles

Games

Blind children development with the help of therapeutic dogs

Development of children with hearing impairment with the help of dog assisted therapy

About Terike

Our activities

Sponsors

Landmarks

Start

Cover