Doggone Safe

Five Great Tips for Writing to the Editor About a Dog Bite Story

2012-02-10T15:55:00.000-05:00

By Teresa Lewin

One of the first tips I give dog bite victims is to stay clear of reader’s comments should their story be shared with the media. It can be upsetting as most times the comments stray off topic, blame is cast, and emotions are running high for the victim, owners of the dog and the dog’s fate is before the courts. Sadly no one wins in this type of trauma. The comments can turn into heated debates very quickly.

I don't know what happened to spawn this little article of mine. I don't know what motivated me for the first time to respond to the reader’s comments. It may have been on the heels of a recent visit I made to a family who is overcome with grief and fear after their young son had had a bad experience with dogs that were running at large. They are trying to make new goals in their life, but the look of despair was obvious in their eyes. It could have been the recent conversations I had had with a group of dog bite victims, who were filled with fear, anguish, and sadness, but also the will to overcome, and enjoy dogs again in their lives. It could have been the gentle look my dog cast upon me, whilst he lay his head upon my lap. Somehow I found the courage to write a short letter in response to a horrific attack upon a child that resulted in the child's death. Ah, geez I just had to pick the hardest topic in the world to make sense of and there just isn’t enough hair dye in the world to justify just how stressful that can be. Blinders on, I continue forward despite all the red flags, because I'm a dog bite prevention educator, so I must, Must, MUST send my response to educate (at this point interject a mental photo of a Jack Russell Terrier that spots a ball that it must have despite the fact that it can’t reach it…). That's what I do and that’s the reason I plugged on, writing, in hopes of sharing something that would resonate with all who chose to read the 'reader comments'. Below is a copy of my letter.

Teresa's Letter to the Editor

No matter what the breed of dog you choose to share space with, it’s best if parents do some research and prepare for the life changes, involving babies, children and dogs. Almost all dog bites can be prevented through education. Education is not about blaming any one person or animal, it is all about learning to prevent tragedy from occurring. Fire prevention is an example of what education can do. Almost everyone knows what to do ¡f you should catch on fire: Stop drop and roll. Families should be just as familiar with what to do to prevent dog a bite: Be a Tree. Doggone Safe’s mandate is all about Prevention as its primary objective and we are proud to be the first non-profit in history to have accomplish this through education and victim support.

Having said this, Doggone Safe is hosting a huge challenge this year in May for dog bite prevention week. For the whole month of May, we are going to try to reach as many children as we can, using the Be a Tree teacher kits to educate about dog bite prevention.

This is how we can all do something completely proactive. Did you know that by the time a child reaches the age of 12, more than half have been bitten by a dog? Did you also know that of those children bitten that the dog was known to them? We live in a society where we have chosen to share space with a whole other species, like the dog. It’s best to learn all we can about dog behaviour, how to communicate with them, how to condition them to live in our home with our children and society in general. Dogs are everywhere, even people and families who do not share space with a dog in their home, will meet one in the street, in a friend, family or neighbours home. The more you know about how a dog communicates the safer you will be.

Please all, visit www.doggonesafe.com for more information as to how to be safe around dogs and prevent dog bites. We love dogs, we love children. Let’s all do our part to help prevent terrible events like the one posted here in the news.

Five Tips to Responding to the Editor

Many articles and letters to the editor have been written with sharing success using 5 simple steps which I have listed below. If need be, re-read my letter above and see where these tips have been used.

Do not cast blame-it won’t fix the problem. Not now, not ever. There is no future there…instead write about how to avoid another attack in the future.
Share the burden- The burden of society is also a point worth making such as fundraising to promote dog bite prevention in shelters, schools, community centers, to involve the whole community to address dog bite prevention.
Refer to breed of dog in your response as: “the Dog”-this will help keep the reader on track with the message you are making, as well as, help set you up for success so that your message will remain intact and not be subject to debate, out of context responses, and/or political issues.
Remain neutral and objective by staying on topic- if you discuss one point of view, you will have to discuss all points of view, from the victim, from the owner of dog, from the dog’s (inferred) point of view. It’s best to stick to the educational content and tips to keep everyone safe including the dog!
Finally, send your comment or message to the editor of the paper and not the reader comments! You increase your chances of your comment being shared with a bigger audience.

Advice for Dog Bite Victims

It’s also important to note that dog bite victims need to be validated. Having said that, if you know a dog bite victim that is trying to become a survivor, the best advice you can give them is:

Don’t read the ‘readers comments’ of your story should it make the local press
Seek therapy ASAP
Visit Doggone Safe for more tips for Dog bite victims

If you like the letter above, please feel free to copy the letter (just give me credit for writing it on your behalf) and send it off to your local newspaper. There are many articles we have posted for your use on www.doggonesafe.com to copy and send to your local media.

Why don’t we set a personal challenge and send a letter a week right up and through Dog Bite Prevention Month of May! Send a copy of the letter I wrote above, or use another sample from our web site. Write your own letter to the media! I’m going to do the same.

That's a proactive thing to do.

I’m looking forward to May! Cheers all,

Teresa

Teresa Lewin
Co-founder Doggone Safe Inc.

Please send your questions, comments to: safek9milton@live.ca

New Study: Parents Want Dog Bite Prevention Education for Children

2012-02-09T13:02:00.001-05:00

A new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics concluded that dog bite prevention knowledge is poor in children, that formal dog bite prevention education is warranted and that parents desire such education for their children.

Cinnamon A. Dixon, DO, MPH, E. Melinda Mahabee-Gittens, MD, MS, Kimberly W. Hart, MA,

and Christopher J. Lindsell, PhD. 2012. Dog Bite Prevention: An Assessment of Child Knowledge. J Pediatr, 160:337-341.

Abstract:

Objectives

To determine what children know about preventing dog bites and to identify parental desires for dog bite prevention education.

Study design

This cross-sectional study sampled 5- to 15-year-olds and their parents/guardians presenting to a pediatric emergency department with nonurgent complaints or dog bites. The parent/guardian-child pairs completed surveys and knowledge-based simulated scenario tests developed on the basis of American Academy of Pediatrics and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dog bite prevention recommendations. Regression analyses modeled knowledge test scores and probability of passing; a passing score was $11 of 14 questions.

Results

Of 300 parent/guardian-child pairs, 43% of children failed the knowledge test. Older children had higher odds of passing the knowledge test than younger children, as did children with white parents vs those with nonwhite parents. No associations were found between knowledge scores and other sociodemographic or experiential factors. More than 70% of children had never received dog bite prevention education, although 88% of parents desired it.

Conclusions

Dog bites are preventable injures that disproportionately affect children. Dog bite prevention knowledge in our sample was poor, particularly among younger children and children with nonwhite parents. Formal dog bite prevention education is warranted and welcomed by a majority of parents.

Excerpts:

"Consequences of dog bite injuries can be temporary or lasting and include pain, disfigurement, infection, time lost from school or employment, fear, and anxiety. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons statistical data, there were >30 000 reconstructive procedures performed for dog bite injuries in 2009. Infections due to bacterial pathogens have long been described in dog bite wounds and are estimated to occur in approximately 16% of cases.8 A United Nations Children’s Fund–Alliance for Safe Children study reported animal bites to children as the number 2 cause for seeking medical care or time lost from school and work. Evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder 1 month after injury has been seen in over half of children who have been bitten by a dog.

These injuries place a significant financial strain on the US medical system. The annual cost for dog bites is estimated at $120 million for emergency services alone, of which children and adolescents account for >50% and government sources pay more than a quarter of the sums. Combining direct and indirect medical expenditures, dog bites cost nearly $250 million each year."

"Despite alarming injury statistics, children aged 5-15 in our sample population often lacked the knowledge to minimize the risk of dog bites and few had received formal dog bite prevention education. In this study, younger children and children with nonwhite parents had a greater knowledge deficit than did older children and children with white parents. We conclude that this may place younger children and those with nonwhite parents at greater risk of dog bites. The vast majority of parents in our study recognized the need for dog bite prevention education and indicated health care settings as appropriate venues for providing it. Our findings reinforce that dog bite prevention education should be included in injury prevention discussions with children and parents. Further research on this topic will be helpful in addressing this problem and discovering other strategies and interventions to reduce dog bite injuries and outcomes in children."

Read the complete paper

posted with permission from the publisher

Product Review: Cyber Dog Online Training Course

2012-01-27T19:57:00.000-05:00

Since it is National Train Your Dog Month, what better time to review a new online dog training course designed for pet owners who want to train their dog at home! The course is called Cyber Dog and its unique design lets you choose what you want to work on and in what order. The teaching is done mostly using illustrative video online with access to a real live teacher, informative articles and online classroom as required.

The Cyber Dog course teaches you how to use clicker training, which is an exceptionally powerful and effective way to train. Doggone Safe recommends clicker training because of its effectiveness and ease of use and most importantly because it is a safe way for kids to train.

The first part of the course is called Start Smart and involves fun games to teach you how to have good clicker mechanics and how to deliver treats efficiently. After you have mastered these skills you are ready to start training your dog. You can then move on to any one of the modules:

Within each module there are various skills. Some skills are part of more than one module. There are 10 different skills to teach your dog. Each of these is presented in the course using a set of four videos. Each video teaches a more advanced version of the skill than the one before.

As you progress through the course you video tape your training sessions and send them in for your teacher to assess. You will work with your teacher and others in your group to improve your skills, discuss problems and find solutions together. Virtual classroom sessions are held regularly so that you will get the full attention of a world class clicker trainer.

The course is well-organized, yet provides a high degree of flexibility for the individual student. The instructional videos are excellent and show step by step how to train each skill. The videos are short and show real training with clicker training done right. If things are not going perfectly the trainer changes her strategy to make sure the dog succeeds. The trainers in the videos, who are also the teachers of the course are all outstanding and anyone would be fortunate to be able to work with any of them. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who wants to develop a strong bond of love and respect with their dog, who wants a well-behaved, happy dog and/or who wants to involve their kids in training the dog.

Click here to find out more or register for the course

Here is a video that explains the course:

Home based study is a great way to learn since you can work at your own pace and you can control the distractions that your dog will need to work with. It is also essential for your dog and especially your puppy to get out into the world and meet other people, dogs and animals. Be sure to include social experiences as a key part of your dog training.

How to Love Your Dog - Believe It or Not!

2012-01-27T16:56:00.000-05:00

Think that your dog likes hugs and kisses? Well if he is like most dogs, then he does not enjoy this type of human affection. Children want to show love to dogs by giving hugs and kisses, because this how they show affection to people they love. Hugs are not a natural form of canine interaction to show affection. To show your dog that you love him, learn to give him the things that he really does like and teach your kids to do the same.

Most dog bites are to children, by the family dog or another dog known to the child. Hugs and kisses are a major cause of facial bites to children. Doggone Safe offers suggestions for safe ways to love your dog that the dog will appreciate.

Children (and adults too) often want to show love to dogs the way we show love to each other, through hugs and kisses. Dogs do not naturally understand this, or even enjoy it. Hugs and face-to-face contact can be very threatening to dogs. The dog may tolerate this for a while, but at some point may bite or snap to protect himself once he has exhausted all his means of more subtle warning. Some dogs do enjoy a hug from a special person, if it is on their terms and done with some extra scratching on the chest. Few, if any dogs enjoy hugs the way young children do this, which is to clasp around the neck and hang on. Parents, teach your children to avoid face-to-face contact with any dog (even their own dog) and to show love to the dog in ways other than hugging and kissing.

Doggone Safe offers the following suggestions for Valentine’s Day about how to love your dog in a way that the dog will appreciate.

Touch Your Dog

Invite your dog to come to you for attention. If your dog turns away or moves away, respect his wishes and leave him alone. Many dogs like to be near you, but not necessarily to be touched.
Scratch your dog on the side of the neck or on his chest.
Avoid hugs and kisses. People enjoy this, but most dogs don’t like hugs and kisses. They might tolerate it, but few actually enjoy it.
Invite your dog to sit with you while your read or watch TV. Let him lean on you or put his head on your lap on his terms.
Some dogs enjoy a scratch behind the ears. Most dogs don’t enjoy hands coming down on the top of their heads.
Pet your dog and then stop. If he tries to get you continue then you will know he likes it.

Play With Your Dog

Play games like fetch and hide and seek that do not involve chasing or rough play.
Take your dog for lots of walks.

Understand Your Dog

Learn to read dog body language so that you can understand what your dog is trying to tell you.
A happy dog pants and wags his tail loosely. He may wag all over.
An anxious dog might show a half moon of white in his eye or he may lick his lips or yawn. He may turn his head away or walk away. He wants to be left alone.
A dog that suddenly goes stiff and still is very dangerous and might be ready to bite.
A dog with his mouth closed and ears forward and/or with his tail held high is busy thinking about something and does not want to be bothered.

Reward Your Dog

Look for things your dog does right and give him a treat or praise, petting or play. Never hit or yell at your dog.
Give your dog a stuffed Kong or Chewber or other long lasting chew treat to enjoy while he lies on a mat or in a crate.

Visit our site to download this information as a handout

Read a previous blog post for more about why dogs don't like hugs and kisses

January is Train Your Dog Month - Free Webinars and Chats

2012-01-12T17:58:00.000-05:00

National Train Your Dog Month is an Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) annual campaign, and 2012’s event will be better than ever! Join us for FREE educational webinars and live chats with professionals!

Each year, hundreds of thousands of pets are turned into animal shelters because their owners couldn’t find a reliable resource to help them with their pets’ behavior problems. Sadly, the end result is often euthanasia at the shelter rather than rehoming the pet. In response, the APDT has designated the month of January as National Train Your Dog Month to bring awareness to the importance of socialization and training for all pets! January was selected as the perfect month because so many animals are adopted and brought home during the winter holidays. We hope to help families and their pets start the New Year off on the right paw with information on the behavior needs and training of their pets.

To help the pet-loving public, as well as professionals in the animal shelter and others in the pet care industry, the APDT has recorded free educational webinars featuring many well-known pet training and behavior professionals and experts. These webinars will be available starting in January through the Train Your Dog Month event website and are completely free. APDT has also filled the month of January with a variety of “live” Facebook “chats” where anyone can “talk” in real time with professional training and behavior consultants, on a variety of topics pertaining to the training and care of dogs, cats and even rabbits! Anyone with any behavior and training questions can join the chats to learn more about their chosen pet. Visit the event website, www.trainyourdogmonth.com, for full schedule information, professional bios, as well as fun downloadable resources on training and behavior.

Free Webinar: Dog Safety - What to Teach Your Kids with Joan Orr

Free Webinar: Setting Dog and Baby Up for Success with Jennifer Shryock

Doggone Safe and the APDT believes that a better understanding of our pets’ behavior can lead to happier, healthier and harmonious households for humans and companion animals. Top trainer Ken Ramirez says:

‎"Training is not a luxury, but a key component to good animal care. Everyone who has a pet should understand that basic fact. Training is a way to enhance the quality of life for our pets. It is far more than just teaching a dog to do a cute trick. Training is about teaching a dog (or any animal) how to live in our world safely."

Read a fascinating interview with Ken about advanced training concepts.

Have Fun! Train your dog!

My Dog Growled at My Child - Now What?

2012-01-11T20:20:00.000-05:00

We have given advice in previous articles that parents should not punish the dog for growling at a child. Please see these previous articles for additional information and tips:

http://doggonesafe.blogspot.com/search/label/growling

This advice is consistent among dog behavior experts and the reasons are as follows:

The dog may associate the presence of the child with punishment and may become fearful of the child and thus more likely to act aggressively in the future.
The punishment may suppress the growl, but will not improve the way the dog feels about the child or the actions of the child which precipitated the growling. The dog may go straight to a bite in a future episode since the inclination to growl has been suppressed through fear of punishment.

It just does not make sense to take away the dog’s warning mechanism. Be grateful that you have a dog that warns and does not go straight to a bite if he is upset or frightened. Your dog is not bad or mean, he is extremely upset or agitated and is letting you know in the only way he can. Because growling represents a serious problem that requires careful handling, we recommend that you hire a professional dog behavior consultant to help you solve the problem. This must be done using positive reinforcement-based training and not with aversive methods (shouting, making aggressive sounds or movements at the dog, physical threats, tossing items at or toward the dog, yanking on the leash etc). The goal of this training is to teach the dog to enjoy the presence and the actions of children so that he does not feel the need to growl at them. We cannot give step by step instructions for this since all dogs are different as are all children and all family dynamics different. It may cost you a few hundred dollars to consult a professional to solve this problem, but it will be money well-spent and will be insignificant compared to the overall cost of dog ownership. The safety of your children and the dog are worth much more than the cost of a professional consultation. Perhaps the only trainers in your area would use punishment-based methods? More and more behavior consultants are using video conferencing to help clients remotely, so this is a potential option if you can't find someone suitable in your area.

Parents have asked us what they should at the time if a growling incident occurs. The purpose of this article is to answer that question.

Before we get into that, be aware that the growling dog may go on to bite before you have a chance to take any action or in spite of any action you may take. There are no guarantees that any of our suggestions below will prevent a bite. The best ways to prevent a bite are to learn and recognize the subtle signs that dogs send long before they get to the point of biting or growling and intervene proactively, supervise all interactions between kids and dogs, teach kids to be respectful of the dog and condition the dog to enjoy the presence and actions of kids.

