Pippa all ears when it's time for a tale

Georgia Foster, 5, reads to labradoodle Pippa while principal Leslee Allen looks on. Photo / John Stone

A Northland school has a new teacher in the form of a 3-month-old puppy called Pippa who will help students with their reading.

Kaurihohore School principal Leslee Allen said Pippa, a good-natured labradoodle, was bred to be a therapy dog - a reading dog to help children improve their reading skills.

While Pippa is only in the early stages of her training, already she has had students reading to her and confiding in her, Ms Allen said.

"She's really gentle and she's quite laid back," Ms Allen said. "She's really good with our children that are on the autistic spectrum." Autistic children often struggle interacting with their peers but can find interacting with animals therapeutic.

Ms Allen, who is Pippa's owner, said she had not heard of another reading dog in Northland and thought there were only a handful in the country.

Just last week Ms Allen had a student that did not want to tell her why they were upset but willing to tell Pippa.

"It's just been something that I really wanted to do because children often enter school with a lot of emotional stuff," Ms Allen said.

While Pippa was still a typical bubbly puppy, she is also happy sitting with students and having them read to her.

Some students are nervous to read out loud but they will happily read to Pippa, she said.