As of: February 1, 2024, 7:03 p.m
By: Yasina Hipp
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Daily contact with dogs strengthens, among other things, children's self-confidence.
In Bavaria in particular, the use of four-legged friends in daycare centers is not yet clearly regulated.
Memmingen – Rocky is part of the Memmingen kindergarten.
But Rocky is neither a child nor an educator, he is a two-year-old gray-brown male Labrador.
It has been an important part of the kindergarten for several months and is a daily reason for joy for the little ones.
Rocky is also a real rarity in Bavaria, as one of the few daycare dogs in the Free State.
It was a long road for owner Luisa Fischer to get to this point.
Also because there are still no uniform requirements in Bavaria.
Educator had to convince city to adopt daycare dog
“I had the dream of having a daycare dog long before Rocky moved in with me,” says Fischer, who is a state-certified educator.
When she took over the management of the Memmingen kindergarten two years ago, she began to put her dream project into practice: “First of all, we had to get the sponsor – the city – on board.” For this, the 30-year-old developed an educational concept in which she worked out the advantages for her kindergarten children.
The children in the Memmingen kindergarten have a lot of fun with the male Labrador Rocky.
© Press Office City of Memmingen
She was immediately convincing with her work.
The city even covers 30 percent of the costs of keeping the four-legged friend.
Rocky just had to meet a whole series of requirements: he needed the green light from the veterinary office, health department and the facility's insurance company.
And of course parental consent.
“But we were lucky there.
In almost all cases, the parents responded positively to the suggestion,” says initiator Luisa Fischer.
After organizational and bureaucratic hurdles, the dog has to get used to it
Even if all the requirements are theoretically met, that “doesn’t mean that everything works,” Fischer knows.
She got Rocky used to kindergarten for two years and attended countless courses at dog school.
The dog now comes to the facility on four days and completes two assignments lasting 45 minutes each working day.
Animal-assisted pedagogy: The kindergarten children get to know Rocky.
Daycare director Luisa Fischer (right) is always there.
© Alexandra Wehr
The children go for a walk with Rocky, play in the garden or observe the animal's behavior.
And Fischer has even more ideas: “For the children who are not new to kindergarten, we also want to offer a dog license in the future so that they can learn more about Rocky.”
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Rocky has a colleague in Poing.
The mini Australian Shepherd Bjarki has been part of the “Little Hands - Big Deeds” kindergarten for four years.
His owner Daniela Märkl is sure: “A daycare dog is particularly good for children who don’t have animals at home.
You learn how to deal with the animal and react to it empathetically.”
A dog is also used for work in Bad Tölz.
Labrador dog Emma supports her owner Nadine Günzinger in a therapeutic youth residential group.
(By the way: Our Bavaria newsletter informs you about all the important stories from the Free State. Sign up here.)
Bavaria lags behind other federal states when it comes to daycare dogs
The journey was also long for Daniela Märkl and Bjarki.
There were no specific guidelines or a prescribed path.
In a guideline from the Bavarian Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs on safety in class, some points for dealing with school dogs are set out.
However, these refer to dogs in schools and do not provide any precise guidelines for the path to the dog's use.
For Christmas, the children baked cookies for Bjarki, the Poinger daycare dog.
© Screenshot: Kinderland PLUS/Facebook
“In other federal states we are already further along than here,” says Märkl.
In some cases there are even facilities that offer special training for dogs and their owners.
Meanwhile, the positive effects are unquestionable everywhere: through daily interaction with dogs, children's self-confidence and sense of responsibility are strengthened, and communicative and motor skills are promoted in a completely natural way.
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