If you are very close when the dog growls do the following:

Step in between the dog and child and pick up the child if he is small, or instruct him to move away if he is too big to pick up.
Do not grab the dog by the collar. This may cause him to lunge and bite the child or turn and bite you.
Put the child in another room or at a safe distance from the dog. so that the child may engage in a new game.
Call the dog to you, praise and give him a treat for coming and then put him in his crate with a long lasting chew toy or in some other location away from the child or the site of the incident.
Invite the child back to talk about what happened. Try to determine what precipitated the growl. For example, Is there a dog toy or food in the area? Is the dog guarding an area (his mat or the couch possibly)? Did the child threaten or injure the dog somehow?
Write down the who, what, when, why and how while the incident still fresh in your mind.

This is not an interrogation or a punishment for the child. Be sure that the child understands that he is being a doggy detective and helping you to figure out why the dog was upset enough to growl. Be matter of fact and not judgmental. The goal here is not to lay blame, but to find out the facts so that you can work with a behavior consultant to prevent this from happening again. If the child is too young to talk, then know that the dog and child cannot be in the same space within contact range even with your direct supervision until this problem is resolved.

If you are at a distance when the dog growls do the following:

Call him to you in a happy voice. Use words like “want a cookie” or “go for a walk” or "who's a puppy wuppy" or whatever sure-fire words will get the dog to change his attitude and come to you. Even if you are feeling angry with the child or the dog, use happy talk. The goal is to make the dog wag his tail and thus be in a happy mood as quickly as possible. A happy dog is unlikely to bite your child.
Be sure to reward him for coming and fulfill whatever promise you made.
If he is too engrossed to come to attend to your words, try dropping a book, or anything that is close enough to grab and drop or toss a toy or dog treats or other food on the floor to divert his attention. This is an emergency situation and you need to get the dog’s attention before the situation escalates. Any yelling or perceived threats from you (such as rushing over) could result in a bite to the child.
Once the dog has taken his attention off the child and has moved toward you, remove him from the area.
Have a fact-finding adventure with the child as discussed above (who, what, when, where and why).

Behavior consultant Jennifer Shryock has this advice for her clients: "It's only natural to react if you see your child in danger, so forgive yourself if your automatic first reaction is to admonish the dog. Remember that what you do next is very important. You need to get the dog's tail wagging as soon as possible to defuse the bite risk. The best way to do that is with happy talk that you know he will respond well to".

Of course we are not suggesting that you reward your dog for growling at your child. Once the dog has diverted his attention from the child, the growling is over and the dog is thinking about what is going on right now and not what happened a few seconds before. The growling scenario with subsequent reward for the dog will only happen once, because from now on you are going to make sure that the circumstances cannot exist for it to happen again.

Once you have as much information as you are going to get about what happened, write it all down so that you can share it with the behavior consultant. Use this information to come up with a plan to prevent further incidents while the dog is being retrained. If you have a baby or toddler, this will mean coming up with a way to keep them separate so that the child has no opportunity to antagonize the dog. With older children you may be able to agree on changes to their behavior and also the use of crates and/or gates to help prevent a further incident. These temporary measures will be changed as time goes on and the dog and children learn how to interact safely under the guidance of the behavior consultant. In the meantime it is your job to ensure that the scenario that resulted in growling cannot be repeated. The ultimate goal is to change the dog's feelings about the child so that he can be a full member of the family and not isolated because he poses a threat.

Resources for Parents and Kids

Family Paws Parent Education
Doggone Safe online body language course
Doggone Safe wesbite pages on body language
Dog Detective ebook
Body Language Flashcards and ebook
Find a Behavior Consultant

Doggone Safe Member with Training Success Story on TV

2012-01-09T14:42:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Be a Tree Presenter and dog behavior consultant, Melissa Millett for her role as host and trainer on the cable TV show "Doggy House Calls". Melissa visits the homes of families to help improve the behaviour of wayward pooches. Melissa teaches the owners how to use positive reinforcement-based clicker training to teach the dog the desired behaviours. Here is a link to a show segment in which a frightened and aggressive dog learns to be less fearful and hence non-aggressive towards other dogs.

Doggy House Calls Episode

The owner explains that it required a consistent effort and that the training and vigilance are ongoing, but the results are well-worth it to have a happy and safe dog. The owner noted that the dog is calmer and safer around kids now as well. This is a terrific side effect of the training and provides a demonstration of the fact that training leads to a safer more well-adjusted dog. We can see from this example that the dog is a much happier and calmer now that she is not frightened by other dogs.

Dogs and Babies Blog Has Moved

2012-01-04T15:27:00.000-05:00

This is just a quick note to let everyone know that the Dogs and Babies blog has moved. The blog contains excellent articles by dog behavior consultant and dog/child relationship expert Madeline Gabriel. If you have children and dogs or are expecting a new baby with a dog in the home, we recommend that you check out the information in this blog.Here is the link to the new location: http://www.dogsandbabieslearning.com/blog/

Here are some recent posts:

should dogs lick babies

life with baby just another day at the office

your dog is not your baby ... and that's ok

A Healthy Pet is a Safer Pet

2011-12-01T11:38:00.001-05:00

Healthy and happy pets are less likely to bite, than pets who are ill or in pain. Keeping pets fit has many health benefits and can also keep your kids safer. Be sure to give healthy treats for training and cut down on food at meals to balance out the calories from treats.

Check out this fun infographic from Pet365 to help you understand pet obesity:

Pet obesity graphic produced by Matt Beswick for Pet365 Click here to view the full post.

Fun With Be a Tree

2011-12-01T11:27:00.001-05:00

By Judi Dowson

Last Friday I did three pre-school classes. I like those little ones!!! As a result, I have a booking for three more in the New Year!

One little girl jumped up every time I held up a poster. She wanted to be the one to put it someplace for me! I even got one very shy little boy to be my "happy dog". Then he wouldn't leave me alone! LOL

I've put some feelers out for sponsoring the coloring books, as I am sure these little ones would get a huge kick out of them.

Along that line - I have a four year old in my obedience class (with Mum of course). This little one sits on the chair sideways, backwards, upside down totally oblivious to what I am telling or demonstrating. Yet, she's the first one in the middle of floor "working" her dog (a little poodle X) doing exactly what I was talking about. All along, I didn't think she was paying attention.

I should write a book!! LOL

Judi

Radio Public Service Announcements for Holiday Child Safety Around Dogs

2011-11-29T15:33:00.001-05:00

Doggone Safe offers some radio PSAs to help keep kids safe around dogs over the holidays. Radio stations in North America must devote some air time to PSAs. Contact your local radio station to see if they are interested in playing any of these.

Link to this information on our main website.

These dog bite prevention Public Service Announcements can be read live and some can be downloaded as recorded WAV or WMA files. Some of these are specific for the holidays and some are general for use any time. The WAV files have been professionally recorded, ready for radio play.

Download a zip file containing the PSA scripts and just the holiday PSA recordings in high quality WAV format, suitable for radio play.

Download a printable version of all scripts (holiday scripts are marked as such)

Download a zip file contained printable version of scripts and all recorded PSAs in WMA format. These are suitable for listening to with a computer or posting to a web site.

Download a zip file containing scripts and high quality WAV files for all PSAs (holiday and anytime)

Download or listen to individual PSAs produced by Doggone Safe and view each script

Thanks to Theresa McKeon and Brian McKeon for donating their time to creating the recorded PSAs

Listen to PSAs produced by Big Dog 92.7 in Regina, Saskatchewan

Thanks to Tracy Block of Big Dog 97.2 and Sally Cleland for their time in creating these. If other radio stations would like to air any of these, please contact Tracy Block for broadcast quality versions.

PSAs Produced by Big Dog 92.7

26 Stitches

Adopt a Classroom

Learn to Be a Tree

Relearn ABCs

Straight Facts

Strange Dogs

SVMA 100th Anniversary

PSAs and Scripts Produced by Doggone Safe

To download individual files right click and choose "save target as" to download. indicates holiday PSA

PSA1 Listen	Celebrations at Grandma’s house over the holidays are the stuff of fond memories. Noisy gatherings can make Grandma’s dog very anxious. Even the most docile pet may bite if provoked. Supervise!	Download high quality(WAV)
PSA2 Listen	Ho! Ho! Ho! A man in a red suit coming down the chimney may be very scary for the family dog. More dog bites occur during holiday times than any other time of the year. Supervise!	Download high quality(WAV)
PSA3 Listen	Did you know that dogs talk to us all the time? A happy dog pants and wags his tail. A bossy dog has his ears forward, his mouth closed and his tail held high. This dog does not want to meet you.	Download high quality(WAV)
PSA4	Did you know that dogs talk to us all the time? A happy dog pants and wags his tail. A scared dog has his mouth closed and holds his tail between his legs, he may even be wagging it or backing away. Give a scared dog his space, he might be scared enough to bite or growl to get you to go away.	no recording
PSA5	Did you know that dogs talk to us all the time? A happy dog pants and wags his tail. A bossy dog stands tall, leaning forward with his ears forward, his mouth closed and his tail held as high as he can get it. This dog does not want to meet you, he wants you to leave his place and his stuff alone.	no recording
PSA6 Listen	If you are visiting a friend with a puppy and the puppy is too frisky and jumping , you should… A. push the puppy away B. pick the puppy up by the scruff of the neck C. Be a Tree and stand still The answer is C. Be a Tree. Trees are boring and the puppy will soon lose interest.	Download high quality(WAV)
PSA7 Listen	If a strange dog comes over to you, you should… A. yell at the dog to go away B. Be a Tree and stand still C. try to make friends with the dog The answer is B. Be a Tree. The dog will most likely sniff around you and move on. Never touch a strange dog.	Download high quality(WAV)
PSA8 Listen	If a dog is loose and barking at you, you should… A. Be a Tree and stand still until he gets bored and goes away B. run away screaming C. try to pet him to calm him down The answer is A. Be a Tree. Stand still and look at your feet.	Download high quality(WAV)
PSA9 Listen	Did you know that dogs don’t like hugs and kisses, especially from kids or strangers?. Your dog may tolerate many hugs before finally snapping.	Download high quality(WAV)
PSA10	Did you know that most dog bites to children are by a family pet in someone’s home and that hugging the dog is a common cause if these bites? Dogs warn before they bite and you can learn to speak dog and recognize the signs of a dog that is tolerating, but not enjoying attention from a child. Keep kids and dogs safe this holiday season, watch for signs of anxiety in the dog and intervene if you see them.	no recording
PSA11 Listen	Did you know that most dog bites to children are by a family pet in someone’s home? Dogs warn before they bite often by yawning or licking their chops.	Download high quality(WAV)
PSA12 Listen	Dogs don’t like hugs and kisses. Surprised?	Download high quality(WAV)
PSA13 Listen	Did you know that more dog bites happen over the holidays than any other time of the year? Supervise and give the dog a private space with bone to chew when kids visit.	Download high quality(WAV)
PSA14	Do you know how to speak dog? A dog that yawns or licks his chops want to be left alone.	no recording
PSA15	Noisy gatherings, changes in routines and excited children may stress and overwhelm even the most docile dog. Keep holiday celebrations in homes with dogs safe by thinking ahead.	no recording
PSA16	Dog bites occur during holiday times more then any other time of the year!	no recording
PSA17 Listen	Did you know that dogs talk to us all time? Parents, if you see the half moon of white in your dog’s eye when kids are around, intervene before an accident happens.	Download high quality(WAV)

Parents: Learn About Dog Body Language Before the Holidays

2011-11-03T19:57:00.002-04:00

Many dog bites happen over the holidays, partly because dogs are stressed and overwhelmed by changes in routine and increased activity levels in the house. Parents are also stressed and frequently overwhelmed as well. The combination can lead to a set of circumstances that conducive to unfortunate accidents in which a child is bitten. These bites DO NOT HAPPEN OUT OF THE BLUE. Sorry for yelling, but we have just heard so many parents and dog owners tell us that the dog bit without warning, that he has never bitten before, that he loves kids. The latter two statements are true in most cases, the former is not. The fact is, that the dog did warn in some way, it was just that no-one noticed. By the time the dog gets to the point of growling or snapping, he is stressed to the point where he is likely to bite. For many people these overt warnings, or even the bite itself are the only things blatant enough to be noticeable. Before a dog brings out the big guns of overt aggression he will signal his distress and anxiety with more subtle signs. Most commonly these include licking his chops or flicking his tongue out, yawning, scratching himself or showing a half moon of white in his eye when a child approaches or tries to interact with him. He may give a whole body shake after an interaction with a child. Slightly more obvious, but often ignored are signs of avoidance, such as turning his head away, shifting his body away or getting up and leaving. Effusive licking of a child's face is another way that a dog might try to increase distance. This type of licking should not be confused with affection. Read more about this.

We want parents to learn all about dog body language so that they know what to look for and how to tell if their dog is happy or stressed around their child and how to tell when intervention is required. We want all parents to know the warning signs so that no family's holidays are ruined by a dog bite incident. There is lots of information at our website, but the best source of information for parents is our online course: Basic Dog Body Language. To celebrate the coming holidays and hopefully prevent some nice family dogs from biting "out of the blue" we have put this course on sale for $20 until Nov 15.

Click here for more information

Click here to register

Have a safe and happy holiday season!

Holiday Dog Bite Prevention Tips

2011-11-01T17:30:00.000-04:00

Holidays Are Stressful for Dogs

The holidays are especially stressful for dogs due to changes in routine and the comings and going of visitors. Many dog bites happen at this time of year.

When visiting a house with a dog, children should be taught not to approach the dog (even if the dog has been friendly on other occasions). If the dog comes to them they should stand still like a tree and let the dog sniff. Only if the the dog is wagging and panting and coming to them for attention, and parent and dog owners are supervising and have given permission, should a child touch the dog. Dog owners should gauge their dog’s reaction to visitors. If the dog is overly excited, barking or growling, cowering away, trying to hide or otherwise showing signs of anxiety or aggression, the dog should be kept separate from visiting children for the ENTIRE DURATION of the child’s visit. The dog should have its own place in a crate or another room with toys, a bone to chew on and its special bed or blanket so that it can be happy and comfortable and away from guests. Even dogs who seem happy with visitors should never be alone in the room with visiting children. No preschooler, toddler or baby should be allowed to be near your dog unless you personally also have your hands on the dog and can prevent face to face contact between child and dog and can prevent the child from hugging or otherwise bothering the dog.

Greeting People at the Door

Dogs should not be allowed to greet visitors at the door. This is for the safety of the dog and the visitors. Keep the dogs in separate room or crate until the visitors are settled and then allow the dog to say hello if appropriate. If you are not sure about your dog, then leave him confined or keep him on a leash. Make sure that the dog associates visitors with something good for the dog, such as special treats or a stuffed bone.

Not the Time to Train the Dog

If you do perceive a problem between your dog and visiting children - THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO WORK ON IT. It is not reasonable to use visiting children to help train your dog. Take preventative measures to ensure that your dog does not have the opportunity to bite and once the holiday season is over seek the help of a dog behavior specialist who uses positive reinforcement methods to solve the dog's problem.

Family Gatherings

Family gatherings at a relative’s house are the source of fond memories for many. The relative’s dog may not enjoy these events as much as the rest of the family. Noise, confusion and changes in routine are stressful for dogs. Even a normally calm and docile pet may become agitated enough to bite under the extreme circumstances of a boisterous family celebration. Supervision may be lax if each adult thinks that another is watching the children. Children are the most likely victims of dog bites in this situation. Doggone Safe offers the following tips:

Put the dog in his crate with a bone or favorite chew toy, at least during the most hectic times – guests arriving and leaving as well as dinner preparation and serving.
Assign one adult to be in charge of the dog, to watch for signs of stress and protect from unwanted attention from children.
Signs of stress include: The dog yawns or licks his chops.The dog shows the white part of his eye in a half moon shape.
If the dog shows any of these signs, then he is worried and wants to be left alone. Put the dog in his crate or in a room away from the guests with a favorite chew toy or bone.
If the dog licks his chops, yawns or shows the half moon eye when a child approaches or is petting him, intervene immediately and ensure that the child cannot access the dog.
Do not allow visiting children to hug the dog. Dogs don’t like hugs and kisses. Even if the dog tolerates this under normal circumstances he may not tolerate this from strangers or in a high stress situation with lots of noise and people.
Other signs that the dog does not welcome attention from children (or adult) guests include the following:

The dog turns his head away, walks away or tries to hide under furniture.
The dog freezes and becomes very still, with his mouth closed. He may be staring intensely at the person who is bothering him and may growl. This dog is a few seconds away from a bite.
The dog growls or raises the fur along his back.

Assign one adult to supervise each baby or toddler with no other tasks expected.
If you have multiple dogs, consider kenneling them, crating them or keeping them in another room during large gatherings.
Supervise at all times.

Download our handout with a summary of tips for parents and dog owners

Articles:

Visit our article library for some articles about keeping kids and dogs safe during the holidays. Scroll through the list looking for those articles marked with a candy cane. Download the Doggone Safe Holiday Press Release with more tips

Members:

Doggone Safe Members: Download the Doggone Safe Holiday Press Release that you can edit to send to local newspaper, radio and TV media to promote your business and disseminate our safety messages. Join Doggone Safe.

The Great Doggone Crazy! Give Away

2011-10-25T18:35:00.003-04:00

To celebrate our announcement of the International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge for 2012, Doggone Safe will donate 2 cases of 6 Doggone Crazy! board games to the first 10 animal shelters, rescues, humane societies or other non-profit organizations dedicated to animal or child welfare who write on our Facebook wall making this request. Just write that you want Doggone Crazy! games and include a link to your site so that we can see that you are a charity or registered non-profit organization in Canada or the US.

