Support, therapy, or wellbeing dogs have become popular in many areas including work, school and aged care environments.
Support dogs are said to provide companionship and emotional and wellbeing support.
Support dogs are not the same as assistance dogs that are accredited and specially trained to assist an individual person with a disability such as visual impairment. These dogs are specifically trained to assist a person with a disability to aid in quality of life and/or independence. These dogs are allowed by law to be in public spaces with their owner.
However, students can be allergic to dogs and their needs must also be considered.
Facts about dog allergy
- Allergies to pets and other animals are a common cause of allergic rhinitis (hay fever) and asthma.
- The main source of dog allergen is saliva. When dogs lick themselves, the allergen is left on their skin and fur. All dogs shed tiny flakes of skin, called dander. It is the dander (which contains the allergen from the saliva) that spreads the allergen.
- Due to how lightweight and small pet dander is, it can remain up in the air for a long time and can easily stick to furniture, clothing, carpet, fabrics, and many other household items.
- It may take months after removing the dog from the area before allergen levels are reduced.
- All dog breeds cause allergies, although some do not shed as much dander (and therefore allergen).
- Allergic rhinitis is caused when the nose or eyes come into contact with dander from the dog.
- Signs of allergic rhinitis include a runny, itchy or blocked nose, sneezing, and itchy/watery eyes. Some of these symptoms may be similar to those caused by infections (such as COVID, colds and flu) so people can mistake it as illness not allergy.
- Allergic rhinitis symptoms may vary from mild to severe. For people with severe symptoms, day to day function is often affected and can make learning more difficult.
- If allergic rhinitis is left untreated, it can lead to complications including sleep disturbance, daytime tiredness, headaches, poor concentration, and recurrent ear or sinus infections. It is also linked to the development of asthma.
- For people who also have asthma, poor control of allergic rhinitis symptoms often results in worse control of their asthma.
- Up to 50% of people who are allergic to animals do not get symptoms straight away. If there is doubt as to whether a pet is causing allergy symptoms, a clinical immunology/allergy specialist can confirm the suspicion using skin tests or blood tests.
How to introduce a support dog to a school
Remember that for people who are allergic to dogs, avoiding dogs will prevent or reduce symptoms.
If a school decides to get a support dog, the following tips may be useful to reduce the risk to people with allergy:
- Inform the school community (for example via newsletter) and ask for their feedback before getting a support dog.
- If there are objections to getting a support dog, these must be taken seriously, and there must be a meeting to discuss the concerns.
- Consider which areas of the school the dog will be able to access.
- It may not be suitable for the support dog to stay in a communal area such as the library as there will be animal dander in the library, even when the dog is not there.
- The dog should stay outside, in a specific part of the playground which has direct access to an office/room that is not used by students.
- If an individual student is required to have their own assistance dog in class with them, best efforts should be made for students with allergies to be in a different class.
- The following measures are suggested but are not yet proven to reduce dog allergy:
- Use high efficiency air cleaners.
- Remove carpet or soft furnishings
- If carpet removal isn’t possible, vacuum frequently,
- The dog stays on a rug or mat which can be cleaned easily.
- Wash dogs weekly
- Wash dog bedding frequently
- Student handwashing after touching dog
There may be evidence for the use of support dogs to provide emotional support to students, their use must be compliant with all Commonwealth, State, and school sector requirements. This relates to animal welfare, legal and financial responsibility, and health and safety.
Allergy is not the only consideration when introducing a support dog to a school, and a risk assessment and management plan should be completed.