Anxiety Therapeutic Story

This is a therapeutic story for children who experience anxiety around trying new things and getting things wrong. It is aimed at children from 7 to 12 years old, however, children outside this age group may find the story helpful.

Read the story below or buy the illustrated PDF download from the store.

Rosie

Once upon a time there was a dog called Rosie. When Rosie was a very small puppy she went to puppy socialising classes. She learnt to sit, to wait and to bring things back to her owner. She loved waiting to be given a command and then following it as quickly as she could. Rosie especially loved being told she was a good girl when her owner patted her on her head. She passed all her puppy assessments easily.

Rosie was a special puppy; she had been selected to become a hearing dog. This meant if she passed her exams she would get to help someone who was deaf. She would have the important job of being their ears. Soon the day came to start the sound work training.

The hearing dog training was much harder than puppy training, but Rosie tried her best. She had lots of new things to learn. She learnt that when a phone rang she had to get her owners attention and lead them to the sound. When a fire alarm went off she had to lie on her tummy and lead her owner to the front door, staying down low. 

Sometimes Rosie would bark and wonder why her owner couldn’t hear her. Sometimes Rosie would go to the buzzing timer and forget to take her owner with her. Sometimes Rosie would lead her owner to the fire alarm, not out of the door.

All the new skills Rosie had to learn were making her confused. She could feel the pressure getting to her. Sometimes she longed to stay in bed with her paws over her eyes. She wanted to pretend she didn’t have to go to puppy training. She thought if she didn’t go, she couldn’t get anything wrong.

One day she went with her owner to an important hearing dog exam. Rosie was being tested on what to do when she heard different sounds. She felt very nervous, her paws were sweating and she was leaving footprints everywhere she went. Before she could leave, the test started.

At the first sound in the exam Rosie froze. She couldn’t remember what she needed to do; it felt like her brain was empty. She put her tail between her legs and hung her head. She couldn’t bear to move. She felt like she had let everyone down.

When they got home her trainer tried to reassure her, but Rosie was inconsolable. She didn’t think her trainer still believed in her. She went to her bed and stayed there for the rest of the day and the day after that.

A few days later Rosie’s owner was in the garden. The kitchen timer started to buzz but Rosie’s owner didn’t hear it. Rosie sat in her bed feeling miserable listening to the buzzer. When her owner didn’t come she began to worry so she got out of her bed and crept into the kitchen. The buzzer was there but her owner wasn’t. She walked to the window and spotted her outside. Rosie trotted to her and put her paws on her then led her inside. Her owner patted her head. Rosie’s tail was wagging!

Rosie’s owner started to take the buzzers, phones and alarms with them to lots of different places. When the buzzer went off in the park, Rosie had to try hard not to be distracted by the other animals running around. She took a long breath in and a slow breath out. It was hard work, but the more she tried the easier it got. 

When the phone rang on the way to school, Rosie had to try hard not to be distracted by the traffic passing by. She took a long breath in and a slow breath out. It was hard work, but the more she tried the easier it got. 

When the fire alarm sounded in a café, Rosie had to try hard not to be distracted by the other people. She took a long breath in and a slow breath out. It was hard work, but the more she tried the easier it got.

Rosie had been working so hard she barely noticed she knew what to do for each sound!

The day came for Rosie to show what she could do at a demo. The demo was at Crufts the biggest dog show in the world. Rosie was taken back to the hall she had panicked in last time. She felt nervous; she didn’t want to freeze again. She was worried about letting herself down and disappointing her owner. Her paws were sweating and she could feel her breath speeding up. She was panting hard. She closed her eyes and thought about all the practising she had done. She took a long breath in and a slow breath out. It was hard work, but the more she tried the easier it got. 

When the first sound started she relaxed. She knew what she needed to do. She had been practicing and now it was her chance to show what she had learnt! The demo went really well! When it was finished her trainer patted her head. Rosie wagged her tail so fast it felt like it might fall off. 

Rosie had done it! She hadn’t been distracted by the crowds of people or the flashing cameras. She hadn’t been distracted by the voice on the loudspeaker or all the different smells. She had worked hard and persevered. Being nervous before a test didn’t overwhelm her any more. If she remembered to take a long breath in and a slow breath out. She knew that when things were hard they got easier and easier the more she tried.

Story © Catherine Lynch

Illustrations © Sarah Cook