Telethon Kids Institute researching how dogs help young kids develop

• WA shows its heart with record breaking $42.6 million donation
• Telethon home fetches bargain price at auction

If ever an image proved the love between a boy and his dog it’s this one of Arlo Pradera and his adorable cavoodle Comet.

And to get to the core of that bond, the Telethon Kids Institute is focusing on five to eight-year-olds and their relationships with animals.

Their research already shows children aren’t getting enough physical activity — even with a pet — so they’ve started a study to track how children interact with their pets, and hope to prompt families to get out and play more.

“Only a third of two to five-year-olds get enough physical activity as per the national recommendations, so we know that the very young aged children aren’t being physically active enough,” Professor Hayley Christian from the Telethon Kids Institute said.

“That’s not just for their health, it’s very important for their social motor cognitive development.”

According to their research, play time with pets improves the physical, mental and emotion health of children, pets can also help children learn responsibility, develop a sense of identity and teach unconditional love and loyalty which can help in a child’s learning and development.

The Pradera family joined the study with their two-year-old cavoodle Comet. Their six-year-old son Arlo is who is being studied.

“They’re inseparable, Arlo adores Comet. He’s just part of the family,” Arlo’s Mum Jessica Pradera said.

Mrs Pradera said Comet has helped to give not only Arlo, but his younger brother Orson a sense of independence and responsibility.

“Comet has been wonderful for our family, he (Arlo) is a really independent kid, and he’s really good at taking care of Comet, like feeding and brushing, and that sort of thing,” Mrs Pradera said.

The study, called “Paws”, looks into how dogs improve young children’s lives.

“They’re obviously getting the health benefits of more physical activity, but it may be helping them develop mentally as well,” Professor Hayley Christian, from the Telethon Kids Institute, said.

“In terms of empathy, it teaches them about the life and death cycle by having pets, they might feel a bit more self-confident.

“That’s what we’re trying to understand through this research.”

“What we’re trying to see is just with light touch, or minimal intervention might encourage those families that have a dog to increase the opportunities for interaction through physical play and family dog walking.

“It’s family time as well, so it’s not just the child and the dog, quite often the parents will be there to take them both for a walk down the park.”

The study works by giving participants SMS prompts to the parents to walk or interact with their dog, as well as giving them ideas for walks and games.

Some participants will also get a pedometer for their dog, to track their steps. Families are asked to fill out diaries, and the children are assessed every three months.

Related: Fremantle artist Jacob ‘Shakey’ Butler’s pawfect artwork raises $20,000 for Telethon

“One of the walking trails was out in Bells Rapids, out in the mud and scampering out in the rocks, and it was a nice big walk for Comet. It sort of encouraged my son as well, he took lots of pictures and wrote about our adventures with Comet,” Mrs Pradera said.

The study has been funded by international organisation The Human Animal Bond Research Institute.

They’re looking for 40 more families to take part. To participate in the study, head to www.telethonkids.org.au/paws