Pet therapy is being used in many different ways now as more and more research shows it to be a valuable tool, but have you ever seen a dog assist with a music therapy class?
His timing may be a little off a times but it’s great to see how involving the dog with the music class (as in the video above), really adds a whole new level of engagement for the children (and the dog looks to be enjoying himself too!).
Music therapy is commonly used to engage special needs children as seen in this video, and it turns out that many of the benefits gained from music therapy are aligned with those known to be gained from pet therapy. For example, both music therapy and pet therapy help children to;
- Communicate
- Encourage movement and motor skills
- Encourage socialization such as eye contact and speech
- Cope with emotions.
With more awareness of the wide-ranging benefits of including pets in therapy sessions, perhaps we will start to see more dogs assisting with music therapy classes!
