“Be a Tree” – there’s more to it than preventing dog attacks

This week (20-26 May) is International Dog Bite Prevention Week. 

For most of this month I’ve been out and about trying to educate kids and their parents as to the best ways to keep themselves safe around dogs.

For all their laws and regulations regarding the correct care and training of dogs, the Swiss are more interested in banning dog breeds than educating humans about safety around dogs. I was amazed to learn recently that the canton of Geneva has banned 15 dog breeds and keeps dog owners and their canine pals on a tight leash while doing nothing to educate the greater public how to behave around dogs. In all respects they hold the dog owner responsible, without considering that dog bites are usually a last resort for the dog and the unwitting actions of humans (dog trainers included) can provoke an attack when we disregard the warning signals a dog tries to communicate to us.

One in two children will experience a dog bite at some time in their childhood, and while most of these, more than 80%, will require no medical attention, many could have been prevented as most bites are by a family dog or a dog that is known to the child.  The best way to keep a child safe is to be vigilant as parents and teach the child how to act around dogs.

All dogs bite – it is a key behavioral characteristic of the species – but most do so only if they consider they have no other choice.  A dog bite is nearly always the result of some form of provocation and occurs only after the dog has sent out a plethora of warning signs of which we humans are either unaware, or chose to ignore. 

In the late 80’s, as a young parent, I got to experience firsthand what can happen when our ignorance gets in the way of common sense. My son, Simon, then aged 4 years and our 3 month old Siberian husky, Zak, were playing together in the kitchen while I prepared the dog’s dinner.  I placed the bowl on the floor next to the puppy and turned back to tidy things away. With my attention elsewhere my son decided to try taking the dog’s bowl away, an action he had seen me do as part of the dog’s training (an action I now know is unnecessary and provocative). Zak growled defensively, enough to cause me to turn to see what was going on. I still have in my head the image of Simon’s hand holding the bowl, and the puppy, body tense, ears flat back, eyes wide, tossing warning signs out like sparks from a fire. Before I could react Zak struck with an open mouthed punch to Simon’s face. A razor sharp puppy tooth from his upper jaw punctured the skin just above Simon’s right eye and the lower jaw teeth penetrated to the left of Simon’s mouth.  It was a level 3 bite on Ian Dunbar’s Dog Bite Scale, but one that could have been much worse had the puppy held on or closed his mouth. 

The dog just wanted to be left alone to eat his dinner in peace, and he did what any puppy would do to a litter mate who got in the way. After consultations with the vet and the doctor, it was Simon who decided he wanted to keep his puppy and so began my education in appropriate training for puppies. But really the dog was doing what came naturally to him, it was we humans who needed the training.

As a result of this, and other incidents I have experienced with dogs over the years, I now take every opportunity I can to educate anyone who will listen on how to be doggone safe.

Doggonesafe is a non-profit organisation that is dedicated to dog bite prevention through education. They have a brilliant program called “Be a Tree” that goes well beyond dog bite prevention into interpreting dog body language and the appropriate ways to respond to what the dog is saying. The program begins by informing children that they have all the tools they need to keep themselves safe right inside their head, and goes on to illustrate how they can use those tools to read the signals a dog might be sending and to respond appropriately. Large poster sized photos of each tool and a number of dogs in various attitudes show the children the signs to look for. Ears, eyes, muzzle, body, tail – soon become a mantra reminding children that these are the parts of a dog they need to read to find out how a dog is feeling.

Be a Tree pose - how to respond to an unknown dog on the loose.

Learning how to behave around dogs is really about following a few simple guidelines:

• Always “Be a Tree” if an unfamiliar dog approaches you or a dog you are playing with becomes over excited
• If you are on the ground, or a dog knocks you down, roll up like a hedgehog, be a rock!
• Always stay calm and quiet when a dog comes near you – if you squeal he may think you’re his prey
• Always watch for signs of how a dog is feeling : ears, eyes, muzzle, body, tail
• Always ask your parent or caregiver first, before approaching a dog showing friendly body language
• Always ask the dog’s owner if you can pet the dog
• Always let a safe dog check you out first, let him sniff your fist
• Always walk away from a dog you think might be unsafe
• Always leave dogs alone who are sleeping, eating or who have puppies
• Always tell an adult if you see a dog behaving strangely
• Always remember, you might like hugs and kisses, but dogs don’t. They do like it though if you gently stroke their neck or chest.

The other day I met up with one of the first children I taught to “Be a Tree”, and I was delighted at the calm way in which he stood – tree-like – as I passed by with both dogs. My poodle knows this boy well and went up to greet him. Instead of crouching down and giving Blue a hug like he might have done some months ago, this 6-year-old quietly stroked Blue along the side of his neck and Blue nuzzled in for more.

Beau, who is still learning how to behave around children, sat quietly a short distance away and watched. The boy’s quiet calm even extended to him, as normally the exuberance of children with their flailing arms and high pitched squeals, as they go about playing their games, sets him on full alert - hunting mode, but not this time. This time I am sure he saw the child for what he was, a small human offering up affection dog-style.

For every child who learns how to behave appropriately around a dog, and practices reading  the signals that dogs are continually exhibiting for us, the closer we move towards keeping all children safe and I am sure the dogs will appreciate this as much as we will.

Going on Vacation? ...and can't take your dogs?

