Ask the Dog

It's Dog Bite Prevention week, although I personally believe that we should prevent dog bites every week throughout the year. 

The purpose of Dog Bite Prevention week is to educate people so that dog bites can be prevented.  I've been a humane educator for 9 years, and have gone through a lot of educational materials with this goal in mind.  The information I give children is constantly evolving as I try to decide what is most important.  I try to keep in mind that too much material will cause the message to be lost, and less is sometimes more.

A common aspect of most dog safety presentations is to ask the owner of the dog if a child want's to approach and pet the dog.  This is a really great habit for both children and adults to get into.  Some dogs are not comfortable with strangers and some are nervous around children.  Asking the owner first allows the owner to keep the dog safe if this is the case. 

Recently I've started to incorporate a new part to my presentation.  It's fantastic to ask the owner, but there's someone else who should be asked before a child pets a dog, the dog himself.  While a dog can't respond with a verbal "yes" or "no", it's true that actions speak louder than words.  I tell children that they should be standing several feet from the dog and owner, and after the owner has given permission they should pat their legs and greet the dog.  If the dog wants to say "hi" he will come to them.  If he doesn't he may stay where he is or walk away from the child.  Either way he's letting the child know if he wants to be petted or just isn't in the mood.

One of the things I like about this is that many times I've seen children approach the dog, start to pet, and ask all at the same time.  By telling them to allow the dog to come to them they truly have to wait for permission before they can pet the dog.  And it's always safer to let a dog come to you, rather than invade the space of a dog who may feel insecure or anxious about being unable to avoid the interaction. 

The other thing I like about this practice is that it allows the dog a choice.  Part of humane education is to help children develop empathy for living creatures.  Asking the dog shows them that dogs have feelings and preferences just like people, and will show children the feelings of others are important. 

Feline Safety Part II

In the last post I talked about cat safety and mentioned some of the things that both kids and adults should know about cats in order to keep human skin safe, and to ensure that the cat is comfortable with an interaction as well.  Here are a few additional pieces of information. 

When cats are lying on their backs they are in a defensive position – they are NOT asking for a belly rub.  In this position they have use of all their weapons:  4 claws and teeth.  Leave your cat alone when he does this.   Yes -- this was in the last post, but it's important enough to state another time.  A lot of people get bit or scratched when they mistakenly think the cat is asking for a belly rub. 

 

When cats get wound up because they see other cats or animals outside the window stay clear.  Sometimes cats get frustrated because they can’t get outside at the other animal and might bite anyone who gets close to them.  This is very similar to a person who's having a bad day and is crabby to the people around them, even if those people have nothing to do with why the day is going so badly.  While dogs will also display redirected aggression on occasion, it is much more common in our feline friends. 

Cats don’t wag their tails like a dog, however you can tell how a cat is feeling by looking at his tail. A cat with a tail that is rapidly twitching or lashing it back and forth is agitated and should be left alone.  A cat who is happy and relaxed will have a relaxed body posture and will slowly twitch his tail.  

Below is a diagram on cat body language which illustrates a little better how to read your cat's mood.   Now go grab that fishing pole toy and have fun with your feline friend!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feline Safety

A lot of humane education and animal safety material focuses on dogs.  This is understandable because our canine friends are more likely to come into contact with more people than any other pet.  We take our dogs out for walks, have them accompany us to pet supply stores, take them when we visit other people's home, include them in our vacations, and they tend  to be out when visitors come to our homes.  It makes sense that we'd want to focus a lot of education about being safe around dogs when so many children will interact with both their own dogs, and dogs that belong to other people.

It's quite a bit more difficult to find material on cat safety.  According to the Association of Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), cats are the number one pet in the United States, with an estimated 74 million cats being kept as pets and out numbering dogs by 4 million.  Cats may not pose as great a danger as dogs since they generally are kept in the house, and often will hide if they feel threatended.  However cats can defend themselves if they feel a need to, and their teeth and claws can cause a lot of damage to a child. 

Parents and humane educators should spend some time speaking to children about how to behave around cats, not only so that children are safe, but also to allow the cat to feel safe and free from harassment in his own home. 

The first thing a child should know is that cats get to choose if they want to play or be petted.  If a cat walks away or runs and hides, the cat is letting you know that he want's to be left alone.  Not only is this a great cat safety message, but it is also a great way to help children understand about respecting others!

Children should also know that cats can vocalize when they are angry or annoyed.  A cat will hiss or even growl when they are upset, and just like a dog growling, a cat is warning you to leave her alone or else.   It's important to listen to this audible warning, because the next step most likely will be the cat biting or clawing in defense. 

Just like a dog cats should not be disturbed when eating or sleeping, and people should never use their hands in play.  Cats are predatory creatures, and during play they use hunting behaviors including use of their claws and teeth to grab their "prey".  Using your hands is a really good way to get your cat to unintentionally hurt you.  When playing with a cat a toy should always be used.  A really great toy to use with a cat is a fishing pole toy where a toy hangs from a strong off of a stick.  Not only will this keep your skin safe, but cats love the unpredictability of the toy moving back and forth and up and down. 

Cats don't use as much body language as dogs do, but what they do display is important for children to know.  One important cat posture is unfortunately not well known by most people.  When cats are on their backs with all four feet in the air it is not an invitation for a belly rub.  This is a defensive position where all five of a cat's weapons (teeth and 4 sets of claws) are available to use on an opponent.  Many people are bitten or scratched by cats because they make the mistake of reaching down to pet a cat's belly. 

I'll post more tips and information about cat safety in my next blog. 

HAWS Alumni Reunion with Lad Lake

The second semester of HAWS PETS program for the Lad Lake students (a school geared towards at-risk boys) has gone very well.  Many of the boys this semester are returning from the first semester session.

