Paw Program

Wellness Center
Paw Program

Paw Program

Join our weekly one-hour structured dog program where students can sit with, pet, and interact with dogs without leaving campus.

The Paw Program is every Thursday from 4 -5 pm either at the Lion’s Pause or at the Quad

Stay updated on location through our Instagram @stolafwellness!

Currently we only allow dogs from Faculty and Staff from St. Olaf to participate in this program.

Before signing yourself and your dog up to participate in the program, review the Paw Program Dog Owner Consent Form. It is important that your dog cannot have previous problematic behavior, be up to date on all required vaccinations, and enjoy the company of other humans. For your first visit, it is required that you stay with your dog for the entire duration of the program.

If after reviewing this consent form, you think your dog would be a good fit for the program, please fill out this spreadsheet for the date you would like your dog to participate. To have your dog participate in this program make a copy of the Consent Form, read, sign, and email it to pawprogram@stolaf.edu.

The program might not be suitable for all dogs so we don’t want you to commit to various dates if the program doesn’t end up fitting with your dog, you can think of the first time you sign up as a trial time. You might see that some dogs are signed up for multiple dates, these dogs have been in the program previously and have done extremely well and are able to bypass the trial.

Once we have gotten all the information we need from you, you will receive a confirmation email with further directions and information. It is important to note that we will also have a student handler for each dog. This student will be checking students in and ensuring that participants who are sitting with, petting, or interacting with the dog are being respectful of the dog and following COVID-19 protocols.

Fall 2020 Pilot Results

218 unique student participants over the course of the 7 week pilot

47% of participants reported visiting more than once and 15% of participants reported visiting 4 or more times

98% of students agreed that the program had a positive impact on their mental health

One participant reported, “I love it, just wish there were more times available within my schedule to go.”

COVID-19

All persons (participants, dog owners, and student coordinators) will be required to follow St. Olaf Community Standards, including wearing a face covering at all times while outside engaging in the program and sanitizing hands before touching animals and afterwards. This also includes maintaining 6 feet of distance between one another at all times. According to the World Health Organization, there is no evidence that dogs transmit the disease to humans and spread COVID-19.

Why?

Fiocco & Hunse (2017) found that therapy dog exposure may buffer the stress response in university students, which has implications for the promotion of a viable stress management program on university campuses. Somervill et al (2008) found a significant decrease in diastolic pressure occurred immediately following holding an animal. Adamle et al. (2010) found that students identified that visits with certified pet therapy dogs could be beneficial to college freshmen during their first year away from home.