50 percent of Canadian students report having anxiety, which can lead to skipping classes, missing exams, or even dropping out of school.
Azra Alibhai of Carleton University is looking at Animal Assisted Therapy and researching the benefits of dog therapy as a way to reduce stress for students with test anxiety.
Alibhai says with dog therapy, stress levels drop within five minutes.
She thinks dog therapy would be beneficial for first year university students during midterms, exams, or even as a residential dog in a dorm, which has been done in the United States.
Alibhai says therapy animals are creating awareness of what they are capable of doing and thinks dog therapy is a win-win situation, because it would be a great way of helping animals that are currently in shelters.
