Our Blog
Therapy Dogs Making a Difference: A Look at Three Students' Journeys Through Their School Program
We learn about three distinct students—Peter, Jake, and Ryan—whose encounters with these compassionate canine companions have paved the way for remarkable transformations.
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Heartwarming Stories of Our Therapy Dogs Making a Difference with Individualised Sessions
Oh, we love to share stories about the power of mentoring with therapy dogs! At Canine Comprehension, we foster confidence, resilience, and motivation by supporting students' learning journey.
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Training Therapy Dogs to Enjoy Life
Training a dog to become a therapy dog is a noble endeavour, requiring dedication, patience, and specialised dog training skills. But beyond the formal training process lies a beautiful concept: lifestyle training.
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Navigating the World of Dog-Assisted Learning: Why Experience and Industry Leadership Matter
In recent years, the concept of integrating dogs into educational settings has gained significant traction, with schools across the globe recognising the myriad benefits of this innovative approach.
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Supporting Children with Sensory Issues: The Role of Therapy Dog Handlers Children with sensory issues face unique challenges in
Sensory issues can impact a child's ability to regulate their responses to sensory stimuli, leading to difficulties in social interactions, learning, and overall well-being. In this blog, we will explore how therapy dog handlers can play a vital role in supporting children with sensory issues.
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Enhancing Student Wellbeing: The Impact of Therapy Dogs and Sensory Spaces
At Saint Pauls Primary School Kealba, students have found a unique way to enhance their communication skills and foster friendships, thanks to the presence of Victor, a therapy dog, and his handler, Mini.
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A Generous Offer
In the heart of the season of giving, a heartwarming tale unfolded when an unexpected email brightened our days. A genuinely wonderful person reached out, expressing a desire to sponsor one of our Dog Assisted Learning programs.
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What Does the Department of Education Have to Offer in 2024
The Department of Education Victoria offers a range of school funding options designed to support diverse educational initiatives and enhance the learning experience for students.
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Unleashing the Potential: The Role of Dogs in Assisted Learning In Education
The integration of dogs into schools has transcended the conventional notion of a furry companion tagging along. Embracing Dog Assisted Education means recognising the school dog as more than just a presence.
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Juliet's Journey: Teaching Resilience with Fern, the Therapy Dog
Meet Juliet, an enthusiastic Canine Comprehension mentor, and her faithful companion, Fern. Juliet's journey as an educator and mentor is deeply rooted in her love for the outdoors and her passion for teaching.
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Mini's Compassion: Changing Lives with Victor, the Therapy Dog
Meet Mini, a devoted mentor with Canine Comprehension. Residing in Melbourne with her loving husband, two beautiful children, and a delightful furry family consisting.
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Sherice's Journey: Nurturing Emotional Literacy with Jonesy, the Therapy Dog
Meet Sherice Marks, a devoted educator and mentor at Canine Comprehension.
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Dan's Journey: Empowering Children with Bubbles, the Therapy Dog
Meet Dan, a dedicated mentor at Canine Comprehension. With over 20 years of experience in the child protection sector, Dan has worked in challenging roles, including residential care, secure services, and temporary housing.
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Judy's Journey: Nurturing Young Minds with the Help of George, the Therapy Dog
Meet Judy, a dedicated professional with a background in early childhood education. Her passion for helping children and their families has been the driving force behind her career.
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Madeline's Journey: Empowering Youth with Ollie, the Therapy Dog
Meet Madeline, a passionate newcomer to Canine Comprehension. Madeline's
journey into mentoring with Canine Comprehension began in the disability
sector, where she worked as a disability and mental health support worker.
Bridging Hearts and Paws: Amy's Journey as a Therapy Dog Handler
In the world of therapy dogs, there are individuals like Amy who dedicate their lives to making a difference, one wagging tail at a time.
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The Benefits of Limiting Class Sizes for Dog-Assisted Learning
At Canine Comprehension, we take pride in offering unique and engaging experiences through our dog-assisted learning.
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Alison Bradshaw: Empowering Students with the Help of Canine Friends
Meet Alison Bradshaw, an educator with over 30 years of experience in the field of education.
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Ensuring the Safety and Well-being of Our Students: A Message from Canine Comprehension
A message from Canine Comprehension about how we ensure the safety and well-being of our students.
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The benefits of mindfulness for kids
This post explores what mindfulness is and how it can benefit your children.
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Last chance to book Canine Comprehension programs for term 2
The Canine Comprehension therapy dog programs are almost fully booked for term 2!
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Man’s best friend still has new tricks to teach school kids
School is back, but distressingly, some children are so anxious about the return that they refuse to go. Others attend school in a constant ‘fight or flight’ mode of anxiety. Learn about how Canine Comprehension is helping these children's mental health.
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New Holiday Program
Entertain, engage and excite young people with our new holiday programs. It's time to invite your local library, community groups and schools to run one of our Dog Assisted Learning programs during the school holidays.
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We achieve success when our students feel success
Let me share a parents perspective of one of our special clients with you.
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Celebrate the wins
We make sure all of our students celebrate their wins - both big & small. It’s important that our company does the same. So, what recent wins have we seen?
