Confidence, life skills and social inclusion

So Úna, what was it that made you want to join the Dogs for Good team?

Dogs for Good is so person-centred and dog-centred and everything is so well thought-out. Personally, a big driver for me is dog welfare; I'm very much a dog person. So, the fact that this is at the heart of everything Dogs for Good does is very much what made me want to be part of the team.

How did you get partnered with Ludo?

I got partnered with Ludo as part of a carefully thought-out matching process. So, as our technical team are teaching our dogs all the skills they might need to be successful working dogs, they're also looking at them as individuals and finding out what sort of life and future might suit them best. 

We're really thoughtful about their preferences and individual natures and ensuring their future offers them everything they need to be able to thrive. And with Ludo, it was clear that he really loves people. Lots of people! And as a Community Dog he gets to support lots of people rather than just one individual and that's where he really makes his joy in life. He makes friends with everyone he meets and happily, everyone wants to be friends with him. He loves what he does as a Community Dog and that's so important to me.

How would you describe your role and what you do at Dogs for Good?

I'm so, so lucky to get to do the job I do at Dogs for Good! My role is a Community Dog Practitioner and that involves delivering Animal Assisted Services in a huge variety of settings. Currently, I get to support individuals recovering from strokes in hospitals, adults with a dementia diagnosis in day care or cafes, and young people with their mobility and inclusion in society and I love what I get to do.

What's Ludo's job description?

I would describe Ludo's work as a Community Dog as changing people's lives. He's had the benefit of a wonderful education, learning lots of skills to bring out the best that he can be. We work to Assistance Dog UK and Animal Assisted Services International standards, so he's been carefully assessed and thus, he's very qualified to work in a huge range of settings. He works to a very high standard and I'm there to make sure he's supported in everything we do together.

Tell us about the sessions you deliver for the young people at Parklea Branching Out 

We deliver a twist on traditional bingo; dog bingo! The sessions teach lots of different skills for the young people that attend. Something simple like a game of bingo can teach number recognition, decision making, multi-tasking, social inclusion and social skills through conversational skills by talking to Ludo – all wrapped up in a lot of fun!

We're also able to tailor the game, so in my first session with the group at Parklea Branching Out, I adapted it to learning lots of things about Ludo and learning a little bit about dog body language. But we can also tailor it to a special interest that a participant may have or a shared interest within the group – so for example, we've got a history version and a movement-based version. It's really flexible and always great fun.

Are there any other benefits for the people you support?

There are lots of benefits to the work that Ludo and I do for the people that come to our sessions. The sessions are designed to support people in a variety of ways; perhaps with cognitive skills such as numeracy, English, questions and answers etc.

There are also social health benefits, communication skills from conversation and of course, there are emotional benefits. 

Having Ludo around can reduce anxiety and help people to relax, get out of their head and have a break away from whatever they're worrying about. He helps people be more present.

How do you tailor the sessions to deliver the very best service?

We carefully tailor all of our sessions and everything we do is person-centric; unique and individual to the person we're supporting. And what that means is involving participants in the planning of sessions and getting a good understanding of why it's important to them. This information helps me plan and come up with creative ideas to help people achieve what they want to.

How do you make it seem less like 'work' for people attending the sessions?

It's really easy to make it feel like it's not 'work' for the people coming to the sessions and that's all down to Ludo. He brings the fun and whimsy to everything; helping people relax into themselves and get out of their head. One of the things he's really good at is reading the energy of the room so if someone needs some calm interaction he's the one to give that to them. If he sees someone sitting by themselves, he'll go over and bring them in, so they are included. He really just makes things feel like a relationship rather than a task. You're doing something with Ludo or for Ludo and that makes it fun.

And for people living with neurological conditions, how do you and Ludo help?

We can do a lot to bridge the gap between social inclusion and communication. One of the other things Ludo's really good at doing is performing the job of being something to focus on and something to talk about, something separate from what the individual is going through. So, when we work in hospital settings, he's that common point of contact; it's not about the condition, it's not about the challenges, it's not about the diagnosis. It's about a dog. It's a bit of normalcy for people sometimes.

And what we also find is that Ludo's a great conversation topic with family and friends; him being around gives patients something to talk about. Something that's not 'gone wrong' or is a 'challenge'. He's a joyful and interesting topic and some people get really excited talking about him. So, working with Ludo helps build confidence, helping people back into life and providing a really lovely bridge of social inclusion.

For anyone who might feel socially isolated, how does working with Ludo help? 

For individuals who are maybe feeling a wee bit socially isolated, Ludo and I can help in a variety of ways. We can help with confidence in communicating, because dogs communicate in a very different way to humans. It’s not about words or spoken language. It’s to do with your body language, your tone of voice etc. We don’t always have to get things right with Ludo because he’s still going to respond to you and you’re still going to have a great time with him. That can help build people’s confidence if they feel that Ludo’s listening to them and it then makes them feel that others are listening to them so we can gradually build social skills and confidence in that way.

We can also do lots of things to connect people into society so for example, if someone is perhaps nervous about travelling by themselves, we can work with them on building confidence by bringing Ludo along on the journey. They’re focused on him and not worried about people looking at them or judging and we can gradually transition them into feeling confident travelling by themselves.

Have there been any stand-out or breakthrough moments you can share with us?

Within the time that we’ve been working together there have been so many stand out moments. Working with Ludo is genuinely such a joy! But one that really sticks with me is with an individual who was in recovery from a stroke. They were aphasic which means they were struggling with their word finding. When Ludo and I were introduced to them, they were quite shut down and not really engaged in anything. In the weeks we worked together I’ll never forget the first time I heard them laugh! Ludo was playing with a toy and being a little bit silly and they just let out the most wonderful laugh. That will stay with me forever. 

And then over the following weeks the individual said ‘thank you’ to me. Clearly and with such intention. It makes me quite emotional remembering it, actually. And then before I left the session they said ‘that’s so fun’. That person worked so, so hard over the course of eight weeks and went from having absolutely no speech at all to forming words and sentences clearly and with intention. It was just incredible and I was so happy for them – it touched me greatly and was a huge breakthrough for them.