You can sell these to raise funds, donate them to local schools or use them in your own programs.

Click here to visit our Facebook Wall

Click here to purchase the game from the Doggone Safe store if you do not qualify for the give-away. Makes a great Christmas gift!

If you haven't heard of the The Doggone Crazy! board game, here is a video to show how it works:

Here are some testimonials about the game:

Doggone Crazy! is the first board game in a long time to keep my kids attention...they played the game so much that I wasn't allowed to touch the game for review until the week-end was over." -Alyice Edrich - Editor-in-Chief - The Dabbling Mum - National Parenting Magazine

Doggone Crazy is a fun game that teaches children how to interpret the body language and expressions of dogs. I gave the game to my grandchildren and they enjoyed it immensely. The oldest taught the dog signals and appropriate responses to her younger brothers and then proceeded to 'instruct' her parents as well. I think that this is a wonderful contribution toward understanding dogs better and keeping kids safer.- Stanley Coren, Author of "The Intelligence of Dogs", "How to Speak Dog" and "How Dogs Think."

Doggone Crazy! is a great game and an important tool for dog bite prevention education. I will support it any way I can Dr. Clayton MacKay - Veterinarian - Former president of the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association; Former president of the College of Veterinarians of Ontario; Former president of the American Animal Hospital Association

A must-have gift...- Melanie Deveaux - Host of Windsor Now CKLW AM 800

Everyone should go out now and buy Doggone Crazy! for their kids - Keiley Abbat - Host of Canine Companions - CHML AM 900 Radio - Hamilton ON

It's a great game! - Jack Dyson - Retired Vice President - Irwin Toys

The described and/or pictured dog postures, movement patterns and specific situations do an excellent job of teaching the child what to look for, what to avoid, and most importantly how to defuse a possibly dangerous situation. I recommend it highly without reservation. Dr. Ed Bailey, B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Animal Behavior University of Guelph

My grade 3 class experienced the Doggone Crazy! game first hand. They were absolutely enthused about it. The game taught them responsible behaviour to not only reduce the chances of their being bitten, but also, it showed them how to enhance the relationship they have with their dog. I hope other children will get the chance to learn about canine safety in an interactive way by playing Doggone Crazy! Kristina Brcic - Milton ON - Grade 3 teacher

This game should be in every school. Retired Superindendent of Curriculum - Halton Catholic School Board

The kids are having a lot of fun with it. Debbie Boycott - Brookville ON - Grade 2 teacher

The game is very educational and my family enjoyed playing it. Dr. Ross Dawson -Milton ON - Veterinarian

[I] really enjoyed it (so did my niece - who played it a lot!) Dr. Sue Kilborn - Veterinarian - Ottawa ON

It was lots of fun. Christine - Age 9

My grandchildren love this game. They play it all the time. Jackie Rosart - Grandmother - Burlington ON

I think this is a great site and a great game and it is amazing that you made this game. Leanna - Age 12

I played your game and it is so cool. I think that all kids should play it to learn about what their dog is thinking. Ashley and Nicky - age 9 and 11

Since writing this book, I have been referred to many Dog Bite Prevention programs and I must say with all honesty that I think your site and the idea of a board game to teach kids the importance of dog safety could be one of the most effective programs I've seen. Karen Delise - Author of Fatal Dog Attacks (www.fataldogattacks.com)

I want it for Christmas. Cam - Age 8

Doggone Crazy! is an excellent game and a significant contribution to the future welfare of the dog industry . Dr. Don McKeown - Cofounder - Professional Animal Behaviour Associates - London ON

I have to tell you that your Doggone Crazy game was one of the highlights of our holidays. The girls opened a couple of things on Christmas Eve and one of them was a joint gift of Dog Gone Crazy. We played that night with their grandmother, which was a perfect inclusive and involving game to play, during that anxious evening before the big day. Since being back in Toronto, the kids have played many times and we have played as a family. We are a family who loves to play games. So, we may not have been a big part of your holidays, but you have been a big part of ours! Susan Bishop - mother - Toronto ON

The kids were thrilled to come and tell me that they did a tree on the beach and made a strange dog go away. Cathy Vanderheyden - mother - Atlanta GA

My grandchildren have insisted on playing Doggone Crazy! every day since I gave it to them as a birthday present. Barb Cooper - grandmother - Campbellville ON

The kids opened the package when they came home from summer camp yesterday. It was in perfect condition. They loved it! They immediately played a game before they would even considerstarting to unpack their suitcases. Then they spent most of the evening telling me all about what to do when an aggressive dog approaches (something about a tree) and about what Fiji is thinking at that moment based on her expressions. Good stuff. Henry Raud - father - Pickering ON

We finally had a calm evening together last night where we were able to play it and we had a blast.Beth Wheeler - mother - Marblehead MA

Doggone Crazy! is an excellent game and a significant contribution to the future welfare of the dog industry. Dr. Don McKeown - Cofounder - Professional Animal Behaviour Associates

My grandchildren love this game. They play it all the time. - Jackie Rosart -

Grandmother

I love your game! It's the best...my dad, my mom, my sister and I played. We all loved playing your game. It taught me a lot about dogs and how to act around them. Rachel - Age 10

This game makes it fun for children to learn how to behave toward dogs, and how to understand what dog expressions and actions mean. It's a positive and reinforcing tool for enhancing child safety, reducing bite risk, and improving the human-animal bond. - Karen Pryor, author of Don't Shoot the Dog and CEO of Karen Pryor Clickertraining

Announcing the International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge 2012

2011-10-25T18:15:00.000-04:00

After the terrific response to the first International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge, we have decided to do it again for 2012 and hopefully every year thereafter. If you haven't heard about this, it is a challenge from Doggone Safe to its members and presenters, to educate as many children as possible in celebration of Dog Bite Prevention Week (May20-26, 2012). We are making a two changes for 2012 based on feedback from teachers and presenters. These are as follows:

Announce it earlier so that teachers and presenters have lots of time to schedule presentations. We are doing that right now!
Extend the Challenge period so that presentations done outside the actual Dog Bite Prevention week can still count in the total. We are going to hold the Challenge for the entire month of May for 2012.

The goal is to educate 50,000 children using the Be a Tree program during the month of May.

Click here for more information about the Challenge.

Click here to volunteer to help with organizing the Challenge.

Click here to register as a presenter.

Click here to register as a school who wants a presentation.

Click here if you would like information about becoming a sponsor.

Sad that Kids Can't Hug Their Dog

2011-10-14T15:33:00.000-04:00

Who is enjoying this hug?

One of our most important messages at Doggone Safe is that dogs don't like hugs and kisses. This is very controversial among dog owners and has caused many challenges for our Be a Tree presenters. Many people simply do not believe this and are sure that their dog loves to be hugged.

We got a comment on one of our previous posts from a reader who said that it is sad that kids can't hug their dogs and that her own dogs do like hugs and actually solicit this type of attention. This is a very good comment and many people have said this same thing to us over the years. We agree that there are dogs who do enjoy certain types of attention and will solicit this at times. The main thing to note in these cases is that the dog is asking for this on its own terms. Even these types of dogs will not enjoy a hug if they are busy watching a squirrel or chewing on a favorite toy. They are also unlikely to enjoy hugs the way kids do it (that is wrap their arms around the dog's neck and hang on). Adults tend to scratch the dog on the chest or engage in other petting the dog enjoys, while they are hugging. Thus the dog becomes conditioned to enjoy certain specific types of hugging from specific people.

You can tell if you dog likes hugs by watching for body language signs. Does he yawn, lick his lips or show a half moon of white in his eye while you are hugging or when you approach to hug? Does he start trying to lick your face while you are hugging him? Does he shake the hug off (wet dog shake) when you release him? All of these are signs that the dog does not enjoy the hug.

It is confusing for children to learn that they can hug this dog but not that one, can hug this way, but not that way, can hug in this situation but not that one. It is simpler to teach them to avoid hugging any dog. It may seem sad to tell a child that they should not hug a dog to show how much they love him. It is much sadder when a beloved dog bites a child in the face leaving lasting emotional and physical scars and costing the dog his family or even his life. There are many, many parents in our dog bite victim support group who have said "I wish I had known that dogs don't like hugs", after their child hugged or kissed a nice family dog. The most common scenario is a child at a family function who hugs the grandparent's, relative's or neighbor's dog. The dog is stressed because of all the commotion and people and noise and is less tolerant than usual. In most cases the dog has never bitten before.

It is also sad to think that a child is trying to show love, while the recipient of the "love" is just hoping it will stop. Luckily most dogs are tolerant and do not bite, but why should they have to tolerate something they don't enjoy? Please read about the Curse of the Good Dog for more about this. The vast majority of dog owners believe that their dogs like hugs, while the vast majority of dogs do not like hugs. There is a disconnect here that leads to many dogs being unhappy and to many facial bites to children.

Here is a video that shows a lovely, tolerant dog who is not enjoying the hug from a child. This is a great example of a nice dog who is tolerating something he doesn't like. If you search on YouTube for videos of kids or babies hugging dogs you will see numerous examples of dogs yawning, licking their chops, licking the children, showing a half moon of white in their eyes, turning their heads away or getting up and leaving. You will rarely if ever find one of a dog that is enjoying the hug.

Dog behavior experts agree that it is best to teach children other ways to show love to dogs. Well known behavior expert Dr Patricia McConnell in her wonderful book For the Love of a Dog says that she has at least 50 photos of kids hugging dogs and in not one of them is the dog happy about it. There are lots of safe ways for kids to show love to a dog. Read about these in our article: How to Love Your Dog.

World Rabies Day Celebration in Liberia Reaches 1200 Kids

2011-10-14T14:07:00.000-04:00

By Morris Darbo

The Liberia Animal Welfare Society is a local community based animal welfare organization registered with the government of Liberia in 2004 with the aim of promoting a peaceful society where both animals and humans can live in as companions.

In partnership with a non-profit organization- Doggone Safe, LAWS was able to celebration this year World Rabies Day. This year World Rabies Day celebration focused on dog bite prevention among children. Little is known about this deadly and neglected disease in Liberia. Educating school children about this disease and how to prevent it, helps to spread the information in various communities in Liberia.

Dogs are the main carriers of rabies in Liberia. Children are the main victim of dog bite.

The Liberia Animal Welfare Society carried out dog bite prevention in ten (10) schools and four (4) communities. 1,200 school children and community children were trained in dog bite prevention. The celebration was very successful. The children fully participated in the sessions. Teachers in those schools were also part of the training. During the training, we encouraged the children to report all dog bite cases to the nearer clinics or hospitals. They were also taught on first aid treatment before getting to the clinics or hospitals by thoroughly washing the wound with soap and lot of water.

LAWS would not have done this without the assistance from Doggone Safe through it President Joan Orr; therefore, we want to extend our thanks and appreciation to Doggone Safe.

We are hoping to receive assistance from other groups to help continue this program. Please visit our site

to see our activities and make a donation.

Thanks,

Morris Darbo

Coordinator

Liberia Animal Welfare Society

+3216844236

Tips to Keep Kids and Dogs Safe on Halloween

2011-10-01T16:03:00.000-04:00

Halloween is lots of fun for kids, but many dogs will be confused or upset by kids in strange costumes and by lots of people coming to the door, but never being invited in. Doggone Safe offers the following tips for dog owners, kids and parents:

Dog owners:

Secure your dog behind a closed door or in a crate in a room away from the front door or the party if children are meeting at your house.
Give him a juicy bone from the butcher, a sterilized bone or Kong stuffed with hotdog, Rollover or other soft dog treats or a pre-stuffed bone from the pet store.
Play music or leave a TV or radio playing in the dog’s room to help mask the sounds of the activity at the front door.
Close drapes so that the dog does not see people coming and going through the window.
If you have a dog that barks at the sound of the doorbell, disconnect it or watch for trick-or-treaters so that they do not have to ring or knock.
Puppies and dogs that like to chase can get overly excited by costumes with dangly bits or streaming material. Supervise very carefully if you have a dog that may try to play with your children’s costumes while they are wearing them. Teach kids to Be a Tree and stand still if the dog does start nipping at their costume since the more they move, the more exited the dog will get.
Keep your dogs (and cats) indoors around Halloween time. Pets have been stolen, injured or poisoned as part of Halloween pranks or other rituals.

Kids and Parents:

Avoid houses if you can hear a dog barking behind the door, you can see a dog behind a screen door or you see a dog tied up in the yard or barking behind a fence.
Never approach any dog, even if you know him. He may not recognize you in your costume.
If an owner opens the door and there is a dog there, just stay still and wait for the dog owner to put the dog away. You can tell them you do not want to come near the dog. Do not move toward the person and dog. Wait for them to come to you to give you your candy. Wait for them to close the door before you turn and leave.
If a dog escapes just stand still and Be a Tree (hands folded in front, watching your feet). He will just sniff you and then move on. Wait for the owner to come and get the dog before you turn away.
If you meet a loose dog, Be a Tree and wait until it goes away.
It is best to ignore other people’s dogs on Halloween if you meet them out walking. The dog may be worried about all the strange creatures that are out and about. Even if you know the dog, he may not recognize you in your costume.

Doggone Safe wishes everyone a safe and happy Halloween!

Click Here to download our tips as a handout

Doggone Safe Member, Victoria Stilwell Steps Up!

2011-09-21T20:47:00.001-04:00

Today Victoria Stilwell posted the following on Facebook:

I'm worried now that the family is in danger of getting bitten by their JR after the abusive techniques that were used by Jordan Shelley on the BBC's One Show and if so the JR will get put down. If anyone knows who the family is, please tell them that I will come over to England free of charge and teach them how to stop their dog guarding in a humane and beautifully effective way. No point in just complaining, I want to save this dog and this family. Please send this to everyone you know.

Congratulations to Victoria for her generosity of spirit and willingness to stand up for her belief in the power of positive reinforcement training. We are proud to have Victoria as a member of Doggone Safe!

I hope everyone will pass this on and help Victoria find the name of the family that she wants to help.

You can contact her at http://www.facebook.com/VictoriaStilwell or through her website http://positively.com/.

Here is the video that caused the concern:

Here are some articles that explain the proper and safe way to deal with and prevent resource guarding:

http://doggonesafe.blogspot.com/2009/10/stop-puppy-from-biting-part-2.html

http://doggonesafe.blogspot.com/2010/04/stop-puppy-from-biting-part-3.html

http://doggonesafe.blogspot.com/2010/06/serious-warning-signs-from-dog.html

Doggone Safe Co-ordinator, Judi Dowson, First in Canada to be Certified APDT C.L.A.S.S. Evaluator

2011-09-20T12:41:00.000-04:00

By Judi Dowson, Doggone Safe Canada West Co-ordinator

I have had the pleasure of going through APDT’s new C.L.A.S.S. program tests. C.L.A.S.S. stands for Canine Life And Social Skills. Even though I had a hard time at first (due to no one’s fault buy my own), the process was rather painless. Ann Allums at APDT put up with all my silly questions and was of tremendous help.

C.L.A.S.S. is a three-level evaluation for students to demonstrate the real-life skills of their dogs, as well as a knowledge assessment of the students’ understanding of basic dog handling and care. C.L.A.S.S., through its evaluation, curriculum, and training resources, advocates the use of reward-based training. Positive, reward-based training minimizes the use of punishment and is fun for both owner and dog! Dog owners can earn a PhD for their dog at the highest level in this program.

The certification procedure for becoming an evaluator consists of three exams – 30 questions based on the manual, 30 questions based on your general knowledge of dog training and finally 30 videos which you have to “evaluate”. All questions are multiple choice.

So I took the bull by the horns and ventured into these tests. First one – no problem. Second one – a bit testy with some questions. Had to take a breather and make sure I had enough time to take the video portion. You are allowed to view the videos repeatedly, so I was thinking I’d best do this when I know there will be no interruptions (like a secluded spot in the forest where one can get computer connections????). Finally one evening, I decided that this was “the night”. I got to video #19 and heard a ruckus coming from outside with my chickens. I went out to see what was going on to find my cat face to face with a fox. Thank goodness my cat has a better recall than my dogs!! Same goes for the chickens! By the time I got said cat back into the house and the chickens tucked away in their shed, my computer had been idle for more than 10 minutes. I HAD TO START OVER!!! That’s the rules of the three tests!

I let it go for another few days and once again sat down to the computer to do the video test. It had been over a month since taking the first two tests, so I had start all over again with Test #1. Same with test #2 and FINALLY, the video test. I made it – did all three in one sitting!!! YAY

I am currently using the APDT Shelter Program for my dogs at the Prince George Regional Correctional Centre. Some of the current inmates had been through the previous program I was using and have said they really like the CLASS program and are anxious to have their dogs tested. Unfortunately, no one is prepared to pay to register the dogs, but they do like the new format.

Now, I just have to convince APDT that I live in British Columbia. I was the first one listed that was outside the US and I guess they didn’t know what to do with me! LOL

Have fun with the program everyone – I think it’s great!

Judi Dowson
Prince George, BC

For more information please visit: http://www.mydoghasclass.com/

Free C.L.A.S.S. Webinar

Attend an informative FREE webinar about the C.L.A.S.S. program on Oct 6 at 3 PM EDT:

http://www.apdt.com/education/webinars/details.aspx?id=100043

Doggone Safe a Top 3 Finalist in the CLASSY Awards

2011-09-06T14:57:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Our Supporters!

A huge thank you goes to all our supporters who voted for us and to all the Be a Tree presenters who participated in the International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge and helped to educate over 16,000 kids in one week about safety around dogs.

