Tea and Tales 2015

Tea and Tales is back....

 

 

Last year the Dogs Trust Education Team held their very first 'Tea and Tales' event at the DogsTrust Rehoming Centre in Finglas.  This family-friendly event was attended by 41 parents and children, all eager to hear from some canine professionals about how they came to be working with dogs. 

Tea and Tales 2014

 

As it was such as success in 2014 we've decided to do it all again this year! Tea and Tales will run on Saturday the 11th April from 12-2pm once again in our Rehoming Centre. We'll have speakers from all manner of dog related careers who will be answering any questions you may have about their jobs. We'll also have some fun and games, you'll get a tour of the centre, and also get to safely meet one of our fantastic Education Dogs. To top it all off, we'll enjoy some tea and cake too!

 

This event is open to 7-13 year olds

Tickets are €6 for a single child

OR

€5 per child if more than one attending

No ticket required for accompanying adults.

 

Places are limited so click HERE to book!

See you there :)

 

 

 

 

 

Meet W.A.L.T.

One of the key messages that the Education Team share with the young people they visit is one of safety, and over the next couple of weeks we'll be blogging some of those safety messages.

 

This week is a video all about W.A.L.T - which reminds us of how to safely approach and meet a dog when they're with their owner, and what to do if the dog is by itself without an owner.
 

 

 

 

Remember the GOLDEN RULE:  You should always ask the owner if you can pet their dog.

(We also think it's nice to ask where their dog loves to be stroked - Meg loves head rubs!)

Only ask to meet a dog if he/she is with someone you know. Don't forget, we shouldn't talk to strangers, even if you'd like to say hello to their dog. :)

Jake's Canine Credentials

You may remember that last year we shared Meg's CV with you when she joined the Education Team. As our newest Education Dog, we thought that we should show you just why she got the job.

 

We thought that if you got to see Meg's CV,  it was only fair that you got to see Jake's too, so here is it! Jake is our Senior Education Dog, and covers Dublin and the East with Education Officer Fiona S. He's Top Dog around the Education Team, and we're sure that you'll agree he's very qualified for his job!

 

If you would like to see if Jake is available to visit your school, contact Fiona on 087136071 or Fiona.simpson@dogstrust.ie.

 

You can also find out who your local Education Officer is, and request a booking via our website www.learnwithdogstrust.ie or by contacting education@dogstrust.ie.





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.

 

Looking back on a pawsome year! Our Education Highlights of 2014..

Happy New Year! What a year 2014 was! The Education Team were delighted to visit 377 schools and groups, where we gave a total of 1617 workshops speaking to 48500 young people! Phew!

We also were thrilled with our three Education Events held in our Rehoming Centre in Finglas. Tea & Tales, Doggy Detectives and Santa Paws were all great fun and we’re all looking forward to hosting them again this year, alongside a new Halloween event! Not to mention the success of our first campaign, ‘Scoop the Poop’ it was a busy year for the Education Team!

 

With that in mind, the Education Team at Dogs Trust thought that it would be nice to share with you our highlights of 2014, and what we’re all looking forward to in 2015!

Fiona (& Jake)
Dublin & Eastern Area

Fiona Simpson: “My favourite moment last year was meeting a child from a group with Down syndrome I had visited, who had difficulties with his speech.  I met him in the park on my weekend off, he came over, dragging his mum in tow, and asked if he could meet Jake through sign language (his mum helped me by translating what he said). He then used his safe hand as I’d shown him during my visit to his group and he gently pet Jake.  I thought it was incredible and very touching to see, and lovely to know that the children I visit remember how to meet dogs safely. I also enjoyed rolling out our new campaign ‘Scoop the Poop’ and collaborating on a bigger and better Santa event in the Rehoming Centre.

For 2015 – I look forward to a new Halloween event, another new campaign and a fun packed year in the schools ”

Liadh
South West Munster Area

Liadh Fitzgerald: “My highlight from 2014 was coming back from maternity leave and seeing how the education team had grown and matured. I love that we’re now putting our own stamp on the programme that originated in the UK, and creating new workshops to deliver to primary schools.

