Students turn to man's best friend to combat exam stress

A university in Cardiff have enlisted the help of a group of four-legged friends to help it's students combat exam stress.

This year, Cardiff Metropolitan University are using dogs to calm students feeling anxious about university work.

Interacting with dogs is thought to ease stress, and the pooches are proving the perfect stress busters.

The idea came from postgraduate student Kelly Todd, who found herself feeling under pressure with university work.

''It was a very stressful year,'' she said.

''Being a mature student and dealing with a bachelor's degree, writing a dissertation, having a teenage son at college and moving house.

We came up with a pilot, Campus Canines, and my lecturer asked me how I'd fancy bringing the dogs in.

There were really big sports students, who were coming over and sitting on the floor being hands-on with the dogs.

They said 'this is really therapeutic,' and I felt the exact same way.''

Lecturer Chantelle Haughton, set up and organised the new scheme with Kelly and has seen the positive impact it's had on staff and students.