A Charitable Event to Remember

The 3rd Annual CLASSY Awards competition will culminate at a red-carpet awards ceremony on Saturday, September 17 in San Diego, California. It will feature celebrity appearances, chart-topping music talent, nonprofit and technology leaders, and thousands of CLASSY Awards supporters. More than $150,000 in cash and prizes will be donated to support the charitable efforts of the 12 National CLASSY Awards Winners.

This year’s CLASSY Awards weekend will also feature the CLASSY Collaborative, a day-long networking event on Friday, September 16 at the W Hotel San Diego. Participants will have the opportunity to meet, mingle and share ideas with some of the foremost leaders in philanthropy, technology, innovation, and entertainment.

Help Keep Politicians Safe!

2011-08-17T14:03:00.000-04:00

Politicians and their campaign workers frequently encounter dogs while going door to door during a campaign. Many of these encounters are not happy ones and sometimes the worker is bitten or threatened. Doggone Safe has produced a handout for politicians with advice to help keep them safe from dogs they meet on the campaign trail. Click here to download this.

If you are a Doggone Safe member you can download a version of this from the members area and customize it with your logo and contact information. Sending something useful like this to your local politicians is helpful to them and could be helpful to your business too. If you live in an area (such as Ontario,Canada) that is soon to be involved in an election campaign, send a copy of this to your local politicians.

Door Knocker Tips

Safety Tips

Stand still like a tree if a loose dog approaches. Ignore the dog until it leaves you. Move away slowly keeping the dog in sight. Resume the tree position if the dog returns to you. Repeat as required.
Be alert for signs of a dog, such as worn grass, dog house, feces, dog toys or evidence of chaining. Leave the property if you are uncomfortable.
Learn about canine body language so you can tell if a dog is friendly or anxious. Take our online course!
Do not try to make friends with dogs unless they come to you wagging and panting. Ignoring the dog is best.
If you feel you must pet a dog, scratch him on the side of the neck. Dogs don’t like hands coming over their heads.
Do not approach a house with a dog barking from behind a screen door or with a tied dog that is barking or lunging.
Be sure that the door is latched before you knock to prevent a dog from escaping.
If you hear a dog barking in the house after you knock, stand off to one side so that if the dog runs out he will go right past you. Stand still while he comes back to investigate. Ask the owner to put the dog away.
Avoid leaning over a dog or reaching over a dog to shake hands or to hand something to the owner.

Basic Body Language

Warning: Yawn, lick, half-moon eye, freeze and stare, raised
tail, barking, backing away, advancing and retreating.

Friendly: Panting and wagging his tail loosely.

Beware if he stops panting or wagging or becomes stiff.

Never run from a dog or try to fight a dog off

Thanks to Jan Mowbray of Milton ON for giving us this suggestion

Free Resources for World Rabies Day

2011-08-17T12:45:00.000-04:00

World Rabies Day is on September 28, 2011. Partners around the world are holding events and engaging in public education campaigns to help eliminate this completely preventable disease. Key campaign messages include: Vaccinate your companion animals and stay away from stray animals and wild animals.

Despite being 100% preventable, it is estimated that 55,000 people die worldwide from rabies each year, approximately one person every ten minutes. The World Rabies Day initiative is a global rabies awareness campaign being spearheaded by the UK charity Alliance for Rabies Control and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“This campaign offers all of us a unique opportunity to increase global awareness of the most deadly disease known to humans,” says Dr. Deborah Briggs, Executive Director for the Alliance of Rabies Control. “A major part of this effort is the declaration of an annual World Rabies Day on September 28^th. Events are planned throughout the world to increase awareness about rabies, and to raise support and funding towards its prevention and control.”

The cornerstones of rabies prevention are vaccination of companion animals and avoiding contact with potentially infected wild animals.

Free Resources from Doggone Safe

Doggone Safe will join the list of international partners who are rallied towards Working Together to Make Rabies History! “Doggone Safe is proud to be a World Rabies Day partner and we encourage all our members to get involved with Word Rabies Day events in their communities” says President and co-founder Joan Orr. “We have produced a postcard to help kids and families learn how to help animals and prevent exposure to rabies.” The main focus of this is to stay away from wild animals and loose dogs and to tell an adult. The best way to help an animal is to stay away from it and call Animal Control.

This year we have two versions of the postcard: one that focuses on North American wildlife that may carry rabies and on that focuses on stray dogs and cats. This is also available in poster format and in a version to which you can add your own logo and contact information (if you have the capability to edit the files - Photoshop for example). Download these from this link.

Rabies is rare in domestic dogs in most developed countries, so a loose dog that a child encounters is not likely to be rabid. Children should be encouraged to stay away from all dogs that do not have an owner holding the leash and to Be a Tree (stand still and quiet and avoid eye contact) if a loose dog comes up to them.

Doggone Safe has experts in dog training, dog behavior and dog bite prevention education available for interview. More information about the World Rabies Day Campaign can be found at http://www.worldrabiesday.org.

Community Event Display Ideas

2011-08-15T10:11:00.001-04:00

We wanted to share some great ideas for community event displays that members have sent over the years. Manning a booth at a community event (pet fairs, mall displays, school events, shelter fundraisers etc) is a great way to help promote your cause or business. Using content from Doggone Safe gives interesting and useful information that the public really responds to. There is a lot of free content at the Doggone Safe website, including photos and handouts. You can use any material found at the site for educational purposes with credit given to Doggone Safe as the source. Here is a link to our free resources page:

http://doggonesafe.com/free_downloads

If you are a Doggone Safe member, you are entitled to add your company logo ans contact information to many of the handouts. Here are two links (requires member login):

http://doggonesafe.com/Doggone_Safe_Press_Releases_Handouts

http://doggonesafe.com/Community_Program_Support

If you own the Doggone Crazy! board game, the manufacturer (Doggone Crazy!) gives you permission to copy and enlarge the cards for use in non-profit community event displays with credit given to the source.

Here are some photos to give you some ideas...

Clicker Training Basics for Kids and Families

2011-08-13T13:42:00.000-04:00

By Joan Orr M.Sc.

Clicker training. All the smartest dogs (and cats) in town are talking about it – but what is it exactly? A clicker is a small device that makes clicks when pressed. Pets love the sound because it always precedes a treat. The click is precise, it’s clear, it means the same thing each time. A trainer uses the click to tell the pet “Yes! That was right, you win!”. Soon the pet tries to do things to get its person to click. The person clicks and treats when the pet is getting closer and closer to the desired behaviour. This is fun for the pet and the person. It is similar to the “hot” and “cold” game we used to play as kids, but there is only “hot” in clicker training. If a pet makes a mistake the trainer just ignores it and manages the environment to prevent further mistakes. The absence of the click tells the pet to try again, try harder or try something else. There is no punishment, scolding or correction in clicker training. There is just a click/treat or no click. Clicker training is different from traditional training in that the trainer thinks about what the pet is doing right and works to increase it, while a traditional trainer thinks mostly about what is wrong and tries to correct it.

Clicker training is a fun game for both pet and trainer, and can produce highly reliable behaviour. Clicker training is used by the elite animal trainers of the world to train zoo and aquarium animals, free swimming navy dolphins, police dogs, drug and bomb sniffing dogs, service dogs, guide animals for the blind and movie animals. Anyone can learn to clicker train and any animal can be clicker trained. Even young kids and people with physical limitations can be great clicker trainers. Inmates in juvenile detention centres and families learning to reduce violence are clicker training shelter dogs in special programs that teach them empathy and how to interact positively with the dogs and people. Many veterinary behaviourists recommend clicker training as the most effective way to train a dog and to build a safe and loving bond with family members.

An Example – Teach a Puppy to Walk With You

Count out 10 treats. Walk around. When your puppy comes close click and toss a treat for him to pick up. Keep walking and repeat the click/treat each time the puppy comes close. Now choose a side on which you want the puppy to walk. Continue wandering about and click/treat only when the puppy is near you on the left side of you (or right side if that is your choice). When the puppy is consistently returning to your left side after he has picked up his treat, make it a little harder. Click/treat after you take one step with the puppy at your left side. Then increase to 2 steps, then 3, then back to 2, then 3, then 4. Mix it up so the puppy is not quite sure how long he needs to keep beside you to win the click/treat. Move quickly and give lots of clicks/treats. Soon your puppy will be trotting along happily beside you waiting for his click/treat. Now give the behaviour a name so that the puppy knows when you want him to do this. When the puppy is walking beside you voluntarily, say the words “Let’s go”, then click/treat. Repeat this over and over at least 20 times while the puppy is actually in the right position. When you think the puppy might understand what “Let’s go” means, try saying this when the puppy is not beside you and see if he comes to walk beside you. If he does, click and give him a whole handful of treats, or an especially tasty treat. If he does not come to walk beside you, go back to walking around and click/treating him for being in the correct position, while saying the words “Let’s go” when he is in the position. It may take many repetitions for him to connect the action of walking beside you with the words “Let’s go”. Once he does make this connection, he will be much faster to learn other cues since he will understand the concept that a spoken word from you can be associated with an action from him that will result a click/treat. Training sessions should last only a few minutes each. Once the 10 treats are gone, play with the puppy, give him a break and after a few minutes have another 10 treat session.

Here is a video that shows the results of a week of this type of training with a young puppy. Notice that the puppy no longer needs a lot of clicks and treats in this familiar situation. If we were to go to the park however, we would need to give clicks and treats with great frequency because the level of distraction would be so much higher.

When we take a puppy anywhere we always take lots of treats in a treat pouch, the clicker and the toy on a rope. The toy on a rope is essential! You can use the toy on a rope to get the puppy's attention away from distractions, provide something to bite other than you or your kids and reinforce walking beside you on a loose leash. Here is a video that shows this:

How Young is Too Young for Clicker Training?

It’s never too early or too late to start clicker training. Old dogs can learn new tricks! Some breeders introduce the clicker while the pups are still nursing. They start clicker training the puppies to teach them basic manners such as sitting for their food, keeping their paws off people and coming when called before they even leave the litter. Clicker training expert Teresa Lewin of Milton K9 Obedience in Milton ON suggests that you start clicking with your new puppy as soon as you get him home. The best way to get started is to train the puppy at dinner time. Use a portion of his dinner to teach him to sit and come to you and then let him eat the rest from him bowl. After a week or so introduce small, nutritious treats slowly into the training sessions. If you have a new kitten, ferret, bunny, bird or other pet you can start clicker training it right away as well.

Tips for Kids

Once an adult has taught the puppy to sit on cue and to wait for his food without rudely jumping and grabbing, then the kids can get involved. The best way for new clicker trainers to learn is for one person to click and the other to treat. Kids can just toss the treat on the floor for the puppy to pick up. Tossing the treats is a great way to deliver treats since it protects fingers and helps the puppy to focus on the click and the trainer and not focus so much on the hand with the food. It also resets the puppy for another try. If the puppy sits and gets and a click and the treat handed to him, he is still sitting and not ready to sit again. Getting up to get the treat resets him ready for another sit. To increase the sitting time, just wait 1 second and then 2 seconds etc after the sit and before the click.

Teach the puppy to touch a target. A metal spatula makes a good target since puppies usually don’t try to bite metal objects. Hold the target near the puppy, when he looks at it click/treat. Then click/treat when he takes a step toward it or even touches it with his nose. Click/treat each time he touches it and after a few tries, move the target so he has to follow to touch it. If the puppy has no interest in the target, try putting a tiny dab of cream cheese on it to get him started. Start saying the word “touch” when he touches the target. Once he understands about following the target use the target to teach him to come to you, walk beside you, spin in a circle, jump onto a chair, go to his bed and do just about anything without needing to drag him by the collar.

Clicking Forever?

People always ask “Will I have to carry a clicker and treats around with me forever?”. The answer is no. The clicker is a highly effective training tool and you will probably want to keep using it forever to teach your dog new things and as a refresher if he ever starts to forget. You do not need to keep using the clicker and treats on a regular basis once a behaviour is learned. Because the training is all positive, the behaviours the dog learns with this method themselves come to be associated with positive feelings. The dog does not need to get a treat every time, or even very often once a behaviour is solidly learned. Petting and praise can replace the clicks and treats for the most part.

Dos and Don’ts of Clicker Training

Dos
Click exactly as the behaviour happens
Use really good treats
Give a treat after every click
Keep sessions short (5-10 minutes)
Increase difficulty for the dog in baby steps
Quit after a success
Work in a low distraction area at first
Work off-leash at first

Donts
Scold, punish or use physical force
Yank on the leash
Click more than once
Use kibble when liver is needed to keep the dog interested
Train when you are in a bad mood
Expect more than your dog can deliver

Side bar – History of Clicker Training

1904 - Pavlov discovers that dogs can be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell that was previously paired with food, even when there is no food.
1938 - BF Skinner discovers that behaviour that is positively reinforced is repeated.
1942 - Keller and Marion Breland (Skinner’s graduate students) apply these principles to the training of pigeons to guide WW II bombs and later train over 140 species in their business, Animal Behavior Enterprises.
1960s - Karen Pryor co-founds Sea Life Park in Hawaii, creates spectacular dolphin shows and brings this new type of training into the public eye.
1984 - Karen Pryor writes the classic book “Don’t Shoot the Dog” that popularizes force-free training
1992 – Karen Pryor brings clicker training to the world of dog training (www.clickertraining.com)
2002- Joan Orr and Theresa McKeon apply these principles to sport coaching and TAGteach (www.tagteach.com) is born
2006 – Joan Orr and Teresa Lewin write the first book about clicker training rabbits.(www.clickerbunny.com)

Resources

www.clickertraining.com – Karen Pryor’s website for free getting started information

Kikopup YouTube Channel - lots of free clicker training videos

www.clickerbunny.com - clicker training for rabbits and other small pets

Clicker Puppy DVD – children training puppies with clicker training (www.doggonecrazy.ca)

A clip from the Clicker Puppy DVD:

Author Bio

Joan Orr is member of the Karen Pryor Clickertraining Clicker Expo faculty and a member of the Advisory Committee to the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior . She is the producer of the award winning Clicker Puppy training DVD (www.doggonecrazy.ca) co-creator of the board game Doggone Crazy! and co-author of the book Getting Started: Clicking with Your Rabbit (www.clickertraining.com). Joan is also the president and co-founder of Doggone Safe, a non-profit organization dedicated to dog bite prevention through education (www.doggonesafe.com) and co-founder of TAGteach International a company that promotes marker-based positive reinforcement in the teaching and coaching of humans (www.tagteach.com).

Some Messages from Kids About the Be a Tree Program

2011-08-13T13:05:00.000-04:00

Kids love the Be a Tree program, and presenters love getting feedback from kids. Here are some quotes from kids that some of the Be a Tree presenters have shared with us:

"...I learned a lot from that presentation, it was very interesting. I told my Mom about it and she was amazed ... I saw this mean dog one day and I did the tree ..."

"... I liked the part when we got to come to front of the class and act things out. I didn't know that dogs don't like hugs and kisses ..."

"... It is helpful because if I see a strange dog I will know what to do. I also learned that dogs get scared too. I enjoyed learning about keeping safe ..."

" ... I really enjoyed doing the actions like the tree ... I am kind of afraid of dogs, but now I feel much safer ..."

Here are some end-of-the-year messages some kids wrote in their memory books to a child whose mother had come in earlier in the year with the Be a Tree program. The children were to write about the things they liked most, or were most important to them that happened during the school year.

“I liked it when your mom came in to show the class how to behave with dogs because now I am OK around them!”

“ The Be a Tree thing was fun. I thought it was good”

“ Do you remember when your mom did the be a tree thing? It was fun learning how to be safe when a bad dog comes near you.”

“ I thought it was Awesome when your mom came in for that be a tree thing now I am not so afraid of big dogs.”

Click here for more information about the Be a Tree program and how you can become a presenter or book a session for your school or group.

Doggone Safe Named as Finalist for a Classy Award!

2011-07-29T21:55:00.002-04:00

The CLASSY Awards is the largest philanthropic awards ceremony in the USA, recognizing the most outstanding philanthropic achievements by charities, businesses and individuals nationwide.

More than 2,000 nominations were submitted to StayClassy for consideration. After a vetting process, StayClassy posted each nomination as an article on the CLASSY Awards Achievements Blog (www.stayclassy.org/stories) to put a national spotlight on amazing philanthropic stories. Doggone Safe rallied their supporters to generate at least 100 Facebook ‘Likes’ on their article to qualify them for the judging round. Out of thousands of nominations, the judges narrowed the list down to the Top 25 most inspiring and impactful in each category. Doggone Safe is a finalist in the category: Most Effective Awareness Campaign.

The Top 10 Finalists will be determined by public vote and announced on August 30th. The winners will be recognized live on-stage at the Oscars-style CLASSY Awards ceremony in San Diego on September 17th.

A Charitable Event to Remember

The 3rd Annual CLASSY Awards competition will culminate at a red-carpet awards ceremony on Saturday, September 17 in San Diego, California. It will feature celebrity appearances, chart-topping music talent, nonprofit and technology leaders, and thousands of CLASSY Awards supporters. More than $150,000 in cash and prizes will be donated to support the charitable efforts of the 12 National CLASSY Awards Winners.

This year’s CLASSY Awards weekend will also feature the CLASSY Collaborative, a day-long networking event on Friday, September 16 at the W Hotel San Diego. Participants will have the opportunity to meet, mingle and share ideas with some of the foremost leaders in philanthropy, technology, innovation, and entertainment.