Back in October the boys had several opportunities to learn about puppy development and play with some of HAWS adoptable puppies. One litter in particular was a favorite.  It consisted of 7 white and tan roly poly little pups that all had  "Jack" in their name in some form or another.

One of the puppies returned for a visit recently with his new owner.  Jack Dempsey has been re-dubbed Leo and at 6 months of age is much bigger than the last time the boys met him when he was a mere 8 weeks.   One of the kids knew who he was immediately -- without being told that this was a puppy he'd met once before.  And the boys were delighted to see Leo and have an opportunity to get to know him again. 

Leo's visit allowed the boys to not only meet up with an old friend, but also to use their training experience.  Leo's mom wanted him to learn to greet people politely, instead of jumping as many adolescent dogs do.  Additionally she wanted him to get a little more confidence as Leo is currently going through a developmental fear period. 

The boys have worked with many adoptable dogs here at HAWS while enrolled in the program and it was great for them to be able to see what happens after the dog is adopted.  The value of their work has been reinforced because the boys saw that what they do at HAWS makes a difference, and that the dogs go on to have wonderful homes with really great owners. 

Rabbit on a Field Trip

 

HAWS adoptable Eleanor was kind enough to accompany me to Blair Elementary School in Waukesha for an after school program a few weeks ago.   The kids were really excited to meet Eleanor and learned a lot about rabbits as well. 

I started my visit talking about how fast rabbits can reproduce and the kids were amazed to find out that not only does HAWS take in a lot of rabbits, but that there are times we have more rabbits up for adoption than dogs or cats.   We talked about the fact that HAWS spays and neuters all of our rabbits before they go up for adoption, and how this helps prevent even more homeless rabbits from being born. 

Once Eleanor interacted with the kids they were amazed at how soft her fur was and how much she appeared to enjoy being petted.  Once they found out that as a prey animal rabbits are easily started by sudden movements and loud noises, the kids were very conscious of making sure they were quiet so that Eleanor was comfortable being with them. 

Some of the kids wanted to pick her up and were disappointed when I told them she needed to remain on the floor.  It made more sense to them as to why rabbits don't like to be picked up once I explained that the only reason a rabbit in the wild would be picked up is if an owl or coyote was going to carry them off for food. 

Eleanor had a really great outing that afternoon, and the kids learned a lot about rabbit behavior.  Now we just have to find a home so that Eleanor has a family of her own. 

Humane Education Dogs

My dog Mystic has served as an outstanding education dog in my work at HAWS for the last 8 years.    Mystic started his career when he was only 9 weeks old, and I set out to create the perfect dog to help me in my work.  I knew I needed a dog who would be friendly and outgoing, tolerant of stressful situations and handling, confident in new environments and when meeting new people, and calm around children who's energy level might be an eleven on a scale of one to ten.  He's met literally thousands of children and adults through humane education programs and has been a great example of what a well trained and socialized dog can be.

Mystic is not retiring -- not by a long shot.  But recently I added another dog to my family and I'd like to add the new puppy to my education programs.  Quinn was adopted through Minnesota Border Collie Rescue almost two weeks ago.  They were a great organzation to work with.  I told them what my future puppy would be doing as a humane education dog, and what kind of temperment the puppy should have.  They found a puppy they thought would work, and so far, so good. 

I've started Quinn's education by socializing him to as many people as I possibly can.   Socialization is extremely important for puppies before they are 14-16 weeks of age, and the process should make socialization fun, not scary for the puppy.  Quinn's socialization includes having new people get down on the ground and giving him food.  The idea is that by teaching him that new people have treats he'll start to look forward to meeting new people. 

Here's video of Quinn meeting some kids at Waukesha's Blair Elementary School last week.  The kids are all being appropriate, feeding his food down low and with the treats in the palm of their hands so fingers don't go into his mouth, and he's having a great time meeting him.  I look forward to giving frequent updates on Quinn's progress. 

Resisting Temptation

"Don't you just want to take them all home?" asked the mother of a girl scout whose troop was taking a tour of HAWS.  Our shelter would be well funded if we were given a nickle donation everytime one of our staff is asked that question. 

My very fast answer was no, and the woman was a bit taken aback in surprise, before she started chuckling. 

The truth is that to be a successful shelter employee you can't want to take them all home.  That kind of mind set ends up was the employee being frustrated or, even worse, an animal horder.   Burn out is very common in the animal welfare industry and shelter turn-over is generally very high. 

One of the problems with working in a shelter is that we see a lot of very heartbreaking cases, and there seems to never be an end to common animal welfare problems.  Just when you adopt out a few cats and gain some empty cages someone walks in with a litter of kittens.  When the dog that's been living at the shelter for 5 months finally gets a new home, there seems to be another to take his place.

But part of my job as a humane educator is to teach people about taking responsibility for their pets and making good choices.  I generally practice what I preach. 

I know that I can only afford 2 dogs and still be financially comfortable.  I know that I like very (some would say overly) affectionate dogs, and because I enjoy the training process I like very smart dogs.  Since I enjoy hiking I want a dog who has enough energy to go long distances several times a week.   And due to the fact that I spend a lot of time with other people who also have dogs I need a dog who is going to be very social with both people and other dogs.

I've come to realize that not all animals are going be a good idea for my home.  And over the years of working at HAWS I've seen so many success stories of animals that have found fantastic homes, that I don't feel the need to save them by taking them myself. 

HAWS is unusual in the animal welfare community in that we don't have a lot of turnover.  I've worked with the same people for the most part the last 8 years I've been employed here.  I think that's due in part to the fact that our staff really doesn't want to take them all home.