What to look for in a Boarding Kennel

Whenever possible our dogs come with us on vacation. In Europe it is easy to do because dogs are readily accepted in hotels and holiday accommodation, particularly in France. Every couple of years though, we head home to New Zealand for a month to catch up with family and to enjoy all the wonderful things about the country we love.

Blue on Day 3 of his holiday

In the past this has not been a problem for the early years of our time in Switzerland we were dog free. This year however, we have a new family and the dilemma before us was one many dog owners face – what to do with our dogs while we were away.

Our home leave is a well-orchestrated affair – it has to be. When you are travelling nearly 20,000 km to the other side of the world you really want everything to go as smoothly as possible or else where is the R & R element to the adventure? So I start planning our trip three or four months out and this year I had the added task of looking for appropriate accommodation for our two rascals.

Because I work a lot with dogs in kennel situations I had a very good idea of what I did not want for our two. My first task then was to define as clearly as possible what it was that I did want. This is an excellent training exercise for a clicker trainer – shifting the focus from what you don’t want, to what you do. Here is what I came up with:

From: I don’t want my dogs…		To: I want my dogs…
	…to be separated.		…to stay together.
	… to be caged or put behind bars.		…to be in a safe and secure indoor environment.
	…left on their own.		…to be in the company of humans.
	…exercised with dogs they don’t know.		…to be exercised with other dogs that play well.
	…to be isolated in any way.		…to always be in a social environment (unless they are sleeping).
	…left to their own devices.		…to be stimulated and challenged.
	…to be fed unknown food.		…to continue their raw food diet.
	…to develop bad habits.		…to continue to be reinforced for behaving well.
	…to be exposed to incessant barking.		…to be in a place that encourages quiet times.
	…punished for things they do wrong.		…to be rewarded for what they do right.

Okay, even I had to admit that my list was just a little fanciful but the truth was that these really were the things I wanted the boarding kennel to provide for my dogs. And so the search began.  I started with Switzerland, it seemed logical, that’s where we live. I followed up a score of different kennels, and I could find none that satisfied half of my criteria.

The first thing that struck me was how large many of these kennels were and how many dogs were housed there. I felt compelled to add more to my list.

I don’t want my dogs…		I want my dogs…
	…to be lost in the crowd.		…to get the same sort of attention they get at home.
	…to be fed with strange dogs present.		…to be fed on their own as they are at home.

The more I looked the more concerned I became. Statements like: “First shock upon arrival: the barking welcome! Your friend may be a little upset by such noisy activity! Don’t take too much notice. Soon he will be part of the fun and follow his pals!” Oh dear, here was a place that thought it was all right for dogs to be constantly barking!

And then there was this one: “Why may your dog lose weight while staying with us? above all for two reasons. First every change of environment is stressful; second when in kennels no dog will leave all the “works” to the others! As soon as one dog barks, all of them listen, get up and… join the fun!”

With new friends on Day 12 

Another suggested that we leave the dogs at the gate and not enter the compound (is it just me or does that sound like a prison sentence?), others insisted that we bring nothing the dog could associate with home (excuse me?) I felt more and more disheartened. All I could think of was my little poodle reverting back to his reserved former self and all the good work over the last year or so becoming completely undone.

I widened my search to include France. The more I looked, the more despair I felt – was there nothing out there? It was my husband that came to the rescue. I had sent him a link to the dog::links website to pass onto a friend who was looking to adopt a dog. He sent me back a link to a place in France that had been advertised on the site – why had I not seen it? Who knows, but I was so glad that he had.

Saint Pardoux Pension Pour Chiens was the perfect place for what I was after. First of all it was a small concern situated in a tranquil rural community in the Deux Sevres region. I had no idea where that was, but I didn’t care. That word “tranquil” had captured my attention and I wanted to read more.

The site offered “a 4-star holiday experience in a warm and friendly environment”. I was more intrigued, this sounded so like the perfect place for my dogs. What really impressed me was that there were only 3 “kennels” but they were more like little apartments, with tiled floors and real doors. Ambient music was played in each room and dogs could have heating or television if required – these were the comforts of home my dogs were used to. It sounded idyllic, the sort of place I’d love to be if I were a dog. 

As I read the customer comments I got more excited and wasted no time in sending off an email to make enquiries.  Here was a place that seemed to tick all the boxes on my list – was it too good to be true?

Day 17 - Beau finds a quiet spot under the desk in the office

That was in February. We went on home leave in April and picked up our dogs two weeks ago. They couldn’t have been in better condition. It was obvious from the looks on their faces that they had had a ball of a time – and Blue, my supposedly anorexic poodle, had put on weight!

Saint Pardoux Pension Pour Chiens is an 8 hour drive from where we live in Switzerland, a fact that had little influence at all on our decision. The quality of care our dogs received was well worth the effort, one we would gladly do over again. Not only did Suzette Jeapes, the proprietor, keep us informed with weekly updates on how our boys were doing and the friendships they had formed with the other dogs in residence, she also took photos and video of them throughout their stay. Now we have this wonderful record of their holiday so we too can share in their experience.

Had I not come up with my list of criteria, and been determined to seek out the ideal place for my dogs to stay, I might never have found Saint Pardoux Pension Pour Chiens and our holiday experience would have been all the less as a result. Focusing on what it is you do want – in all things – really is worth the effort and can be the difference between accepting the mediocre and going for gold every time!