For 2015 - I’m looking forward to writing more science based workshops that we might role out in line with young scientist of the year!!” 

 

Dawn
Clare & South Connaught Area

 

Dawn Kavanagh: “My highlight of 2014 (other than joining the education team at Dogs Trust) was visiting my first schools after all my training. I was pretty nervous but quickly got into the swing of things. I also was chuffed to receive my very first Thank You cards- hand drawn by some of the lovely students at Bushypark National School in Galway. It was touching to see that the workshops had made an impact, and my thank you notes and cards all have pride of place in my office.

 For 2015 I’m looking forward to visiting even more schools, and hopefully during the year adopting a dog who will be my work buddy!”

 

Fiona
South East Area

Fiona Ryan: “My highlight would have to be my dog Meg passing her assessment to visit schools with me around the south eastJ. I really couldn’t wait for Meg to go out with me to schools and when she got the ok to go I was just delighted! Meg loves her new role and she is always excited to meet new pupils every day, she especially loves the extra attention she gets every day too. 

I’m looking forward to getting out an about into schools this year, and spreading the positive message about Responsible Dog Ownership!”

 

Meg
South East Area

Meg: “Best bits of 2014 for me? ALL OF IT! Rubs, attention, treats, meeting lots of little humans, getting lots of rides in the car with my human, being famous (I met a soap star you know!). 

What I’m looking forward to this year? Even more of the rubs, attention, treats, meeting lots of little humans, and getting lots of rides in the car with my human! I will be scheduling in more naps though.”

 

 

Jake
Dublin & Eastern Area

 

Jake: “My best moments from 2014? Hmmmm… that would have to be getting to show off my rugged handsomeness to all the young people Fiona brings me to see. They always remember me if I’ve met them before, and say hello to me before they do to Fiona, I think she’s used to it now.  I also get a lot of fan mail, which I let Fiona read to me J

In 2015 I’m looking forward to being the centre of attention as usual! And of course teaching young people about being Responsible Dog Owners.”

 

If you would like more information about our education programme, or about our Education Officers and the areas they cover, pop over to www.learnwithdogstrust.ie, where you can book FREE workshops, play games and look at some exciting lesson plans designed around the theme of Responsible Pet Ownership.

You can also email education@dogstrust.ie to book a FREE education workshop in your area.

Happy Holiday Hounds!

 

Hi everyones, Meg here! The humans wanted to write about keeping dogs like me safe at Christmas, but I thought 'who better to write it but me, an actual dog?' So I'm takings over this blog thingy this week to help other hounds stay happys this holiday! So here's my advice...

 

Visitors:

Not so long ago we had some scarys looking folk come to the house, they smelled just like peoples, but looked different, I think you call it Halween? Or somethings like that. Fiona made sure I had a 'Meg only' place when this happened as it was a little bit odd and confusings for me (hey, they smelled like normal peoples but looked all weird)! She said she's going to make sure I have a spot just like that over this Christmas whatchamacallit, because lots of other humans will be comings around. She said I've sniffed most of thems before, but having lots of different two legged animals comings round is exhausting! I get so tired entertainings them with my cuteness, and need a nice spot to snooze and put my paws up away from everyone else. Fiona will make sure that its a quiet cosy place with some nice cleans water and my favourite toys and blankets where no one will disturb me- just bliss!

 

Food:

You humans do get to eat some lovely smelling food, I've heard my peoples talk about mince pies, Christmas cake, Christmas pudding and chocolate. Now, I smelled all these things last year, and would have happily helped the humans eat them, but they hid them from me! I thought they were just being selfish - hey, I'd share my doggy biscuits with them! Fiona told me though that some stuffs in them are poisonous to dogs, I don't know what this poisons thing is, but it doesn't sounds good :( . She said that if I ate them, I'd have to go to the V-E-T, that's the vet, she thinks if she spells it I won't understand, but I'm a smart dog cookie! The vet jabbed me with somethings last time, and even though it didn't really hurt, I definitely don't want to go back! I might forgets that they're not goods for me though, so it's better that I can't gets at them at all! The humans said to say that these are some of the things thats is not goods for us dogs: raisins, grapes, onions, garlic, macadamia nuts, avocados, and chocolates.