How You Can Help

Doggone Safe needs your vote in order to make it into the top 10. Doggone Safe is a finalist in the category: Most Effective Awareness Campaign. You may also like to vote in some of the other categories to help support other terrific charities. There are two others who are helping Doggone Safe with promotion and we hope that you will take a look and consider giving them your vote as well. These are:

Rock to Stop Violence - Rock N Roll movement to end violence and abuse and to seek support for survivors of violence and abuse. Finalist for Best New Charity

Amanda Evrard - Amanda is the the volunteer coordinator of Helotes Humane Society, and also volunteers with Homeward Bound and San Antonio Great Dane Rescue. Finalist for Young Non-Profit Leader of the Year.

CLICK HERE to vote

Webinar - Incorporating Dog Bite Prevention in Dog Classes

2011-07-29T20:41:00.005-04:00

Doggone Safe and APDT are pleased to offer a webinar for dog trainers and dog behavior consultants on how to incorporate dog bite prevention education into dog classes and private consults. Every trainer and behavior consultant has many opportunities to help dog owners learn how to read dog body language, reduce stress and anxiety for their dog and increase safety for their children and others that the dog might encounter.

This webinar, presented by certified dog behavior consulant Jennifer Shryock will cover the the following topics:

Observation skills for the client

Dog body language

Key signs
Tools you can use

Proximity check
Reducing anxiety

Incorporating teachable moments into your classes

Demonstrations that you can do with dogs in class

Handling
Resource guarding
Be a tree
Puppy biting

Dog bite prevention in the community - how this can benefit your business

_______________________________________

Date:	August 18, 2011
Time:	3:00 - 4:30 PM (EDT)
Cost:	$15.00 for Professional Members $25.00 for Full/Associate Members $50.00 for Non-Members
	Register Online

_______________________________________
For more information or to register, please click here.

How to Help Your Child Emotionally After a Dog Bite

2011-07-28T12:00:00.000-04:00

Child psychiatrist Dr. R. Larry Schmitt has been very concerned about the welfare of dog bitten children. Dr. Schmitt has been very helpful to Doggone Safe and to dog bite victims by providing us with information for parents and for spreading the word in the medical community about the importance of emotional support and counseling for dog bite victims.

The typical dog bite on a child hits them at or above their shoulders. Such attacks equate to that of a bear attack on an adult, in terms of the shock, overwhelming fear and residual stress. The emotional impact on the child and the adult is huge. The difference is the adult will talk about their experience until the day they can no longer speak. The child will not talk about it and greatly needs to. This is because the child sees the sad faces of his parents anytime the topic comes up. They remain silent to save their parents from additional grief. So the child keeps this emotion load locked up in his mind. Parents must repeatedly encourage and allow their child to talk about the accident and their feelings.

R. Larry Schmitt, M.D. Child Psychiatrist

Read more in a article by Dr. Schmitt published in the journal Contemporary Pediatrics.

Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions from parents supplied by Dr Schmitt and published at the Doggone Safe website:

How soon after the incident should I start talking to my child about it?

Immediately! It is important to completely avoid making any comments about your own feelings other than to express your regret that it happened.

How many times per day should we talk about it?

For the first few days at least twice a day followed by once a day for the following three weeks.

For how long after the incident should we keep talking about it?

Depending on the degree of fright and injury, until the parental waves of guilt are close to flat and/or the child shows easy emotion, not suppressed or keyed up emotion when it is discussed.

What if my child starts to cry?

Try saying something like, “Wow, I see it really hurts/frightens/upsets you. It is so good for you to let me see how you feel about the dog biting you.”

What if my child withdraws or becomes irritated and refuses to talk?

This is very likely a sign that it may be time for trauma counseling with a mental health expert. Say to the child, "Are you worried about how talking about it makes me feel? If you are, please understand that I am a grown-up and can handle such feelings of being sad because you were injured. This will help you to look at all the feelings that came from that dog attack.”

What if my child insists that he is fine and doesn't want to talk about it anymore?

Reply to the child, “That may be right". (This is true if the parent notes that it has been discussed a great deal with a noticeable decrease in affect/emotion). Then say “I want to think about it some more.” Later, if the child still seems reluctant to talk and bothered by the topic,” I notice that any mention of it finds your face changing as if it still hurts.” “How about drawing a picture of the dog attack scene, before, during and after?”

What kinds of questions or statements can I use to engage my child in a conversation?

In an intact family, observing parents conversing with each other about the accident and making gentle guesses about how the child thinks and feels about the attack. “I still think about the day when the dog hurt and scared you, do you?” “Sometimes I feel really mad about that dog biting you.” “I saw a dog barking at me when I was jogging today. I remembered what happened to you and was scared when the dog barked!”

With teenagers, whose skills in talking about a dog attack are probably closer to that of an adult you might say something like: “What do your friends say about the dog attack?”; “How many others at your school have been bitten by dogs?”; “ If you find you are dreaming about the attack or thinking about it a lot and you do not want to, consider this paradox, that talking about it with anyone will reduce such dreams and thoughts.”

What are the signs that my child needs professional help?

The big ones are decreased success at school, (both socially and academically), lack of pleasure from past enjoyments, and early resistance to speak about the attack. Watch for dog phobia, avoidance of other animals, or the appearance of other new fears and anxieties.

When in doubt seek a mental health consultation and if the parents have doubts about the recommendations/conclusions of that first consultant, seek a second opinion. Consider an analogous situation with a post-surgical issue. The surgeon says they think an abscess developed out of sight with minimal symptoms that if ignored will cause problems later. Of course, with an x-ray or digital exam it may be evident. A competent child mental health expert can be expected to probe in an interview and demonstrate an emotional abscess.

What should I look for in a mental health professional?

First, one who works with children; second, one with at least a five-year record in the field; third, a referral from a trusted mental health professional, and most of all, one with whom the parent feels comfortable. I prefer one who works with the child and parents together and spends less time with the child individually. In other words, family oriented therapy.

How do we know when to stop the therapy?

This obviously varies with the severity, both physical and emotional, of the injury. Assuming the child and family have a positive relationship with a competent therapist, the therapist should suggest when to stop. If the parents are concerned that it is going on too long they should suggest a hiatus of four to eight weeks, observe the child during that time and return for termination in the absence of symptoms. In the typical situation, success comes early, with promoting the child and family to discuss all aspects of the attack and its potential residuals. (2-6 sessions).

A kiss or dismiss?

2011-07-14T12:43:00.000-04:00

Dogs use their bodies as language and to communicate. One of the most misinterpreted behaviors is the "kiss" or licking. When, how and why dogs lick us or lick in general varies and this is something most people do not think of

The dog to the left is "licking lips" due to the closeness of the child. This sign (to another dog) might indicate a need for space and that this dog did not want a conflict or problem. The bottom line is this child being this close is uncomfortable to the dog and he is communicating in his doggie way.

How might a child view this lick? Kisses? Then move in closer which will be total MISCOMMUNICATION and cause more stress for the dog.

Here is my boy Windsor offering a gentle "submissive Kiss" to his brother Duke. Notice how gentle he looks and this is a one flick to the mouth of Duke. Windsor's intentions are clear with his head tilt, soft eyes and ears down and back. Duke turns to the side slightly allowing the lick and communicating clearly no conflict is about to happen.

Windor gives Kayleigh a "kiss" similar to Duke above. This is a soft, gentle loving quick flick. Mouth is closed and ears are back, soft eyes and is just a "drive by" kiss. Windsor is offering this vs kayleigh forcing this. This is a good example of a true and geuine gift interaction. :)

Here you see a bit more of another form of communication. The dog (Jazzy) is surrounded by the boys. She gives a full tongue lick to the face of the child hugging her. This in turn gets the child to turn away. That works for Jazzy as it decreases the intense closeness.

Notice she e is also raising a paw (left) indicating a bit of feeling overwhelmed. She would prefer the child did not have his arm around her. Dogs that lick your face.....sometimes are doing their best to increase space. Test it out by turning your head to the side or tilting slightly and breaking direct eye contact. See what the results are.

Aren't dogs fascinating! They truly are good communicators but....we often don't understand. It is our job to learn their language when we invite them into our home!

Here is another video clip that shows different context of this behavior.

Thank you Chelsea Koslow for allowing me to use this example. Beautiful example of a dog tolerating (like dogs often do with kids) and then using fast face licking to increase distance and indicate enough! This licking is often misread by people as kisses (especially kids) when often it means I have had enough. On another note...well done on the paw offering for nail trim! Love it!

Dog Training Infographic

2011-07-13T10:04:00.000-04:00

Dog Training Facts and Figures graphic Dog Training graphic created by Pet365. Click here to see the full size version.

Click here to see the full size graphic and view the underlying source data

How to Stop your Puppy From Biting - Part 5

2011-06-24T17:35:00.000-04:00

By Joan Orr M.Sc.

This is the fifth in our series about how to stop your puppy from biting. Please read the previous installments, since we won't be repeating information and you will want to know why it is important to teach your puppy how to bite softly and then not at all. All the strategies we offer are important and you should use them all. Click here to see all the parts in this series. Some of this article is excerpted from an article published at clickertraining.com. Click here to view the entire article if you want more details and more advanced steps once your puppy has the basic idea.

Teach the Puppy to Leave It

An important strategy in helping the puppy to learn what he can and cannot bite and whether he is biting too hard is to teach a cue that tells the puppy to leave it. Some people use the cue "leave it" or "out" or "off". In our example we will use the word "off". You can use whatever you want, just be sure that this word is unique for the purpose. For example, you would not use this to tell the puppy to get off the couch or to take his paws off you. Choose a word that is going to be easy for you to remember to use in a consistent context.

Command vs Cue

Many people train "off" as a command with its associated threat: "Leave it or else." The trouble is, once the dog has swallowed the light bulb (I am not making this up), or Granny's $3000 hearing aid, the ensuing "or else" does not do much to remedy the situation. It is not as if you can dock the dog's allowance or extract an IOU to pay for the costs of his transgression. Experienced clicker trainers, especially those whose training goals require an exceptional degree of reliability (those who work with guide dogs, service dogs, bomb detection dogs, etc.), know that training cues rather than commands produces a dog that can be counted on even in very difficult situations. Be sure to watch the video clips at the end of this article to see the results of training with cues using clicker training.

It is important to understand the difference between a cue and a command. A command implies a threat: "Do it or I will make you." A command is given before the behavior is learned, and it can be enforced if the dog does not comply. For example, a trainer may teach "sit" by pushing down on the dog's rump while saying sit, repeating the word and action over and over until the dog figures out that the word sit goes with the action of sitting, and that sitting fast enough will prevent the rump pushing. In the early stages of this kind of training, the dog associates the command "sit" with all kinds of stimuli and with actions that have nothing to do with the dog sitting on its own. Eventually after much frustration he figures it out.

"Off" is commonly trained as a command by placing a temptation near the dog and holding him back, or tugging on his leash and saying "off" in a stern tone of voice. If the dog does manage to grab the prohibited item, the command is repeated while the item is forcibly removed from the dog's mouth. This method is stressful for the dog, and he may not learn much. In many cases, the command approach may place the trainer at risk of being bitten, too.

A cue is completely different from a command. There is no threat implied with a cue. A cue is like a green light that tells the dog that now is the time to execute a behavior for the chance of reinforcement.

A cue is attached to a specific behavior only after the dog is offering the behavior on his own. The "sit" cue, for example, is only given once the dog has learned to sit, and, therefore, the cue is not associated with anything other than the act of sitting. If the dog does not respond to a cue, a trainer knows that further training is required. The trainer does not assume that the dog is intentionally misbehaving and must be forced or helped to do the behavior.

Getting the Behavior

A common and very reasonable question about teaching cues is, "How do you get the dog to sit or demonstrate the goal behavior in the first place, so that you can click/treat and eventually add a cue?"

An easy way to get the puppy to take his mouth off your hand so that you can then click (or say yes) and reinforce was described by Carolyn Clark (click here for the original article) and summarized here.

A popular method is to hold a treat in your closed fist and allow the dog to sniff, lick, paw it—whatever he wants to do to try to get the treat. Keep your fist closed until he backs off for just a fraction of a second, then click and open your hand to give him the treat. Alternatively, you can click when he backs off, and give him a better treat from your other hand. Avoid the temptation to say anything—no scolding or otherwise telling him not to pester your hand. The dog learns best if he figures it out for himself without fear of reprisal.

If the dog is too frantic to get at the treat, use something less tantalizing to start. If the dog loses interest and does not try to get the treat, use something more tantalizing.

Raise criteria gradually so that the click/treat comes only when the dog is deliberately moving his head back several inches from your hand. Raise criteria again so that the click/treat comes only when the dog makes eye contact with you after moving away from your hand. Gradually require longer periods of eye contact, until the dog backs off from your hand and maintains eye contact for three seconds. Now is the time to add the cue "off."

Show the dog your fist containing the treat. When he looks away from it and toward you, say "off," click, offer the treat, and say "take it." Teaching opposite cues in pairs like this is a really effective approach. From now on, always say "take it" when you give a treat after the dog responds to the "off" cue.

Video Demonstration

Here is a video demonstrating the method by super trainer Emily Larlham. Emily uses the cue "leave it". Notice the tone of voice; there is no threat. Note the extreme reliability of the behavior. Emily puts a plate of food down, asks the dogs to leave it and leaves the room. We recommend that you watch all of Emily's training videos!

Here is another video that demonstrates the extraordinary power of this type of training. See a dog retreiving a hot dog and another willingly relinquishing a raw steak.

More details in an article by Joan Orr

More details in an article by Carolyn Clark

All articles in the Puppy Biting blog series

Make Extra Money and Educate at the Same Time

2011-06-17T12:55:00.000-04:00

Check out these terrific downloadable products that teach how to read dog body language and be safe around dogs. These are available from the Doggone Safe store and are previewed below.

If you have a blog or website you can make some extra money while educating people about dog body language and safety around dogs. The following downloadable products are now available through Clickbank so that anyone can sell them online. All you need to do is set up a free Clickbank account and follow simple instructions.

Dog Detective eBook

This ebook by award winning authors Teresa Lewin and Joan Orr shows photos of dogs that illustrate various emotional states. A list of clues are given at the beginning so that children know what to look for in the photos that follow. Under each photo is a caption that explains what the dog is thinking (I am happy, I am afraid, Back off! etc). The information is suitable for young children and their parents, but would serve as a good primer for anyone who wants to know the basics of dog body language. Click here to view a demo as a Flash slideshow.

Flashcards Kit

This kit comes as a download only. It contains the following:

24 8x10 Flashcards (48 files for front and back) that you can print. Click here to see an example of 2 cards.
12 different dogs showing contrasting emotional states
PowerPoint presentation showing these same images that you can use as is or in other presentations (click here to view a demo as a Flash slideshow)
PowerPoint show that you can view even if you do not have PowerPoint

The photos in this kit are the same as those in the Flashcards eBook show below, but the 8x10 photos in this kit are suitable for individual printing.

Flashcards eBook

This ebook by award winning authors Teresa Lewin and Joan Orr shows photos of dogs that illustrate various emotional states. A list of clues are given at the beginning so that children know what to look for in the photos that follow. There are contrasting photos of 12 different dogs showing both "safe" and "dangerous" emotional states. Each photo is repeated with the clues marked by arrows in a "flashcard" type format so that readers can guess whether the dog is safe or dangerous and then turn the page for the answer. The information is suitable for children and their parents, but would serve as a good primer for anyone who wants to know the basics of dog body language. Click here to view a demo as a Flash slideshow.

The photos in this kit are the same as those in the Flashcards kit shown above, but are presented in eBook format suitable for electronic viewing or printing in a small size.

If you are a Doggone Safe member, you can purchase the Flashcards eBook in a bundle with the Basic Dog Body Language online course for the discounted price of $25 (regular $42). Click here if you are a Doggone Safe member to see online course discounts.

Clicker Puppy Training Video

The award-winning Clicker Puppy video shows children clicker training these puppies. There are no leashes in Clicker Puppy. All clicker training is hands-off with positive reinforcement to encourage the desired behavior. Puppies are allowed to play if they want. Food, toys and fun are used as reinforcers. There is no punishment or even physical prompting. The puppies are all having a lot of fun and learning at an astonishing rate. The kids are having fun as well. Find out how easy it is to take natural puppy behavior and clicker train your way to an obedient dog. The techniques used in this training video stress safety for children. Available for download in whole or in parts.

Click here for more information, testimonials and clips.

Sell These Products

Click here for more information about how to sell these products.

Buy These Products

If you want to purchase these products for yourself, they are available in the Doggone Safe store.

Doggone Safe Nominated for Classy Award

2011-06-07T10:15:00.001-04:00

Doggone Safe has been nominated for a CLASSY Award in recognition of its efforts in the running the International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge. The CLASSY Awards recognize the top philanthropic achievements by charities, businesses, fundraisers and volunteers from across the country. The winners receive national exposure and more than $150,000 in cash & prizes for their cause.

Please visit this link to read our story and click the Like button. We need 100 likes by June 29 in order to advance into the next stage of the competition.

International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge Results

2011-06-06T12:47:00.000-04:00

International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge Educates 16,000 Kids

Kids Being Trees in Bermuda

Campbellville ON June 6, 2011 – Presenters around the world from non-profit Doggone Safe educated more than 16,000 children about safety around during Dog Bite Prevention Week (May 15-21, 2011). Events took place in eight countries, seven Canadian provinces and twenty six US states.

