Kids Safe With Dogs Charitable Trust
Amy Scott-Thomas talks with the director and founder of The Dog Safe Workplace and Kids Safe With Dogs Charitable Trust , Jo Clough , about the increasing number of dog bite incidents in New Zealand .
Jo , give us a bit a background on how the organisations were started and why . rules , we explain why so that children and adults understand the reasoning behind what they are being taught .
Back in 2003 I was studying to be a vet nurse and a young girl was attacked by a dog in a park in Auckland . I decided then that I wanted to do something to help educate kids about keeping safe around dogs . Finally , in 2014 , I found myself in a situation where I could . With my business partner , I started researching the number of bites and was shocked by the statistics and the increase in bites across all age groups .
Tell me a bit about Kids Safe With Dogs ?
Each year we see the numbers of dog bites increasing – in 2015 there were 12,937 bites and in 2016 that jumped to 14,024 . And these are only the reported bites .
Dog bites are spread out quite evenly over the age groups but because of the way children interact with dogs they tend to get bitten on the face and head .
We have consulted with a psychologist to ensure that our programmes are not only age specific but structured to engage children and allow them to develop empathy and understand why dogs may bite .
The basis of the programme is ensuring that we have qualified and well educated instructors . Each instructor has to go through a training programme , they are police checked and any dogs that are used are temperament tested .
It is extremely important that all our instructors understand the trauma and fear that being chased by a dog can cause . We hear lots of stories from teachers , parents and children about situations that they have been in , and consequently being near a dog can cause anxiety and stress . When children are scared their behaviour can become a catalyst to a dog getting overexcited and that ’ s when bites can occur .
1 . Always ask the owner ’ s permission before you approach a dog
Many people already do this or get their children to ; but it is also really important that children understand why they have to ask . Also that it is OK if the owner says “ no ”.
If they say no there is usually a good reason and possibly that would be for safety . The dog may not be particularly fond of children or has had a bad experience with them in the past . Your child may be wearing a hat or jumping around and scaring the dog . Or just like us the dog may be having an off day , it could be tired or ill and the owner knows the dog won ’ t appreciate being touched by strangers . We need to teach our children that instead of getting sad , or grumpy , it ’ s OK that the dog ’ s not in the mood and maybe the next dog they see they are able to say hi to .
Imagine if you were walking down a street and a complete stranger came up and hugged you . We can guarantee that most people would be pretty upset . So what we do is get the children to develop empathy and understand how a dog feels in the same situation .
Also , by asking , your voice announces your presence to the owner and the dog – that prevents them from being taken by surprise .
By having to ask permission , it also means that if the owner isn ’ t there then the dog shouldn ’ t be touched .
2 . Where to touch a dog
This has caused a few detractors to have a go at us but we base our programme on research and the latest recommendations from some of the biggest names and organisations in canine behaviour , along with research from Europe on cardiac responses to physical human-dog contact .
We recommend only touching the side or back – in some countries they say collar to tail . When you consider that 80 % of bites are to the face and head the first thing that comes to mind is “ don ’ t put your face in the dog ’ s face ”.
From about 3 months , babies develop a response called mutual gaze . This is where they look you in the eyes and smile ( they even do it to faces on TV ). When a child approaches a dog and goes to touch them anywhere around the face or chest a child will instinctively look the dog in the eyes . For many dogs this is intimidating and they don ’ t like it . If the dog is scared , gets a fright or becomes irritated , they may lunge at the child and potentially this could end up in a bite .
How does the programme work ? They are all built around 3 Golden Rules . But we don ’ t just have
When a child or adult has asked permission and the owner says yes , we recommend that you let the dog come to you instead of approaching it or putting your hand in its face . If the dog wants to interact it will probably give