Pawsitively Pawsome Pictures

Every so often the Education Team get sent Thank You cards and pictures from children that they visit to talk about Responsible Dog Ownership. It's lovely to receive these cards, and great to see the effort that has been put into them.

 

As we love seeing these so much, we thought that you might too. So here's a selection of some of the Thank You's we've been sent!

 

 

 

 

We hope that you agree that we visit some very talented young people! The Education Team would like to say a big THANK YOU in return for all the fantastic cards and drawings!

Dogs In School

A dog in the playground is a common sight in schools all over the country. They're attracted to all the noise and excitement of children playing and naturally want to check it out!

The Education Team is often asked by children and teachers about what to do when there's a dog in the playground. This is our advice:

 

• Remember a dog that is out in public without an owner is a stray dog, even if it has a collar and tag!
• Children should never approach a dog if he's by himself without an owner, even if they recognise the dog.
• You may be happy to see a dog, but he may not be so happy to see you. Don't forget some dog's are afraid of children.
• If you see a stray dog in the playground, tell a teacher! If you see someone who looks like they’re going to pet the dog, remind them not to.
• The teacher can, if they feel confident to, check the dog for a tag and call the owner to collect the dog.
• If the dog doesn’t have an ID tag, he may have a microchip – if possible a responsible adult can bring the dog to a local vet to check.
• If no one can bring the dog to the vet, or the pound, then they can call the dog warden. The dog warden is also trained to deal with dogs that appear aggressive or injured - DO NOT approach these dogs yourself.  The dog warden can collect the dog and bring him to the pound.
• If you're worried about the dog, stay calm and bring your hands up, crossing your arms across your chest, or doing the 'X-Factor'. Don't talk to the dog or give him any attention. Walk away calmly and tell a teacher, or go back into the school building.

 

And they call it Puppy Love.....

Happy Valentine's Day all! Isn't it lovely to have one day a year dedicated to showing someone that we love them? :) Awwwwww....

Those of you with dogs will know that every day is Valentine's Day for our four legged friends though, as they shower us with love regardless of the date!

 

 

Dogs show us unconditional love in lots of different ways, from their unique way of snuggling up, to protecting us from all those dangerous birds and insects in the house/garden! And just like it's easy for them to show us how much they love us, it's just as easy for show our pets how much we love them! 

 

 

Being a Responsible Dog Owner, and giving our dogs all the things that keep them healthy and happy is all we need to do to show our love.  We think a great way to do this is to pledge to keep these five promises!

 

Promise 1 - Love

I promise to provide my pet with love and attention.

 

Promise 2 - A home

I promise to provide my pet with a suitable place to live.

 

Promise 3 - Safety

 

I promise to protect my pet, to keep her or him safe and healthy.

Promise 4 - Food and water

I promise to provide my pet with a healthy diet.

 

 Promise 5 - To be themselves

I promise to provide my pet with a life that she or he will enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

IPPN 2015

Last week the Education Team attended the Irish Primary Principals' Network (IPPN) conference in Citywest, Dublin.

Around 1/3 of all primary principals in Ireland were in attendance, that's approx 1200 heads! The Education Team were on their best behaviour with so many principals around, and were delighted to be able to spread the word about our FREE education workshops for primary schools to all the visitors that came to our stand.

 

The Deputy President of the IPPN, Maria Doyle,  also paid a visit to us to help promote our workshops having had a visit from Fiona and Meg recently. We even made it onto the IPPN's twitter feed, we're practically famous now!

 

The Education Team would like to say a big Thank You to all the principals who popped by and signed up for workshops, we look forward to visiting you all soon.

 

Don't forget, if you're interested in booking a FREE educational workshop in your area, head over to www.learnwithdogstrust.ie where you can find your local Education Officer and request a booking.

You can also email education@dogstrust.ie to see if Dogs Trust has an officer in your area.

Kicking off our 2015 events calendar....

This week the Education Team have started their 2015 events calendar by visiting the IPPN conference in Citywest, Dublin.

We're all set up and ready to go as you can see from our photos :)

 

If you're a principal in attendance at the IPPN and are interested in finding out more about Dogs Trust's free education workshops, come over to stand K7 and say hello!

Gone to the Dogs!

As promised in our last post, Jake and Meg are here this week answering the questions people asked on Facebook, and here on the Blog, about their lives as Education Dogs. We’ve also asked them to answer some of the most common questions that come up in schools when they visit.

Hi Jake and Meg! What's your favourite part of the job as Education Dogs?

J: Well, my favourite part would have to be getting so much attention. Every time I’m in schools I get lots of rubs, after the little humans ask my Fiona of course. I really am a very good boy and I know to just lie down on my bed and let the rubs commence! I have been known to nod off and snore when I’m in classrooms, but it’s tiring being so popular.

M: I don’t knows what my favouritest part is! I gets to ride in the car with my human all days, I get treats for beings good, AND I get to meets lots and lots of new peoples! Jake tells me I’ll gets used to all the excitements but I can’t stop waggings my tail every morning when my Fiona tells me it’s times for school!