Half of all children are bitten by a dog and most of the time the biter is the family dog or another dog known to the child. Dog bites can be emotionally and physically scarring for a child and can cost the dog his life. “Dog bites are preventable and we are very proud of the efforts of all our presenters as they work hard during Dog Bite Prevention Week and all year doing community education to help reduce the risk of dog bites to children”, said Joan Orr, president and cofounder of Doggone Safe.

The “Be a Tree” program is a dog bite prevention presentation for school children. Children learn that a happy dog pants and wags his tail loosely, while an anxious dog may show a half moon of white in his eye, yawn, lick his lips or turn away. A dog that does not want to meet them has his mouth closed and may hold his tail and body stiff, or wag his tail slowly. They learn how to let a dog approach them and how to pet it safely, after asking permission. They learn to avoid dangerous situations with dogs and how to Be a Tree if a strange dog approaches them or any dog is bothering them. To Be a Tree they stop, fold their branches (hands clasped in front), watch their roots grow (look at their feet) and count their breaths in their head until help comes or the dog goes away. The Be a Tree program is fun and interactive with a goal to empower and not to frighten children.

Diane Kamitakahara, principal of Earl Grey School in Calgary Alberta said, “Thanks so much for the presentations. They were great and very well received. One of our teacher’s daughters who is in grade 1 here had an encounter with an excited pit bull at the dog park the weekend after your presentation. She did exactly like you instructed and the dog backed off and went away. Her mom was amazed.”

For more information about Doggone Safe, to become a sponsor, to book a presentation for your school or to become a presenter please visit the Doggone Safe website at www.doggonesafe.com.

About Doggone Safe

Doggone Safe is a non-profit corporation registered in Canada and Ontario, and in the US is a 501(c)(3) registered charity. Doggone Safe is dedicated to dog bite prevention through education and dog bite victim support. Doggone Safe has members from around the world. Educational programs offered by Doggone Safe are Be a Tree™ (for school-aged children), and online courses about dog body language and occupational dog bite prevention.

2295 Mohawk Trail

Campbellville ON Canada L0P 1B0

877-350-3232

www.doggonesafe.com

New Product Recommendation - Dog and Baby Connection

2011-05-19T14:57:00.001-04:00

We are pleased to tell you about this new product from Jennifer Shryock of Family Paws. The Dog and Baby Connection is a presentation that is designed for presentation by dog professionals to parents of babies and toddlers who have a dog in the family.

The Dog and Baby Connection program delivers essential information for dog owners who also have a baby or toddler in the home. Program creator Jennifer Shryock has once again produced something that gives gentle but firm advice to parents to empower them to create an environment that fosters harmony between dog and baby. The program addresses the needs of both dog and baby and deals with the the changes that occur as the baby grows to an active toddler. Jennifer shows parents how to include the dog in family activities while respecting the dog's needs and keeping the baby safe. She recommends specific training approaches to ensure that the dog is never a threat to the baby and to ensure that the dog likes being in the presence of the baby and does not develop any fear or animosity toward the baby. The DABC program teaches parents to be proactive, to evaluate the environment in the home and recognize potential growl or grumble zones and to supervise actively. Any parent following the advice given in this program can be assured that they are doing the best for both their dog and baby. I highly recommend the Dog and Baby Connection to any parent with a baby or toddler in the house. It is an essential follow-up to Jennifer Shyock's highly acclaimed Dogs and Storks program, for expectant parents.

Click here for more information and to watch a preview

Also new from Dogs & Storks: Parent education classes online:

http://www.dogsandstorks.com/support.htm

Test Your Dog Knowledge with Our Quiz

2011-05-14T14:43:00.002-04:00

Think you know a lot about dogs? Take our quiz and find out....

If the writing is too small here, you can see a larger version by clicking here and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Do you love this quiz? Download it for free and post at your website, or have it available on your own computer off-line

Body language quiz - file for website (unzip, copy both files to your website and create a link to the htm file)

Body Language quiz - file for local computer

Is your dog singing "take me out to the ball game?"

2011-05-06T20:09:00.001-04:00

Springtime means baseball, softball and so many other sporting events where kids and families gather. There is alot to consider when deciding if your dog should join you at these events. Listen to my podcast as I discuss some of important factors and how to manage the situation for success.

Elderly Patients Respond to Be a Tree Materials

2011-05-03T18:09:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Lesley deKlerk of Paws for People Therapy Dogs in South Africa for letting us know about a unique use for the Be a Tree program materials.

We visit (with our therapy dogs) an old age home that has a frail care unit and an Alzheimer’s / dementia unit.

I am so thrilled with what we achieved today with these patients, and half the program we ran today used the photos and material from the Be a Tree program.

Some of the patients who had not talked for a while, explained, albeit very slowly, what they saw from the photos, and some were even able to differentiate the difference between the photo and our own dogs that were present. We used the eyes, legs and fist photos to get the patients to focus on looking and watching the dogs, then relating what they might be feeling if they made a fist and the leg photo to lift and show their feet. We also asked them to tell us things that the dogs have that we as humans do not have – such as a tail. These folks are all in bed or in wheelchairs, and I am over the moon at the response we got from these folks who normally are in a world of their own and are pretty much non responsive.

Click here to find out more about Paws for People

What a wonderful way to use the Be a Tree materials! As many of you know, we don't take dogs into Be a Tree programs for children because it is stressful for the dogs among other reasons. Click here for details about why we don't take dogs in the classroom when we are doing bite prevention education. This therapy dog visit to the old age home is a completely different situation. The dogs are interacting one on one as they are trained to do and are not exposed to a large group of noisy and exuberant children. The dog is not a distraction from the main purpose here, which is to encourage discussion and interaction and not to teach about safety.

Be a Tree Webinars - Recording Available

2011-04-26T02:02:00.000-04:00

Part 1 - An Introduction to the Be a Tree Progam

Part 1 of the two-part Be a Tree Webinar series with Jennifer Shryock was held on April 20, 2011. This was a fun and informative session!

Part 1 on Apr 20, 2011 covered the basics of the program:

The Tools: the tools that children have on their bodies and in their heads and how they can use them to stay safe around dogs.

The Dogs: how to read dog body language and understand common signals that dogs send to let us know whether they want to meet us or not.

Meeting a Dog: how to meet a dog safely.

The Games: how to engage the children in the games and activities that are part of the program and that help to cement their learning.

The Program - the tree pose explained, why we don't take dogs to presentations and other burning questions about the program content

Here is a comment from a particpant:

_________________________________________________

I just wanted to tell you how terrific your presentation was! It was very interesting and informative and your enthusiasm for the program really came through!! You also gave some really helpful practical tips. I'm looking forward to next week's presentation. I'm so glad that you are going to focus on how to adapt the program for different age groups. It was a question I had. Thanks for giving us newcomers the benefit of your year's of experience with this terrific program. I did a presentation today after the webinar for my friend's 8 year old granddaughter (and yes, I made my friend, her husband and my husband take part as well). It was really fun and they all said they liked it and learned a lot. I'm looking forward to giving these presentations in the schools, libraries, etc. ~Maryellen Sullivan
_________________________________________________

The recording for Part 1 is now available for purchase.

For members the price is $5 - from the Member's area of the website

For non-members the prices is $15 - from the Doggone Safe Store

Part 2: Adaptations of the Be a Tree Program

Part 2 on Apr 27, 2011 will cover adaptations of the program for different ages ranging from preschooler to highschooler as well as adaptations and activities for larger groups.

This session will be presented twice, at 11 AM and 9 PM on the same day.

This session will be recorded and posted for sale in the Doggone Safe store after the fact so that you can still get the information even if you can't attend. We encourage you to attend the live sessions so that you can get your questions answered and participate in the discussion.

Register for Part 2

CEUs

Each part qualifies for 1 CEU from IAABC and 1 CEU from CCPDT

Sale of Recordings

The recordings will be for sale in the Doggone Safe store for $15 for non-members. Members can purchase them for $5 from the Member area of the website

Be a Tree is Great for Business

2011-04-13T11:38:00.003-04:00

This article was published in our newsletter in the spring of 2008 - reprinted with permission from the SVMA News, May 2008 issue

By Dr. Bob Bellamy (former president, Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association)

For the past several years the veterinarians and veterinary technologists in our practice have been offering dog bite prevention (DBP) presentations to public schools, play ground groups, day cares, dog clubs, dog obedience classes, humane society meetings etc. The ultimate goal has been to prevent dog bites through public education. Presenters utilize a "teacher kit" from Doggone Safe - a visual, informative, interactive and entertaining presentation that requires a minimal amount of preparation and can be delivered effortlessly.

Dog bite prevention seminars have had an unexpected side effect. Without a doubt, DBP presentations have yielded more new clients than any initiative attempted by our office! In the the past two years new clients have increased by 30%!!!

Dog Bites are a serious public health risk. The incidence of dog bites is not tracked in Canada, but American data suggest that last year in the United States:

5 million people were bitten by dogs
800,000 of them were severe enough to require medical attention
on average there are 12 fatal dog attacks per year, most involving children

Children are most at risk for dog bite:

60% of bite victims are children under 10 years old
50% of children will be bitten before they are 12 years of age

Published statistics indicate that dog bites represent the second most common injury to children under 10 years of age (sports injuries being number 1). Seventy percent of biting dogs are the family pet or belong to friends of the family.

Most experts agree that the majority of bites are preventable through public education. Veterinarians are in a key position to deliver this message and we feel our efforts have made a difference. "Doing the right thing has not only been good public relations, it has been highly profitable."

Upcoming Events

2011-04-13T10:35:00.000-04:00

Check out our list of terrific upcoming events. These are events organized by Doggone Safe or by Doggone Safe members. If you are a a member and you have an event that you would like to post please visit the Events page to check out the posting rules and send us the information if you event qualifies.

http://doggonesafe.com/Doggone_Safe_Events

Be a Tree Training Webinar - Part 1 (20 Apr 2011)

Part 2 - Wed Apr 27: 11 AM EDT or 9 PM EDT

Exploring the Dog's Mind - PABA (13 May 2011)
May-13-11 12:00 AM

Liam's Family Time Celebration (14 May 2011)
May-14-11 9:00 AM

International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge (15 -21 May 2011)

PAWS Day - Pets and Wellness and Fun (15 May 2011)
May-15-11 9:00 AM

Be a Tree at Pawsway (21 May 2011)
May-21-11 12:00 AM

Dog Safety and R.E.A.D.® - A Doggone Great Combination!

2011-04-11T12:39:00.000-04:00

This article was first published in A Pawsitive Canine Experience in 2006- reprinted with permission.

By Tara McLaughlin CPDT, CDBC

Last spring, Charlottesville Therapy Animals, the Therapy Dog group that I Co-Direct, was asked by our local county school system to pilot a Reading Education Assistance Dog (R.E.A.D.®) program. Prior to my first meeting with the county administrator, I thought about dog attacks and how often they’re directed towards children.

Wouldn’t it make sense to combine dog safety with the R.E.A.D.® program? Being a Doggone Safe member and licensed Be a Tree^TM Program presenter enables me to actually empower children by educating them about canine behavior and body language as well as how to respond when confronted by a dangerous dog. The children would learn how to make good decisions when interacting with all dogs, not just Therapy Dogs.

Our Therapy Dogs can tolerate handling that most dogs find stressful or intolerable. We do not want to confuse kids by allowing or even encouraging them to interact with dogs inappropriately . . . possibly even causing them to be bitten by another dog because of our Therapy Dogs’ tolerance.

At the meeting with county administrator, I suggested we first do a Doggone Safe presentation for the class that we would be piloting the R.E.A.D.® program, and the suggestion was enthusiastically accepted. The children and their teacher not only found the presentation informative and educational, but it helped increase the children’s confidence with interacting with the dogs selected for the program – one being my German Shepherd Dog, Sattva. Some of the children were worried about being near such a large dog. When we actually started the R.E.A.D.® program, the groundwork for appropriate dog interactions was laid out and our pilot program proceeded beautifully.

This fall, the county has asked that we start the program at additional schools. They have asked that we present the Doggone Safe program county wide in the schools, so all of the children can benefit from learning about dog behavior and body language, and how to safely interact with dogs.

These are the steps we took to establish a successful and safe R.E.A.D.® program:

Meet with Administrator of School System and School to discuss R.E.A.D.® program and
process to pilot program
Provide permission forms for teacher to give parents
Provide evaluation forms for program
Arrange date for Doggone Safe Presentation in participating classrooms or school wide
Arrange date for Therapy Dogs and handlers participating in program to visit school when
children are not there.
Assess room, decide where the kids will read to the dog, and help dog feel
comfortable in the new surrounding
Arrange date for Therapy Dogs and handlers participating in program to visit school for a
presentation with class so children can meet dogs and handlers prior to reading to them.
Set schedule (days/times) for R.E.A.D.® program

Editor's note: The Be a Tree program is delivered to the children before they start the R.E.A.D. program so that they will know how to read dog body language and how to interact appropriately with the dogs. Therapy dogs are not present during the Be a Tree program. Click here to find out why Doggone Safe does not take dogs to Be a Tree sessions.

New Materials Available from Doggone Safe

2011-04-10T15:15:00.002-04:00

Door Knocker Tips

Tips for politicians, census takers and others who go door to door. This hand out is available from our Free Resources page.

Parent Education Pamphlet, Poster and Child Education Postcard

This 2-sided, 6 panel pamphlet, poster and postcard were created in partnership with the Emergency Nurses Association, San Diego Chapter and are available from Child Safety Solutions. For pricing and ordering information please call Tammy at 877-669-7233.

Poster

Postcard

Stickers

The stickers are not new, but they are back. For pricing information and to order, please visit our store

How to Stop Your Puppy from Biting - Part 4

2011-04-07T16:35:00.000-04:00

By Joan Orr

This is Part 4 of an ongoing series. We recommend that you read the previous articles since we are not going to repeat anything here. Here is a link to the other articles in the series and some related articles: Puppy Biting series

Teaching your puppy to control his mouth and to keep his teeth to himself requires a multi-faceted approach which is a combination of management and training. In this article I will talk about the first of two very effective training approaches that you can take to help your puppy learn not to bite. These are as follows:

Teach the puppy to give kisses instead of biting.
Teach the puppy the meaning of a cue that means "take your mouth off" and subsequently "leave your mouth off".

How to Give Kisses

Most puppies are generous with kisses and you can encourage this by saying "kisses" and welcoming the kisses when the puppy offers them. Of course if you don't want the puppy slobbering all over you, then just ignore the kisses or move the attractive body part out of range. Your puppy will soon learn that if you say "kisses" you will welcome his licking you and otherwise you will not welcome this. Never scold or punish or take away your attention altogether from a kissing puppy.

A great way to encourage kisses instead of biting and to help a puppy learn to take treats gently is to put something like cheese spread or peanut butter on your hand and fingers (don't use peanut butter if your puppy is going to be around children though in case of children with peanut allergies). Let the puppy lick this off, while you say the word "kisses" over and over. This helps him associate the action of licking with the word "kisses". If he is really frantic for the yummy stuff on your hand he may not be paying too much attention to what you are saying, so it could take a while for the association with the word to sink in. For some puppies this exercise is all that you will need to do teach him what "kisses" means, but others may not seem to catch on.

A better way to ensure that the puppy is thinking about what he is doing and not just madly licking is to set up the situation so that he offers a lick and is then reinforced for that so that he will repeat it with the conscious thought of doing it. To do this you need some kind of marker sound that tells the puppy he is doing the right thing. I use a clicker for this, but you can use a ball point pen or something else that makes a short sharp sound. You can also use a marker word such as "yes" or "yip", but this does not work as well as using a clicker. Here is a video that shows how to do this. The puppy in this video was the nippiest puppy I have ever worked with and she rarely offered spontaneous kisses - she had much more fun nipping!

Offer a treat that leaves a tasty residue on your hand (put a dab of cream cheese under the treat if necessary to get things started). Click when the puppy licks and give another treat. Create the cycle: lick - click - treat - lick - click - treat. At first the puppy is just licking the treat residue of my fingers, but after a few tries she is offering a lick on purpose. Add the cue "kisses" when the puppy offers a lick when you hold out your hand. Use this cue from now on when offering treats. Gradually move from a more open hand presentation to holding the treat between thumb and forefinger. Click when the puppy licks and release the treat. Eventually the puppy will learn that the offering of a treat is the cue for "kisses" and he will lick to get the treat rather than snatching it. Practice with different people in different location. If the puppy makes a mistake such as biting at your hand or putting his paw on you, just ignore this. You don't need to say "no" or "ah ah" or "oops" if the puppy makes a mistake. It is best just to be quiet and let the click be the only communication during this training session. The training session in this video was about a minute and a half - this is plenty long enough. After training, play for a few minutes and then do another short session. You will get much more out of five 1 minute sessions than out of one 5 minute session.

Next time I will talk about teaching your puppy the cue "off" so you can tell him you want him to stop biting or not to bite in the first place.

Doggone Safe Translations

2011-04-04T17:28:00.000-04:00

We are pleased to announce that the Be a Tree program is available in French (Quebec and France versions) and Italian. Spanish and German will be coming soon. There are also various other resources in French, Italian and Spanish.

The Be a Tree translations are PDF downloads that you can print and stick over the English on the posters from the Teacher Kit. The text on the back of the posters has been translated as have the Simon Says and Toolbox cards. These are free for anyone who has purchased a Be a Tree Kit in the past and will be available at the time of purchase for future customers. The Power Point version is also available as a translation along with the associated notes.