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A typical day at work
As we go where the students need us there is a lot of travel for our staff. Tutors and their therapy dogs drive from school to school, running a series of programs and incursions for groups of kids. (To be honest, the dogs don't do much of the driving, I promise!)
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My staff are the most important aspect of my business.
When I aim to prioritise and look after my staff, I can feel confident they can look after our clients!
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What impact do we make in our students lives?
We are all about facilitating emotional growth, confidence and healthy social responsiveness. We aim to prepare our students for the challenges they will face both inside and outside of the classroom.
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Looking for a mentor, but they all sound the same. We don't.
Oh, we stand out in the industry!
We provide legendary customer service. In 2021 we were the state winner for customer service in the Australian Achiever Awards in the category of Specialised Services - Education.
An exciting new service is now available: Dog for a Day
We are all experiencing unprecedented pressure in our personal lives, as well as our work lives. Employers are struggling to find ways to support employees as workplace wellness becomes even more important. Our therapy dogs may be the answer.
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What is the best age to retire a therapy dog?
Oh, this is not an easy one to answer. But, I guess if we think about the humans we know who are close to finishing work, some people can’t wait to step into the exciting new world of retirement, and others hold onto their working life for as long as possible. I believe our dogs are the same.
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Almost any breed will do
Therapy dogs are becoming more widely used in Australia and around the world. However, the term therapy dog itself is often defined in a few different ways, depending on which professional you are talking to.
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Canine Comprehension are ROAR Awards Finalists
We are excited to announce that Canine Comprehension are Finalists for the prestigious ROAR Awards, in two very important categories. That of Fearless Educator and Best Advocate for Mental Health.
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A therapy dog's welfare must be taken into consideration.
Our dogs are such an important part of our business. We would not be able to connect with our clients and understand their needs as quickly as we do because our dogs help break down those barriers and build trust.
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A non-negotiable in our industry - The Therapy dog must be safe with the children
Learn about the importance of training for therapy dogs before they get brought in to schools.
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What our customers want to feel
We have learnt from experience that in order to build good customer relationships you need to see your clients as individuals. Individuals who are seeking a resolution to their unique problems.
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Ask our CEO, Sarah: How do you handle your work/ life balance?
Learn how Sarah has managed to create a work/life balance that works for her.
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2022 Victorian School Star Choices Guide
Returning to onsite learning, schools continue to have a huge task of managing students' educational outcomes and balancing mental health after the social deprivation and uncertainty that COVID 19 brought to their families.
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Living the Queen Life: Margaret Foley Podcast Chat with Sarah Macdonald
In this episode my guest is Sarah MacDonald of Canine Comprehension. Sarah Macdonald is CEO & Founder of Canine Comprehension. After changing careers from a secondary school teacher to a dog behavioural therapist Sarah decided to combine the two and create an innovative business that looks for solutions to school disengagement and child resilience building.
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Dogs in schools - how can we manage it safely?
The aim of this report is to endeavour to answer the question: Should dogs be in schools and how can we do it safely?
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Accessible support all over Melbourne and beyond
Canine Comprehension’s Vision is to provide accessible support to young people through dog-assisted learning.
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Canine Comprehension will be exhibiting at the Source Kids Expo in June
There are almost 850,000 people in Australia under the age of 25 years with a disability. The Source Kids Expo provides a space to give information to those caring for and working with these children and young individuals. After two years of lockdown, the opportunity to showcase our beautiful therapy dogs at this event is just fantastic!
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Dogmanship Training is Canine Comprehension’s official dog training partner
We understand the importance of initial and ongoing training for our therapy dogs, as it builds confidence in the dog and assurance in the handler. This is why we are pleased to announce our partnership with Dogmanship Training.
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Caring with canines
Sarah Macdonald, Director of Canine Comprension had any article featured in the Australian Catholic University (ACU) Alumni News about how Canine Comprehension came about and how it works.
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Tips & Talks - Dogmanship Training Podcast
In this episode I interviewed Sarah, the CEO of Canine Comprehension. Their highly trained educators conduct our programs to deliver calmer school environments.
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#Never Alone Podcast
Join hosts Joe and Mark as they discuss the topic of Animal Assisted Therapy. They interview Sarah Macdonald about her experience in this industry and her background that lead her to become an Animal Assisted Therapist.
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A Helping Paw - Star News Cranbourne
In classrooms around the country, a quiet, pooch-led revolution is taking place. Animal-assisted education is helping students to focus, try new things and stay calm in the classroom with the assistance of a therapy dog to guide them.
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Wagging School
Classroom time for students in need of support just got a whole ot better with the introduction of a four-legged assistant.
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How we look after our amazing therapy dogs
I'm sure our dogs experience a range of emotions including happiness, anxiety, fearfulness and excitability. How they behave and their body language can help our tutors to understand what they are feeling and whether they are physically and mentally fit and healthy.
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Why we do what we do
We give people hope. Hope that inclusive schooling and communities can be functional. Hope that kids wont be left behind because they are ‘too naughty’ / 'not attending' or their problems and their behaviour are just
‘too hard’.