Children’s dog-bite safety education

Children and dogs… these words can describe a image of peace and tranquility and a memory you will want to treasure for ever. Or it can be one you want to forget – a true nightmare!

There is a lot to learn about dogs. Bite statistics tell us that one in two children are bitten before they reach adolescence, with many of these bites coming from dogs known to the child.

When this happens it may be decided that the dog can no longer live with the family, some end up in shelters and may even be euthanised. These situations are tragic for the children and dogs are often preventable.

Unfortunately dogs are not very well understood. Dogs are looked upon as children’s playmates and treated like stuffed toys.

Not a lot of children or adults can read a dog’s body language, and unfortunately dogs don’t speak our language either.

That’s where we come in, with our “Be a Tree” programme.

Jane is a licensed presenter of the programme. She has the tools to provide children of all ages with an amazing fun and interactive session, where the children will learn about dog bite safety, beginning with what to do if a known – or strange – dog approaches them, then moving on to teaching them about the body language of a dog – especially if they are starting to feel uncomfortable. These “tools” will help the child to assess the situation.

You love your kids and dogs and want to do all you can to keep them safe, healthy and happy; but sometimes this can prove difficult, and occasionally it can get dangerous.

With a little education and commitment, families can learn to manage both kids and pets together. We would like to help you do that.

Keeping children and dogs safe is something Jane is passionate about.

If you are a school, playgroup, holiday club, scouts, cubs, brownies, church group, neighbourhood group or in any other setting where parents and caregivers want to show their kids how NOT to get bitten by a dog, we can help!

Please contact us to arrange for us to come and show your children how to “Be a Tree” and much more. It’s also excellent for children who are frightened of dogs.

We will also be putting on presentations ourselves, at our own venue, so if you want your children to be able to attend a session, please keep an eye on our EVENTS page.

These sessions are also great as an alternative entertainment for a birthday party, and can be slotted in and around other entertainment and food. They last between 90 minutes and 2 hours, dependent on what you want to include and key features include:

Suitable for children from the age of 4
Parents or a caregiver must be present
Sessions are fun and interactive
All children leave with a certificate

We will also be adding young handlers to our list of dog training courses very soon… watch this space!

Thank you for making dogs a safe and wonderful part of childhood.