 

 

Decorations:

This is a strange things to me, but my peoples have put a tree INSIDES the house! They have put lots of shiny things on it, and twinkly things that looks like the twinkles up in the sky at nights. I tried to tell them night twinkles and trees should be outsides, but they didn't listens to me! I had a good sniff of their twinkle tree to make sure it was clean, and then I lefts it alone. I'm a sensible dog - but some doggies aren't so sensibles and push over the trees, or even tries to eats the round shiny things! Fiona says this is bad, and so maybe their humans should make sure they cant reach the shiny things, or get tangles up in wires from the twinkles. There's also this thing called tinsel - and if we eat it, we would have to go to the VET agains!

There's some green things called  holly, mistletoe, and poinsettia plants which also has this poisons things so my peoples keep them away from me so I don't eats them by accident.

 

 

 

 

So lots of things for you humans to thinks about at Christmas! I'm sure you'll all make sures your dogs are just as safe as Fiona makes me! Ifs you ever worried that your doggy pals has eatens something he shouldn't, rings the vets, they can tells you what to do! Don't forgets you can make us a nice Christmas present like the humans showed you last week!

 

 

 

Merry Christmas everyone! The blog will be taking a break for the next two weeks, but we'll be back again in the New Year! :)

Dogs Trust's Homemade Christmas!

It’s almost Christmas, and if you’re anything like us you love to spoil your furry friend (even more!) at this time of year. So we’ve decided to show you some homemade gifts that you can make for your dog, in true Blue Peter style!

FEEDING MAT:

Dogs are not usually the neatest eaters so why not make an easy clean mat to place under your canine’s food bowl?

 

 

What you will need:

• Some paper with your chosen design on it- this can be wrapping paper, or make it even more personal by creating your own design with your dog’s name on it! The size of the paper will depend on the size of the food bowls!
• Some coloured card (needs to be slightly bigger than your design)
• Glue
• Stickyback plastic OR a laminator

Instructions:

Start by placing your dog food bowls over the paper with your design on it (see photo)

Once you know that you have the right sized paper you can stick it to the card so that it has a hard back- try to make it so that the card creates a border around your design J

You now have your basic mat – though it’s not waterproof yet! If you have some stickyback plastic (the kind you wrap school books with) you can neatly cover your new mat with this. If not, a  good laminator can do the same thing!

Once it's covered you're done! There are lots of different designs you can have, so be creative!

PLAITED ROPE TOY:

If your dog loves to play with toys, then this is the gift for him!

All you need is some old t-shirts or material!

Instructions: Cut/tear long strips from the pieces of material you have,  they don’t have to be done neatly and it doesn’t matter if they aren’t all the same size! Tie the strips together at the top using a short piece of material. Now you can plait these together, and when you’re done, tie them together at the bottom the same way you did the top! Instant rope toy!  If you want a bigger toy, use more strips!

TREAT TUBE:

Using an empty Pringles type tube you can make terrific storage for dog treats!

What you will need:

•  1 crisp tube
• Some paper to wrap the tube with (you can do your own design on plain paper, or use some left over wrapping paper)
• Sellotape
• Stickyback plastic (optional!)

Instructions:

 

 

Wrap your paper with your design around the tube, and sellotape it in place. If you have some extra paper at the bottom you can either cut it off neatly, or cut a few slits in it so you can fold it under the tube.

 

If you have a bit of the tube uncovered like here, cut a length of the same design, or something plain, and stick it over so the whole thing is now covered in paper!

 

 

If you want extra durability, wrap the tube in stickyback plastic, although careful to avoid air bubbles!
Once you're done, fill with your dogs favourite treats :)

 

 

So there you have it, 3 terrific presents for your dog that you can make yourself! Don't forget you can also make some tasty dog cookies with the recipe that we gave you back in September :), make them Christmassy by using Christmas cookie cutters instead of bones!