This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NutrishRealMeatTreats #NutrishPets  #CollectiveBias Dogs are amazing. They are fiercely loyal, friendly and happy creatures that can give you unconditional love. I have always loved dogs, and we had pet dogs when I was growing up. Our dog Sheldon (yes that is really his name!) is now my daughter’s best friend, and she loves playing with him and reading to him. I have always encouraged her to read to him because reading to dogs can be extremely beneficial to kids. Since he is such an important part of our family and her life, we like to make sure that we make is life extra special. I decided to encourage their special reading time by creating a comfortable place for them to read and snack together.

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How Dogs Can Help with Reading

You may be wondering how exactly your dog can help your child with their reading. Reading aloud gives kids an opportunity to practice reading with different tones, inflections or even voices. For kids who are shy or are uncomfortable speaking or reading in front of others, dogs offer a non-judgmental ear. By reading a story aloud to a dog, kids have the ability to try out different reading styles and practice copying your voices, tones and style. This can help them to feel more confident in their reading and their ability to enhance the story with their voices.

In addition to helping kids to build confidence in their reading skills, reading to dogs or stuffed animals can also make them more comfortable with books and help them to develop fluency. Think about a book that you have read to your child multiple times. You know the one. The story you have now memorized and hear in your sleep. Do you read it the same every single time? If it is a rhyming book, do the words flow better after your second or third read through? Do you use different speeds and tones to emphasize important emotions or events in the story? The more times you read a story, the more fluently you read it. This is also true for kids. The more times they read a story out loud, the less they will stumble over the words or the rhythm, and the more confident they will become.

Even kids who are too young to read can benefit!

Kids who are too young to read can also benefit from “reading” aloud to dogs. My daughter is only two years old, so she doesn’t read the words on the page yet. But she loves to curl up with Sheldon, or with her favorite stuffed animals, and tell them the stories in her favorite  books. She retells the stories that she has memorized and uses the pictures to remind her of the story. Since he hasn’t heard them during our reading time, she loves to introduce the story to him and show him what is happening in the illustrations. For very young kids, reading aloud to dogs offers them experience with handling books and all the trappings that come with a good read aloud. They can mimic you and get more comfortable with the idea of sitting and reading.

Creating a Special Reading Pillow

I wanted their reading place to be something special. So I took my daughter to the store to pick out the fabric that we would use. I wanted the bed to be big enough for them to share, so I purchased 3 yards of fleece. I ended up cutting off about a foot of fabric from the end and making the pillow to go along with it. Depending on the size of your dog, you can adjust the size of your bed.

Lay the fabric out on a table top or on the floor. You will need to cut it into two even squares of rectangles. Lay the fabric together with the best sides of the fabric facing out. Measure 3 inches in from the edge of the fabric and cut a 3 inch square from each corner.

Using a ruler, mark every two inches along the edges of the fabric, and use those marks to make cuts 3 inches deep. Fold each strand in half and make a 1 inch slice in the middle.

Starting at one corner, tuck the first strand into the hole in the second strand and pull it through. Take the next strand along the edge and tuck that one into the hole in the previous strand. Continue this pattern around 3 edges, creating a tight braid.

Put your stuffing into the center of bed and position it how you would like. Continue the braid until you get back to the first strands. Tie the last strand to the first one and tuck the knot into the middle of the bed.

Reading Together

They already love their special reading place! As soon as I placed it on the floor, they curled up on it together. Even though my daughter isn’t reading yet, she enjoys “reading” to him and telling him the stories from her favorite books. She can retell some of the books that we read over and over, which is what she does a lot of the time. By “reading” her favorite stories to him, she is practicing good book handling skills, developing comfort with books, and building a bond with him. He enjoys the attention, and since she is a rambunctious toddler, I think sometimes these are his favorite times with her. He seems to really love the bed too!

Giving Him the Best

Dogs deserve the very best that we can give them. Since he is such an important part of our family, I try to give him the best of everything. This is especially true when it comes to the treats that we give him. All dogs are unique, but they all deserve a real meat treat! Rachael Ray™ Nutrish® Dog Treats are new treats which are safely USA cooked with real U.S. farm-raised beef, chicken or turkey. It’s important to me that I can recognize the ingredients in treats that I give him, so I love that these are only made with the world’s best ingredients.

Sheldon is a fan of the Nutrish® Hickory Smoked Turkey Bacon Treats, whose number 1 ingredient is real U.S. farm-raised turkey. They are inspired by the recipes from Rachael’s kitchen, so dogs crave the delicious meaty flavor just like the real thing! He also enjoys the Nutrish® Beef, Chicken & Bacon Meatball Morsels which have U.S. farm-raised beef as the first ingredient. Since there aren’t any artificial flavors or meat by-products, I can feel confident that he is getting the very best treats – which is exactly what he deserves! Plus, a portion of the proceeds from each sale of Nutrish treats goes to The Rachael Ray Foundation™, which is a charity that helps animals in need. So by purchasing these treats (thank you Amazon!), I am not only doing something good for my dog, but for other animals as well! Get a coupon to try them out and check the list of places to shop.

Dogs deserve the very best that we can give them. Our dog gives us unconditional love every day, as well as a listening ear and a shoulder to lean on. Providing him with a comfy place to listen to a great book, and some delicious and healthy treats to snack on is the least I can do for him!