Teaching Children Dog Safety and Dog Bite Prevention (National Dog Bite Prevention Week)

The majority of children who meet Mr. N have no idea whatsoever how to greet dogs properly. They run up to him yelling "puppy" at the top of their lungs or grab at his face or want to pick him up or hug him. All of these can be risky behaviors around dogs, especially strange ones. 

Children are the most common victims of dog bites and more likely to be severely injured. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, every year, more than 800,000 Americans receive medical attention for dog bites. And at least half of them are children. 

Dog safety for children is a big component of the work that Mr. N's therapy dog group does. When we do therapy visits at domestic violence shelters and schools, we also educate children on how to greet dogs properly, dog body language and bite prevention.

Mr. N in his therapy group uniform

We have the kids practice dog greetings on a stuffed animal before approaching the dogs. We teach them to:

• Always ask the owner for permission.
• Approach slowly and from a side angle.
• Don't lean/loom over the dog. The small dogs in Mr. N's therapy group greet the children on ottomans so they are more at a level with the kids.
• Pet gently in the direction of the fur growth.
• Don't pet dogs on the head.
• Do NOT hug the dogs. Hugging is a primate behavior, not a canine one!

Dogs who want attention have soft, relaxed body language and faces and will approach you and solicit petting. Mr. N will shove his head under your hand if he wants to be petted. If they don't, they may show signs like lip licking, turning their head away, yawning, scratching or the more obvious growling and snapping.

We talk about different dogs' tells. Mr. N has a very obvious one. His tail curls up over his back normally but when he's stressed, his tail goes straight down towards the floor (we call it "sad tail").

The dogs also get a designated "safe space" during therapy sessions in which to retreat if they need a breather. Mr. N has a fabric x-pen. We tell the children that when the dogs are in their special place, they need time to themselves and should be left alone.

We emphasize that dogs are not toys. They do not enjoy kisses, dress up, being ridden like a horse, or being picked up precariously. Unlike toys, they have feelings. They don't like when they're teased, yelled at or being bothered when they're eating.

77 percent of dog bites come from the family dog or a friend's dog. Mr. N was the demo dog for a dog safety class where one of the participants was a little boy who had been bitten by a dog at a friend's party. If he knew then what he knows now, he could have avoided that bite. If your children are aware of dog safety, it could save everyone a lot of pain and heartache!

Sources:
https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/preventing-dog-bites-by-learning-to-greet-dogs-properly/
http://eileenanddogs.com/2012/08/29/does-your-dog-really-want-to-be-petted/
http://stopthe77.com/
https://www.avma.org/public/Pages/Dog-Bite-Prevention.aspx

We're participating in a blogger collaboration for National Dog Bite Prevention Week. Check out these other blogs for our week-long series about dog (and cat) bites.
Fidose of Reality (Monday)
Random Felines (Tuesday)
Miss Molly Says (Thursday)
Savannah’s Paw Tracks (Friday)

ACVO National Service Animal Eye Exam

This year Mr. N participated in the ACVO National Service Animal Eye Exam. The event provides a free screening-wellness eye exam to Service Animals including those provide the following services: guide, hearing assistance, drug detection, police/military, search and rescue, therapy, and those assisting people with disabilities other than blindness. Registration begins in April and the examinations take place in May. 

I'd like to thank the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists for hosting the event, VCA Northwest Veterinary Specialists for examining Mr. N and Stokes Pharmacy and the other sponsors. Having good eyesight is essential for his therapy dog responsibilities. 

It was a really quick visit. I filled out a form and presented our paperwork and we were in and out in about ten minutes. The vet came in and waved his hands in front of Mr. N's eyes, then shone a light into them and examined them through a scope. Mr. N's eyes were declared normal.  

Mr. N hates going to the vet but he is very stoic and tolerant of everything they do to him there. He was obviously miffed at me for making him endure said torment. I tried to take this photo of him in front of the building afterwards and he refused to cooperate unlike his normal photo loving self. 

The American Veterinary Dental College offers free oral health exams for service dogs but they're not offering it this year. 

BW Sunday #89 - Tiny Dancer

Photo by Ashley Anderson

Positive Pet Training #9 - Therapy Dog Training

Mr. N doesn't let his size or breed(s) stop him from doing anything. He plays with much bigger dogs, goes hiking, competes in sports and does pretty much anything he sets his mind to. And I've encouraged him to do so most of the time. Jumping off a cliff after a squirrel is not recommended no matter what your size.

The last couple of months, Mr. N has been training to become a therapy dog. When I told my co-workers about his classes, one of them asked about Mr. N's breed and said, "oh aren't those the yappy, snappy ones?"

I told her actually Mr. N is following in the footsteps of the first therapy dog of record who was also a Yorkie. Smoky was also a war dog who served in World War II.

In his training class, Mr. N was the smallest (by far) and oldest and most energetic. The other dogs would start napping or winding down at the end of class and Mr. N showed no signs of being tired (I have no photos because we were too busy working the entire time).

Mr. N will be working with at-risk children at a domestic violence shelter. The therapy program teaches kids positive communication skills by using clicker training and positive reinforcement to work with the dogs. He has orientation this week and we'll have a few supervised sessions before he becomes a bona fide therapy dog.

Since we adopted him, I've been positively training Mr. N and working on his socialization. I've taught him that kids are a source of good things and they will pet him and feed him and praise him. We've also worked extensively on his leash reactivity to the point where he was able to take the training classes with the other dogs and focus instead of barking and lunging the entire class.

I think it will be good for Mr. N to have a "job." Who says little dogs are useless? 

This is the First Monday Positive Pet Training Blog Hop hosted by Cascadian Nomads, Dachshund Nola & Tenacious Little Terrier. 

Next month's blog hop will be on October 6th. The theme will be Positive Training Fun with A Box!