 

Do you have to be a specific breed of dog to be an education dog? Is there a special breed that trains easier etc?

M: I'm a Jack Russell Terrier and Jake is a Boxer. There's also Miniature Schnauzers and a lovely Rottie cross on the team who are havings a break. Jake says that we’ves also hads a Greyhound in the team too! That’s lots of different dog breeds. Some peoples thinks that some breeds of dogs are just bad, but all dogs can be lovelies when they have a lovely homes.  

J: As Meg said, we’ve had lots of different breeds in the Education Team, and we’re all very well trained for our job. I think I’m the smartest of course, though the others might not agree but as top dog I’m the boss. Fiona says it’s all about our temperament, and being positive when we’re being trained. When I get something right I get a nice treat or rubs, which of course I deserve. She doesn’t tell me off if I don’t understand what she wants me to do, sometimes she forgets how to speak dog!

In your education school visits, what do you cover with the children? Do you visit primary schools only?

J: We cover lots of interesting things about being a Responsible Dog Owner in schools, like what us dogs need to stay healthy and happy, how much we cost to look after over our lives (we’re worth it though!), tips to keep safe around us, and lots of other things that will help the little humans be great dog parents when they grow up. They are so good in schools, lots of them know about looking after dogs and they ask Fiona lots of questions if they don’t know something. We visit lots of primary schools, although they sometimes take a holiday and when they do we go to libraries and other groups of little people.

 

 Are education dogs classed as working dogs such as greyhounds? or not?

M: I works, so I must be a working dog right? I’m a pet firsts though Fiona says. I wasn’t mades just for workings likes some dogs. Sometimes I think it's silly to say I'm going to work for the day, because I gets so much attention and treats, I just loves it! Lucky me. Dogs like greyhounds that have been mades for working can also be pets too, and all dogs deserves a nice homes like mine.

 

Can dogs look up? Do you only see in black and white?

J: Of course we can look up, especially if there’s a treat involved. Or some noisy birds in the sky. Maybe we can’t do it as well as you humans but we can do it.

M: I sees colours! Humans say us dogs is colourblinds, but that only means that we can’t sees all the same colours that you cans. We can’t sees these colours you calls reds and greens, if they even exists! Some humans are colourblinds too so they know what we means. We can smell lots more things that peoples though, so maybe we should call humans smellblinds.

 

How old are you both?

J: I'm 5 and Meg is almost 3. We both have been very lucky to have been in our fur-ever homes since we were puppies.

 

What tricks can you do?

M: I’m a clever girls. I can sit, stay and give the paw. I get nice treats and rubs if I do these when the humans ask so I loves that. They are tryings to teach me this ‘roll-over’ things, which means even more attentions and nice things!

J: Well, being the smart chap that I am, I can do a lot of these ‘trick’ things. I can give high fives, speak, whisper, play dead, sit, and stay. I even know that I only go to the toilet in ‘Jakes Corner’ in the garden. The humans think they taught me these things, but I taught them to give me lots of attention and the odd treat when I do them. Who’s the smart one now!

 

Why does Jake have a short tail? And why is Meg’s long?

M: Why wouldn’ts I have a long tail? That’s what I was borns with! I love wagging it and hitting the humans on the legs with it when I stands next to them.

J: My tail is short as it was docked when I was a puppy. People used to shorten dog’s tails because they thought it looked better. They’re not allowed to do that anymore. I don’t mind having a short tail now, but I do sometimes dream of having a longer one. I’m glad that all dogs can keep their long tails. Just because I have a short tail doesn’t mean I can’t wag it as much though!

 

And the most popular question children ask ‘Can I pet your dog please?’.

J: We both love being petted, but people should always remember to ask the owner first. The little humans we meet in schools always ask before they pet us.

 

M: Thanks for all the questions peoples, we hopes you enjoyed our dogs blog. Now it's naps times :).

It's a Dog's Life...

Have you ever wondered what life is like as an Education Dog? Ever wanted to ask if they feel like ignoring the alarm in the morning and staying in bed? Or do they love school so much they’d go every day? Well now's your chance to find out!
 

 

Next week Jake and Meg, the canine components of the Education Team will be answering any queries you might have about their jobs. All you need to do is write your questions in the comments section of the blog's Facebook post, and we’ll ask Meg and Jake to answer them for you!
 

Jake is our Senior Education Dog, and has had years of experience visiting schools with Fiona S in Dublin and the East.

 

 

 Meg is our newest recruit. She has been travelling around the South East with Fiona R since October.

 

As well as answering any questions you may have, Meg and Jake will also be answering some of the common questions young people have about them in schools.

 

So, if you have something you would like to ask one of our dynamic duo, write it in the comments section of the blog's Facebook post, or you can send us a question directly from the blog using the comments option below!

 

Check the blog next week to see if you're question has been answered, and what our Education Dogs have to say about life in the Education Team.