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Tashi sits on the couch of a primary school library in Sydney with a seven-year-old student.

For the next 20 minutes, Harlow – a Bondi Public school student – will read to her, sounding out words slowly and giggling at the pictures of Pig the Pug looking very stinky.

Once Harlow is finished, five more children – each with a dedicated 20-minute slot of one-on-one time to practice their reading skills with Tashi – follow.

There is nothing unusual about this scenario – except for the fact that Tashi is a 10-year-old miniature poodle.

Taishi is one of 389 dogs across Australia that are part of a literacy program called Story Dogs, which helps primary school students gain the confidence and ability to read aloud.

It’s their “non-judgmental nature” that makes canines the perfect companion for children who may feel anxious reading to a group, have additional learning needs, or don’t have opportunities to read regularly at home, says Story Dogs’ co-founder Janine Sigley.

The dogs are accompanied by their owners, who volunteer to help children sound out difficult words and build relationships with the students. Meanwhile, the dog will sit patiently, accept pats and act as a friendly, accepting face.

“For children who have ADHD or learning difficulties, they can take a breath, take their time, gently stroke the dog and go at their own pace,” Sigley says.

“Education systems can put a lot of pressure on young children to be able to read and if they don’t get it straight away [they] get extremely anxious.

“This way, they can make mistakes and it’s OK. And the children then want to do the best they can for the dog, they form this really strong bond and they actually go home and practice.”

The program was established by Sigley and Leah Sheldon in regional New South Wales in 2009, in response to concerns over wide disadvantage gaps in literacy among young children who “just hadn’t got that start in life”.

It is modelled on a similar program that operates in the US using dogs as education assistance animals, and has grown to operate in every state and territory apart from the Northern Territory.

‘It’s the association of pleasure with reading’

The latest Naplan results showed four in 10 students perform below expectations in grammar and punctuation, indicating they struggle to recognise verbs and pronouns in sentences. One in three students were still falling behind benchmarks in reading and spelling.

Sue Bognar discovered the program after realising Tashi – a miniature poodle who was five years old when she adopted her – was “very special”: a perfect combination of placid and loving.

She contacted Bondi public school three years ago, where her two grandchildren attend, and it is now the only primary school in Sydney which has Story Dogs.

At 9am every Friday, she arrives with Tashi in tow. They “read” for about two hours – before the dog gets “a bit past it”.

“It’s the association of pleasure with reading,” she says. “If we can do that, then we’ve achieved a lot.”

With Tashi by her side, Harlow reads Pig the Grub, a tale about an extremely dirty dog. She sounds out the words slowly, receiving assistance with the tricky pronunciation of “hygiene”.

“Do you know what hygiene is?” Bognar asks. “It’s how you keep clean.” Conversation turns to Tashi’s hygiene and the penchant of dogs for rolling around in poop.

“My dog only rolled in poop once,” Harlow says, smiling cheekily. “Now she never does.”

Bognar, who worked in the education system and as a librarian for 50 years before retiring, says reading in front of a whole class can be “pretty scary”.

“It’s such a special thing to help students become confident with their reading, because if they’re not really confident by the end of year two, it just gets harder and harder for them,” she says.

“[Dogs] love everyone. They don’t judge. They don’t complain. And that’s wonderful.”

Once the two hours are up, Tashi makes a move to leave before being swarmed by adoring children delighted to be able to pat the “story dog”. Asked if Bognar thinks her pet is aware of her fame, she muses: “No, she doesn’t need to be a star”.

“She doesn’t become big-headed. She’s just very caring and happy to do whatever. It’s not often you get someone in your life like that.”