Please check out the link to our translations and pass on the information to anyone who might be interested:

http://doggonesafe.com/Translations

Be a Tree Webinars

2011-03-30T19:11:00.001-04:00

We are pleased to announce the first ever Be a Tree webinars to help our presenters give the most effective presentations possible. Join dog behavior consultant Jennifer Shryock for two 1 hour sessions all about the Be a Tree program. You don't have to be a Be a Tree presenter to register. If you are just wondering what the Be a Tree program is all about, this is a great way to find out!

Part 1 on Apr 20, 2011 will cover the basics of the program:

The Tools: the tools that children have on their bodies and in their heads and how they can use them to stay safe around dogs.

The Dogs: how to read dog body language and understand common signals that dogs send to let us know whether they want to meet us or not.

Meeting a Dog: how to meet a dog safely.

The Games: how to engage the children in the games and activities that are part of the program and that help to cement their learning.

Part 2 on Apr 27, 2011 will cover adaptations of the program for different ages ranging from preschooler to highschooler.

Each session will be presented twice at 11 AM and 9 PM on the same day. You may attend at one time on the 20th and at a different time on the 27th if you like.

You can attend one or both Parts. You may attend only Part 2 if you are already an experienced presenter of the program, but even those with experience will benefit from Jen's clever ideas in Part 1!

The sessions will be recorded and posted for sale in the Doggone Safe store after the fact so that you can still get the information even if you can't attend. We encourage you to attend the live sessions if you can because these will be interactive and there will be assignments from the first session to discuss in the second session.

There will be a nominal $5 charge for each session. CEUs from CCPDT are pending.

Each part qualifies for 1 CEU from IAABC

Register for Part 1

Register for Part 2

About the Presenter

Doggone Safe US Vice President Jennifer Shryock is an experienced Be a Tree presenter and was involved in the development of the program. Jen is a certified dog behavior consultant and owner of the Company Family Paws, which offers the Dogs & Storks program and the Dog and Baby Connection program. All Jen's professional activities center around family safety and harmony with the family dog. More about Jen

Free Webinars from Super Trainer Susan Garrett

2011-03-29T16:36:00.000-04:00

We wanted to let you know about this great opportunity to hear from super trainer Susan Garrett about dog training. Every one of Susan's dogs have won national or world championships in the sport of agility. Susan has won national or world championships 50 times. Why does she win so consistently? It is because of the way she trains. Her training methods are the exact same methods that any pet dog trainer can use to develop a fabulous family pet. Susan herself says that even if she were never to step into a competition ring again she would train her dogs the exact same way she does for the competition dogs. Learn from Susan about how to train effectively and efficiently without using any physical force, punishment or corrections.

Watch these free webinars that will help you learn why your dog might not come when called and what you can do about this. Susan covers many training principles that you can apply in your relationship with your own dog.

Here is a link to the free Webinars:

http://recallers.the5minuteformula.com

This is the type of information that all dog owners need to know about training and how to use reinforcement efficiently and effectively to change a dog's behavior.

Doggone Safe Coordinator Tonji Stewart Wins Video Contest

2011-03-24T18:35:00.000-04:00

We are thrilled to announce that Doggone Safe Eastern Canada Coordinator Tonji Stewart was the co-grand prize winner of the Canis Film Festival. The award was presented at Clicker Expo in Chicago on the weekend. This is an international video contest for clicker trainers and the videos must demonstrate how to teach something using clicker training. The videos are judged on entertainment and teaching value and the winners must demonstrate excellence in the application of clicker training principles in training.

We are very proud of Tonji's accomplishment and her efforts to promote force free training methods that are safe for kids and dogs.

Click here to listen to an interview with Tonji on CBC radio

Click here to see all the winning videos

World Rabies Day 2010 Outcomes

2011-03-16T09:41:00.000-04:00

Doggone Safe is proud to be a partner with World Rabies Day and to help spread the world and provide educational materials for this important initiative. Here is a message we received from our friends at World Rabies Day:

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

World Rabies Day 2010 was another huge success! On behalf of the Global Alliance for Rabies Control, we would like to send a special thank you to all of our partners, volunteers and event coordinators working tirelessly across the globe to promote rabies prevention. These are YOUR successes and thanks to your ongoing support, the WRD Campaign continues to grow each year!

It is our pleasure to invite you to view the recently published 2010 World Rabies Day Outcomes Brochures:

· World Rabies Day Outcomes

· Dia Mundial Contra La Rabia Resultados

· Resultats De La Journee Mondiale La Rage 2010

· Dia Mundial Contra A Raiva Resultados 2010

As planning begins for the 5^th World Rabies Day Campaign on September 28, 2011, we welcome you to contact us and tell us about your event. Please let us know how we may be able to assist you in your planning. We invite you to visit our library of Educational Resources and welcome submissions/sharing of materials for placement on our Web Site.

We also encourage you to join our social networks to receive our latest updates and help educate your friends, family members and followers about rabies prevention by sharing our messages.

· Follow Us on Twitter

· Join Us on Facebook

· Watch Us on YouTube

World Rabies Day logos are available in more than 30 languages, freely downloadable from our Logo Library. If you would like a logo created in your native language, we’d be delighted to work with you to help create it!

And if you are interested in WRD apparel, new 2011 merchandise such as t-shirts, pins and buttons are now available in the Official World Rabies Day Online Store.

On behalf of the Global Alliance for Rabies Control and World Rabies Day Global Coordination Team…

Thank you! Gracias! Merci! Obrigado!

Sally Cleland Wins Award from the Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association

2011-03-09T19:20:00.001-05:00

Sally receives award from Dr. John Ayers

Congratulations to Dr. Sally Cleland for winning the 2010 Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association Award for Public Relations for her work with dog bite prevention. Sally received her award at the SVMA annual conference. She told us:

"This was even more special as there were 28 of my classmates at the banquet because we were celebrating our 35th year reunion!! I got a standing ovation from the Class of '75!!! I was totally surprised!!

We are just thrilled for Sally and very proud of all the she has accomplished! Sally is a long time supporter of Doggone Safe and a Be a Tree presenter. Sally has traveled around Saskatchewan teaching school children and adults about how to read dog body language and act safely around dogs. She has done a lot of educating in the First Nations communities both in person and via radio interviews.Sally has spoken at conferences, engineered a well-attended press conference and has been interviewed for print, radio and television all across the province. Sally even has a different wonderful hat for every occasion!

Sally interviewed on CTV News

Sally has spread the word to many other organizations including the Ministry of Education, the Saskatchewan Safety Council, the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute and the St. John Ambulance. Please see the links below for letters from two of these organizations that were the results of Sally's efforts:

Letters from Saskatchewan Prevention Institute and Saskatchewan Safety Council

Fun with Be a Tree

2011-03-08T19:32:00.000-05:00

by Dana Martin

Just thought it might brighten your day to hear a few little stories from my school presentations today - throughout the day saw all 228 students at an elementary school and had a blast (sometimes feels like I'm doing this more for me than for the kids!)

- used the "quiz" for the 5/6 students again, and again it blew them away, didn't believe all the answers were false!

- had one of the K and grade 1 groups "do a pledge" out loud ("I will never put my face up to a dog's face") - then told them if they promise to keep the pledge I would give them all a sticker and certificate (very sneaky if I say so myself 'cause of course they were getting them anyway!)

- very best part of my day - when about 50 K - 2 kids all swarmed me with hugs at the end of the presentation, with one commenting that she really really liked me, thought I was very smart and how did I get so smart anyway? (would have given a shout out to Joan and Teresa at that point but was too overcome with emotion - hee hee)

Can't wait for the big event in May!

Cheers,
Dana (still feelin' the love from today)
Wag the Dog Training

Doggone Safe Announces the International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge

2011-03-06T20:28:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Doggone Safe Dog Announces the International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge

Campbellville ON March 7, 2011 – Doggone Safe today announced the International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge. It challenges its presenters to visit schools and educate 50,000 children about dog safety in a single week. The Challenge will occur during Dog Bite Prevention Week (May 15-21, 2011). Non-profit Doggone Safe has presenters in 17 countries, 11 Canadian provinces and 43 states in the USA. Doggone Safe has applied to be considered for a Guinness Record attempt for the Challenge.

Dog bites to children are considered to be a serious public health problem by public health agencies and veterinary medical associations worldwide. Statistics show that most bites are by the family dog or other dog known to the child. “Experts agree that public education has an important role to play in reducing dog bite risk to children, and the Be a Tree program is one of the ways Doggone Safe is contributing”, said Teresa Lewin, vice president and cofounder of Doggone Safe.

Doggone Safe administers the “Be a Tree” dog bite prevention program for school children. The program is delivered by Doggone Safe presenters, veterinary technicians, dog trainers, dog behaviorists, public health nurses, emergency medical services personnel, animal control officers, police officers, teachers and humane educators. Presenters use a teacher kit which contains large format photographs showing dog body language signs, games and activities. Program sponsors can purchase supplementary branded learning materials such as coloring books, paint sheets, a story book, a poster, stickers, bookmarks and fridge magnets. Over 500,000 children worldwide have experienced the Be a Tree presentation since 2004. Through the International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge, Doggone Safe aims to increase this by at least ten percent.

“I love ‘be a tree’ (and ‘be a rock’). It's the best of its kind. This information has to get out there”, said Jean Donaldson – Internationally recognized dog behavior expert, award-winning author and director of the Academy for Dog Trainers.

For more information about the Challenge, to become a sponsor, to book a presentation for your school or to register as a presenter please visit the Doggone Safe website at www.doggonesafe.com.

About Doggone Safe
Doggone Safe is a non-profit corporation registered in Canada and Ontario, and in the US is a 501(c)(3) registered charity. Doggone Safe is dedicated to dog bite prevention through education and dog bite victim support. Doggone Safe has members from around the world. Educational programs offered by Doggone Safe are Be a Tree™ (for school-aged children), and online courses about dog body language and occupational dog bite prevention.

Media contact Canada: Joan Orr | joanorr@doggonesafe.com | 877-350-3232

Media contact USA: Kerry Potter-Kotecki | rockgym@aol.com | 845-369-6485

2295 Mohawk Trail
Campbellville ON Canada L0P 1B0

7 Rose Hill Rd
Suffern NY 10901

www.doggonesafe.com

Praise for Be a Tree Presenters

2011-02-27T18:52:00.000-05:00

I was looking through our old newsletters and found these wonderful letters written about some of our Be a Tree presenters. These were originally published in our newsletter in Apr 2007.

Tonji at Be a Tree presentation in Newfoundland

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"Just wanted to touch base with you about a presentation we had at the school by Tonji Stewart (of Holyrood, Newfoundland) called "Doggone Safe". The presentation informed our Grade Two and Three students on how they should act around dogs. It told them the signs to look for when approached by a dog and gave the steps that they should follow in dealing with dogs. I thought the presentation was excellent and Tonji did a great job of keeping it interactive and interesting. I strongly recommend this presentation to other schools. Just a thought. As I said, our teachers and students felt they learned a lot."

Robin McGrath; Principal - Holy Cross School
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"Sandi Wright (of Hinton, Alberta) did a presentation for our four playschool classes on dog safety. This presentation was very well organized and very informative. She had wonderful pictures to keep our little three and four year olds very attentive. Sandi also had a stuffed dog for the children to practice safely meeting a dog. I would highly recommend Sandi to others for this wonderful presentation."

Alma O'Rourke; Children's Creative Playschool
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Comments about Kerry Potter-Kotecki's presentation...

"I personally thought that you were wonderful!!! The kids were totally into everything that you had to say. You spoke to them in a nice, calm and sweet voice that was not at all frightful. You had all of the kids involved and took the time to answer their questions. They especially loved the dog that your brought. Giving them materials to take home reinforced the program that you did in school because the parents then were able to question the children about what they learned.

The only thing that I would have done differently was having the kids sit more in a semi circle around you instead of in a straight line. That was my fault because I asked them to sit on the red line on the floor in the gym. I think if they were a little closer to you the would be able to not get distracted from being too far on the end of the line. So what you said, did and explained to all those kindergarten, second and fourth grade girls was very informative and I honestly think they all got it.

This program is a wonderful thing."

Patti, Girl Scout Leader
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"She [Jan Kay of Kindersley, Saskatchewan] gave them a lot of practical strategies to use when dealing with or being confronted by a dog. It's a really good reminder for them not to assume our friends or neighbor's or even our own dog is going to be in a good mood or friendly. When I went back to the class they talked non-stop about what they learned."

Kim Edgerton; Grade 3 Teacher, Elizabeth School
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Be a Tree in the School for Lifelong Learning

2011-02-25T17:33:00.000-05:00

We just wanted to share this letter we received from Felicia Monteforte, who tells how she is using the Be a Tree program with mentally challenged children:

Myself and a friend who is a special education teacher for The School of Lifelong Learning, (a school for mentally challenged children up to age 19) here in our town, have presented the Doggone Safe program to the Principal and we will be giving presentations during the month of May in conjunction with the International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge. We'll be giving 2 presentations twice a week to all age levels. In fact they are trying to get the Be a Tree program as part of the school's curriculum.

We are also hoping to get the higher functioning children in a work environment with animals, i.e., shelters, groomers, etc, once they've completed the Doggone Safe Be a Tree program.

Thanks for all the work you guys do!
Regards,
Felicia

Study Shows that Children Do Not Know How to Read Dog Body Language

2011-02-23T01:27:00.000-05:00

Thanks to our good friend Dr. Stanley Coren for bringing this important study to our attention

Chlopčíková, M and Mojžíšová,A. 2010. Risk Factors in the relationship between children and dogs. Journal of Nursing, Social Studies and Public Health. 1(102–109).

Abstract:

In 2008, a pilot study trying to find the potential causes of conflicts in the children × dog relationship was realized. This pilot study was triggered by the increasing amount of cases of dog attacks in society, especially
dog attacks on the youngest generation (children). The collection of data which monitored awareness about a responsible approach and safe contact with dogs among primary school children (aged 8–12) was conducted from November 2007 to March 2008. The main aim of the research was to map children’s knowledge of dog’s communication signals, the perception of a child’s own authority in the relationship with a dog and the frequency of individual risk activities in their mutual contact. The research study has revealed alarming deficiencies, especially in the knowledge of communication signals and canine body language. The awareness of signs of the two most hazardous communication signals (threat and attack) was very poor.

Some Key Risk Factors Identified in this Study

Children considering themselves to be the highest authority over the dog
Children walking the dog without adult supervision
Ignorance of dog body language signals - considered by the authors to be the main bite risk factor

The overall bite incidence in this study was 51% (of 200 children age 8-12). This is consistent with finding from our own survey of children in Be a Tree sessions that 54% (of 869 children age 5-9) has been bitten.

The results of this study provide strong support for the Doggone Safe approach of teaching children to read dog body language to help reduce the dog bite risk.

Read the full article

Posted with permission from the publisher

Doggone Safe Coordinator a Finalist in Video Competition

2011-02-15T12:32:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Tonji Stewart, Doggone Safe Coordinator for Canada East, for being chosen as a finalist in the Canis Film Festival video competition! This competition showcases the skills of top clicker trainers who use positive-reinforcement to achieve amazing training results. Doggone Safe recommends clicker training as a safe and effective way to train dog.

Here is the link to the Canis Film Festival finalists. Enjoy all these terrific videos and it you want you can vote for your favourite:

http://www.canisfilmfestival.com/11_final_14.html

How to Love Your Dog - Valentine's Day Tips

2011-02-06T16:53:00.001-05:00

Children want to show love to dogs by giving hugs and kisses, but many dogs don’t like this. Most dog bites are to children, by the family dog or another dog known to the child. Hugs and kisses are a major cause of facial bites to children. Doggone Safe offers suggestions for safe ways to love your dog that the dog will appreciate.

Children (and adults too) often want to show love to dogs the way we show love to each other, through hugs and kisses. Dogs do not naturally understand this, or even enjoy it. Hugs and face-to-face contact can be very threatening to dogs. The dog may tolerate this for a while, but at some point may bite or snap to protect himself once he has exhausted all his means of more subtle warning. Some dogs do enjoy a hug from a special person, if it is on their terms and done with some extra scratching on the chest. Few, if any dogs enjoy hugs the way young children do this, which is to clasp around the neck and hang on. Parents should teach their children to avoid face-to-face contact with any dog (even their own dog) and to show love to the dog in ways other than hugging and kissing.

Doggone Safe offers the following suggestions for Valentine’s Day about how to love your dog in a way that the dog will appreciate.

Touch Your Dog

Invite your dog to come to you for attention. If your dog turns away or moves away, respect his wishes and leave him alone. Many dogs like to be near you, but not necessarily to be touched.
Scratch your dog on the side of the neck or on his chest.
Avoid hugs and kisses. People enjoy this, but most dogs don’t like hugs and kisses. They might tolerate it, but few actually enjoy it.
Invite your dog to sit with you while your read or watch TV. Let him lean on you or put his head on your lap on his terms.
Some dogs enjoy a scratch behind the ears. Most dogs don’t enjoy hands coming down on the top of their heads.
Pet your dog and then stop. If he tries to get you continue then you will know he likes it.

Play With Your Dog

Play games like fetch and hide and seek that do not involve chasing or rough play.
Take your dog for lots of walks.

Understand Your Dog

Learn to read dog body language so that you can understand what your dog is trying to tell you.
A happy dog pants and wags his tail loosely. He may wag all over.
An anxious dog might show a half moon of white in his eye or he may lick his lips or yawn. He may turn his head away or walk away. He wants to be left alone.
A dog that suddenly goes stiff and still is very dangerous and might be ready to bite.
A dog with his mouth closed and ears forward and/or with his tail held high is busy thinking about something and does not want to be bothered.

