How
to
get started teaching Dog Bite Prevention
Jen's
Experience
Abbreviations to know:
ARSF - Akita Rescue Society of
Florida
AKC - American Kennel Club
DPC - Dog Bite Prevention Class
CGC - Canine Good Citizen
It's a matter sometimes of being
at the right place at the right time, but mostly it's asking &
being able to give some "substance" to who I am. I do this on
behalf of "Akita Rescue Society of Florida" who has a 35+ year
history & can be checked out and I've been an American Kennel
Club Canine Ambassador in the past (who happens to be able to say
we've won one of their Community Achievement awards for our
program) and I've now been doing this for almost 26 years and if
needed can provide some references (i.e. teachers, scout troop
leaders, library).
It takes time, but even in the
beginning, I will say that being able to show them a letter from
the American Kennel Club that I was part of a legitimate public
education program helps.
Also, networking - my sister back
in the original days was a scout troop leader. She told other
scout troop leaders & I offered to tailor the presentation to
a badge. One of the people at my old Church was a teacher &
she got me in to do her class. She passed the word on to other
teachers. I do obedience w/ a teacher who helped set up a DPC at
her school. In addition, the director at ARSF makes sure that we
are at virtually every Jax Humane Society event that they offer a
chance for rescues to set up at. At one of them we met someone
from the library which opened up that door - - worked it out with
them & suggested about 10 dog related book titles that I could
think of to have available after the DPC for children to check
out.
Hook up with a group - local long
term rescue with non-profit status, AKC, Purebreed Clubs Public
Education Committee, local Humane Society etc.... you've got to be
more than just "Joe Blow" off the street. Be able to show that
your dogs have at least a CGC to help show they're not safety
concerns. It really helps if you have homeowner's insurance with
dog coverage in liability. That had closed a door for me on 1 or 2
occasions.
Just do it. That is really the big
thing. Continue to get the word out anywhere you can. We had
professional trading card type cards printed up with the 4 big
rules & had a picture of Rocky on them. And later, business
cards for our other dogs with their pictures on them - it helps to
be able to hand one to someone & show what we talk about.
4 BIG RULES:
NEVER pet a stray dog
NEVER pet a dog who is eating
ALWAYS ask to pet someone else's
dog
NEVER run from a dog
Hope this is helpful,
Jen