Reward Your Dog

Look for things your dog does right and give him a treat or praise, petting or play. Never hit or yell at your dog.
Give your dog a stuffed Kong or Chewber or other long lasting chew treat to enjoy while he lies on a mat or in a crate.

Visit our site to download this information as a handout

Read a previous blog post for more about why dogs don't like hugs and kisses

Upcoming Events

2011-02-04T21:15:00.002-05:00

Here is a list of upcoming events that might interest you. These are events in which Doggone Safe members are participating in some way. If you are a Doggone Safe member you may submit an event that qualifies under our submission guidelines. Here is a link to our events page:

http://doggonesafe.com/Doggone_Safe_Events

Doggone Safe cofounder Teresa Lewin will be at the Pet Funfest in Downsview ON on Feb 12-13 teaching kids and families about how to be safe around dogs and how to read dog body language. Come and meet Teresa and have fun learning to be a dog detective with the Be a Tree program.

Doggone Safe cofounder Joan Orr will be at Clicker Expo in Chicago on May 18-20.

Of particular interest to humane educators will be the APHE annual conference. This is the only conference we know of with a theme dedicated to humane education. You might also like to consider joining the APHE.

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Event: Pet Funfest
Date: Feb 12-13
Location: Downsview park, Downsview ON

Description: Come to shop, come to play, come to learn about pet adoption and perhaps meet your next pet. Over 70 vendors and animal welfare groups all indoors with a 2,400 sq ft off leash dog play area.

Link: http://www.petfunfest.ca/index.htm

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Event: Understanding and Solving Canine Behaviour Problems - Presented by Durham College
Date: Feb 23
Location: Durham College ON, Oshawa Campus

Description: Don’t miss this once-a-year opportunity to join an expert and develop an understanding of how both genetics and the learning process influence the appearance of behaviour problems in dogs. Methods of solving common issues such as aggression and separation anxiety will be examined using audio-visual aids and case studies.

Link: Durham college online course registration

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Event: Association of Professional Humane Educators Annual Conference
Date: Feb 24-25
Location: Fort Myers FL

Description: Join APHE for two great days packed with amazing presentations and professional networking opportunities.This is the national conference for humane educators.

Link: APHE conference registration and info

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Event: Clicker Expo
Date: Mar 18-20
Location: Chicago IL

Description: Unparalleled interaction between you and our top teachers sets ClickerExpo apart. Fifty insightful sessions, hands-on Learning Labs, lunchtime roundtable discussions, and special dinnertime events give you the most opportunities to learn from the best.

Link: Clicker Expo registration and information

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Event: Exploring the Dog's Mind - Professional Animal Behavior Associates
Date: May 13-15
Location: University of Guelph, Guelph ON

Description: For twenty-one years PABA has given annual seminars on canine behavior and learning. It has always been our goal to bring to you accredited speakers providing statistically accurate cutting edge information. Each year we attempt to equal or surpass the quality of previous years. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we are disappointed. This year we are bursting with anticipation!

Dr. Andrew Luescher
Dr. Jaak Panksepp
Karen Pryor
Dr. Alexandra Horrowitz
Dr. Meghan Herron
Kathy Sdao
Pat Miller

Our speakers WORLDLY - AWESOME - DAZZLING – FORMIDABLE Don’t miss them!

Link: http://www.gentleleadercanada.com/events.html

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Doggone Safe Wins Web Health Award!

2011-02-04T14:53:00.001-05:00

Doggone Safe received an award of merit in the Community Organization category of the Web Health Awards for its website at www.doggonesafe.com

From the Web Health Award press release:

The Health Information Resource Center announced the winners of its 2010 Web Health AwardsSM — which recognizes high-quality digital health information

The competition featured 15 entry categories, including blog, e-newsletter, interactive content, mobile application, social network, video, website, and more. A panel of 36 judges selected gold, silver, bronze, and merit winners from among nearly 500 entries.

“This year we added several new categories, including mobile application, which promises to be an area of exciting and rapid growth in the world of digital health information,” says Chris Behrend, Program Manager. “In fact, 8 of the 11 mobile applications entered this year were winners. This year’s higher range of scores is
indicative of the overall improvement in digital health information over the years.” Some of the Gold winners included Blausen Medical Communications, Inc. for “Blausen Human Atlas HD iPad App” in the mobile application category; Johns Hopkins Medicine for “Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Residency Program” in the webcast category; Ketchum for “Clorox Bleach: Just the Facts, Mom” in the website category; Mayo Clinic Health Solutions for “Mayo Clinic EmbodyHealth portal” in the website category; and United Health Group for “America’s Health Rankings” in the website category. A complete list of categories along with a list of winners can be found on the official awards program website: webhealthawards.com.

The Health Information Resource CenterSM (HIRC) is a national information clearinghouse for professionals in consumer health fields. For 17 years, the HIRC has organized the National Health Information Awards (healthawards.com), which annually recognizes the nation’s best consumer health information. The Web Health AwardsSM, now in its 12th year, is a companion awards recognition to the National Health Information Awards, and it recognizes web-based, online and digital health information programs, for both
consumers and professionals.

Dogs Don't like Hugs and Kisses

2010-12-24T00:33:00.000-05:00

Dogs Don't Like Hugs and Kisses!

This is one of Doggone Safe's major messages and probably the one that gives us the most trouble. Many people simply don't believe this and are determined to argue about it.

Some dogs are very tolerant and will allow hugging and kissing, some try to get away, some lick the face of the hugger until they let go and some resort to biting. Some rare dogs do enjoy hugs from a person that they love, who scratches their chest while hugging and who doles out hugs on the dog's terms. There are few if any dogs who enjoy hugs the way kids do it, which is to clasp the dog around the neck and hang on. This is very threatening to a dog. The fact that the dog is uncomfortable or even feeling a threat and the proximity of the child's face to the dog's teeth makes this potentially very dangerous. This is why we recommend that parents teach children to show affection to the dog in ways that do not involve hugs and kisses.

In a study that looked at the reasons for dog bites to children the following was found:

Familiar children were most commonly bitten in relation to food or resource guarding and “benign” interactions such as petting, hugging, bending over, or speaking to the dog.

Read the whole study report. This is something that dog trainers and behaviorists know without having to see any data. From their experience they know that this is a major cause of facial bites and they know from the behavior of dogs that they rarely enjoy hugs and kisses. Author and dog behavior expert Patricia McConnell says in her wonderful book "For the Love of a Dog" that she has at least 50 photos of kids hugging dogs and in not one of them does the dog look happy.

A recently published children's book entitled "Smooch Your Pooch" recommends that kids hug and kiss their dog anytime anywhere. We regard this as dangerous advice and so does the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior and Veterinary Behaviorist Sophia Yin. Dr Yin says:

While this adorably illustrated book, with its sweet, catchy rhymes, is meant to foster affection for pets, the contents as well as the cover illustration teach kids to hug and kiss dogs; this can cause dogs to react aggressively. No one knows that better than Dr. Ilana Reisner, a veterinary behaviorist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Reisner and her colleagues published a study examining why children get bitten by dogs. Says Reisner, "The recommendations in this children's book -- and even the title of the book -- are potentially dangerous."

That's because many dogs do not like being petted or hugged. They just tolerate it -- at least temporarily.

Read Dr. Yin's article about Smooch Your Pooch and why it is not good idea to encourage kids to hug and kiss dogs.

If you are a person who thinks that your likes hugs and kisses, you can find out for sure by learning about dog body language and observing your dog to see how he reacts to hugs. Visit our website to learn about the signs of an anxious dog and see if your dog exhibits any of these while you are hugging him.

Even if you have one of those rare dogs that does enjoy hugs from your or from kids (very unlikely), there are times when the dog will be less tolerant than at other times. The dog may tolerate or even enjoy a hug on his terms, but sometimes he will not be in the mood. Here is how we explain this to kids:

When you are home at night watching TV or reading a bedtime story you might like to sit on your Mom or Dad's knee or have them whisper "I love you" in your ear or give you a kiss. However if you are out on the soccer field or at school with your friends or acting in the school play you might not want to sit on a parent's lap or have them run out in the middle of the game or the play to whisper in your ear or give you a hug and a kiss. It's the same for dogs. If they are busy doing something, or interested in another dog or a squirrel, or they are tired they may not want to have attention from you that they might enjoy at other times.

The dog that is most tolerant is the dog that is most likely to be subjected repeatedly to unwanted attentions. Dog and child relationship expert Madeline Gabriel calls this "the curse of the good dog". Click here to read more about this important concept and how you can protect your good dog from this curse.

New Dog Bite Research

2010-12-23T18:01:00.001-05:00

Two new studies on dog bites have been reported recently.

A Review of 100 Dog Bite Cases in British Columbia - reported on CTV News

"Doctors at a B.C. hospital say children must be taught about the dangers of strange dogs, so that they stay out of harm's way and away from the operating table.

A group of doctors have reviewed more than 100 cases in which a dog bit a child.They found that children tend to get bit in the face and most often by a dog they know. In over half of the cases, the attacks are unprovoked."

We doubt that the statement that the bites were unprovoked is true. Dogs always bite for a reason and they warn in some way first. Sometimes the warning is very subtle and this is why Doggone Safe teaches children and parents how to read dog body language and understand the often subtle signs that dogs send when they are anxious and thus more likely to bite.

The study found that most of the bites were to the face and that most of the dogs that bit were known to the child. This is consistent with the findings from previous studies and underscores the need for parents to supervise, recognize the signs that a dog does or does not welcome attention from children and prevent interactions that could lead to a bite.

Most of the bites were to the face which suggests that the child's face was too close to the dog. Doggone Safe wants parents to teach children that dogs do not like hugs and kisses and that they should keep their face away from the face of a dog, even their own dog. Read our advice for parents.

In an interview Dr. Farrah Yau indicated that many children suffer from post traumatic stress disorder after a dog bite. Visit our victim support page for information about the importance of emotional counseling for children after a dog bite and how parents can help their child.

Holmquist L. and Elixhauser A. 2010. Emergency Department Visits and Inpatient Stays Involving Dog Bites, 2008. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Statistical Brief #101.

This report considered data on emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations for dog bite from US healthcare databases.

"The estimates in this Statistical Brief are based upon data from the HCUP 2008 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) and the 2008 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS). Historical inpatient data were drawn from the 1993–2007 NIS. The statistics were generated from HCUPnet, a free, online query system that provides users with immediate access to largest set of publicly available, all-payer national, regional, and state-level hospital care databases from HCUP."

An article describing this study published in the New York Times said the following:

"The number of Americans hospitalized for dog bites almost doubled over a 15-year-period, increasing to 9,500 in 2008 from 5,100 in 1993, a new government study reports. The increase vastly exceeded population growth, and pet ownership increased only slightly during the same period, said the report’s author, Anne Elixhauser, a senior research scientist with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality."

Some key findings were as follows:

The average cost of a hospital stay for a dog bite related injury was $18,200, which is about 50% higher than the the average injury-related stay.
The number of dog bite related hospital stays increased from 1993-2008

The incidence of hospital visits for children was higher than for adults

Read the full report

Read the NewYork Times article about this report

Review of the Clicker Puppy DVD in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

2010-12-07T14:20:00.001-05:00

This independent review of the Clicker Puppy DVD was published in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine:

Did you know that young children can train puppies as well as, if not better than, adults can? I didn't--at least not until I watched the Clicker Puppy DVD! When we bought our new puppy this year, I thought the best way to train him would be signing him up for doggy obedience classes. I also thought that only one person training a dog was preferable. Turns out both assumptions were wrong! [Editor's note - the Clicker Puppy DVD recommends that puppies go to obedience class in addition to training at home]. Clicker training is a science-based method that uses positive reinforcement to teach your dog. In my family's experience, using this method has been easy, gentle, and yes, even fun! The DVD is just under 50 minutes long and guides you step-by-step on how to train your puppy. One of the best things about this presentation is that all the training is done by children with puppies who are learning it in real time. It is amazing how fast the puppies learn from the children using just a clicker (which you can purchase from the website) and some treats!

There is so much included in the DVD! In addition to demonstrating what clicker training is and how to do it, the video shows children teaching commands such as sit, down, roll over, come, off, jump over an obstacle, and retrieve. Because the presentation is done without rehearsal, you'll see common problems crop up and observe how to solve them--a huge advantage compared to just reading about it!

One of the things that proved particularly helpful in training our own puppy was the section titled "Training Tips." We learned why it's helpful to train close to the puppy's dinnertime, what the "3-try rule" was, why training with two people is better than one, and how and why to avoid negative reinforcement. In addition to this bonus track, there are three others included: using clicker training with rabbits, how to read a dog's body language in order to stay safe, and a method of clicker training used with people called TAGteach (which you may form a positive or negative opinion of, but is nonetheless interesting).

My family found this DVD to be a very helpful tool for training our puppy and reinforcing what he's learned. Having something like this on a DVD is so useful because it demonstrates techniques that are best learned visually. Watching other children training different puppies gives my kids the confidence to do it too, and it is wonderful to be able to return to the DVD whenever we need a refresher on something!

I highly recommend Clicker Puppy to anyone who wants to train a puppy using positive reinforcement that yields great results!

Product review by Dawn Peterson, The Old Schoolhouse^® Magazine, LLC, May, 2010

The Clicker Puppy DVD is available in the Doggone Safe store. Doggone Safe recommends clicker training as a fun and safe way for children to help train the family dog.

Here is a clip from the Clicker Puppy DVD:

Here is another clip:

Review of the Doggone Crazy! Board Game in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

2010-11-26T17:24:00.000-05:00

This review of the Doggone Crazy! board game was published by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine:

Doggone Crazy! Family Fun Action Game is a unique and informative game that aims to teach children how to be safe around dogs. While the game is meant to be played by all ages, its main focus is on helping children to "read" the body language of dogs and know how to respond appropriately in various situations.

The object of the game is to collect as many dog bones (small cardboard punch outs) as possible, moving around the board by spinning the arrow to reveal the number of spaces in which to move forward. Each spot along the way gives some kind of direction on what to do next. Players might answer a true/false or multiple choice question on a Do-Do-Do It card, view a picture of a dog on a See-See-See-It card to try to guess if it's either safe or dangerous, collect a bone, etc. The player that collects the most bones wins, however, the real goal is what is learned during the course of the game.

I'll start with a few of the cons, even though they are minor, and then share what I liked about this game. Because the focus of the game is on teaching bite prevention, there is some over generalizing reflected in some of the answers on the cards. For instance, one of the photo cards shows a dog on a bed with a relaxed, non threatening posture. However, because the rule is, "Stay away from dogs on beds or furniture," the dog is to be considered dangerous, despite that the card says it's a known dog and an adult is present. While I can more than appreciate the better safe than sorry mindset (I use it often as a mom), I prefer not to teach my children that something is an absolute when it's clearly situational. And while I also understand the use of the terms "dangerous" and "safe" for the sake of clarity, especially with younger children, I'm not fond of my children thinking that when Grandma's golden retriever sits on their couch or rests on their bed, he should be considered a threat to their safety. There are other scenarios like this in the game, so when we come across them, we talk about when it might be true, when it might not be, and how to discern the difference.

Another con is that the game does run a bit long, about 45 minutes, so younger children might lose interest before it's over with (like mine does).

Regardless of these small drawbacks, both my kids and I have learned a lot of very useful information about dog behavior! I especially appreciate the See-See-See-It cards with photos of dogs and kids, as it is a wonderful way to observe and discuss a dog's body language before encountering a similar situation in real life! I love that it teaches them how to observe and really think about whether or not a dog is safe to approach, knowing that they will be able to call upon what they've learned and seen in order to discern what to do. I plan to use just the cards for review every now and then, as I think it will be a great way to reinforce the information. Both the Do-Do-Do-It and See-See-See-It cards can even be used on their own, and easily be incorporated into a more basic game for the sake of brevity with younger ones.

Another helpful aspect is that various age and comprehension levels aren't overlooked. For instance, the Do-Do-Do-It cards contain multiple choice scenarios which have answers based on the ages of the player (2 options for 4-6 year olds, 3 options for 7-10 year olds, and 4 options for 11 and older). Spaces on the board are color coded (red means bad interactions with a dog, green means good interactions) as well as other symbols that help a non reading child to know what to expect as they move around the board. There is even a "Simon Says" feature which is especially fun for the younger set.

It is very clear that the creators of this game put a great deal of thought into making it both fun and educational. One clever play in the game is when a player lands on a "Be a tree" space, and everyone has to jump up and assume the tree pose (illustrated right on the board). Whoever is fastest gets a bone. If a player fails to get up in time, they are "bitten" and end up in the "hospital" where they are hindered in advancing around the board for the next 3 turns. Obviously the goal is in training a child to stand immediately still in the most non threatening posture possible if they encounter an overly excited or hostile dog - a helpful thing to have practiced if ever it's needed.

The Doggone Crazy! Family Fun Action Game is very thorough, informative and fun! If you're looking for a creative way to teach your children how to be safe and confident around dogs, this is a great tool!

Click here for more independent reviews of the Doggone Crazy! game.

We hope you will help us spread the word by buying Doggone Crazy! as a gift for a child this holiday season, and by suggesting it to others.

In the US you can buy it through:

Karen Pryor Clickertraining

The Humane Society of the US Youth Division

In Canada:

BoardGames.ca
Doggone Safe store (Ontario and Quebec)

Outside North America:

Karen Pryor Clickertraining

The game is also available in some local stores. Click here for a list.

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