Local trainers teach kids about safety around dogs

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Dogs and people have different reactions to behaviors.

People may like receiving hugs and kisses, but it makes some dogs feel uncomfortable.

People might dress up in costumes, but most dogs don’t like having that done to them.

Dogs don’t like being ridden like a horse, either. That could cause them pain and discomfort.

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After a recent Dog Stars program for third-graders at Brownstown Elementary School, students were able to pet Simba, a Brittany/Pomeranian mix, and Remington, a Labrador retriever.

The dogs’ owners, Monica Rivera and Shannon Neal, were glad to see the students practice what had been preached to them.

"In my mind, I do it more for the dogs because I know a lot of kids at home do a lot of things that make dogs feel really uncomfortable," said Rivera, owner of Dog Training with Monica in Seymour. "When kids learn that kind of stuff, they are real quick to point it out and tell somebody else. They like coming across educated and knowledgeable and telling somebody, ‘Hey, that dog is doing this because they don’t like it.’"

While she said she hugs and loves on Remington and the dog is in her face at home, Neal said she knows she shouldn’t do that to somebody else’s dog.

"You never know when they feel good or don’t feel good or when that breaking point is going to be," she said.

From her experience, Neal said kids are usually better handling dogs than adults.

"They don’t overthink everything," she said of kids. "They keep it simple and just do what you tell them, and they don’t try and portray our feelings and emotions onto the dog as much as what adults tend to."

The hope of Dog Stars is that kids take the education to heart and share their knowledge with others.

"It’s heartwarming," Neal said. "They love the dogs, and that intrigues them, so it keeps their interest, I think, and it’s a break for them from school. They get to do something fun and extracurricular."

This year, Rivera and Neal have presented the free program to local elementary-aged kids. Besides two programs at Brownstown Elementary School, they have done presentations for Medora’s Reach for a Star after-school program, Jackson County Public Library’s Curious Kids program and Girl Scout troops.

"The aim of the program is to increase appropriate child-dog interactions in order to decrease the amount of stress that dogs can feel around children and the bites that could follow," Rivera said. "The program is simple yet still comprehensive and really entertaining for the kids. They get to meet dogs, watch them perform some tricks, watch videos and play games that help them really understand dogs."

While most bite prevention programs focus on what to do when a stray or aggressive dog approaches a child, Rivera said she teaches a whole new take on dog safety.

"With 50% of children bitten by the time they are 12 years old and 77% of all bites coming from the family or a friend’s dog, the importance of teaching kids how to behave safely around the dogs they spend time with cannot be understated," she said.

The recent Dog Stars program started with Rivera showing the third-graders some of the 34 tricks Simba knows. He has the novice and intermediate trick titles and is ready for the expert trick title.

The next part of the program showed pictures of two dogs on a screen, and the students had to determine how each dog felt by looking at their expression and body language.

Some dogs don’t mind hugs and kisses and will tolerate it, but Rivera said it doesn’t mean they like it.

"Have you ever had somebody in your family you don’t really know come up and hug or kiss you? Did you feel kind of weird about it? You let them do it because you know they are family, but you don’t know them, so we tolerate it," Rivera said.

"Sometimes, if you’re just not in a good mood or your own parents come up and hug you, you may not like that, either. It doesn’t mean that you’re not close to them. It just means that sometimes, we just don’t feel like being touched or having somebody in our space," she said. "That’s how dogs are."

The dog could be having a bad day or be in pain and turn around and bite a person because they didn’t know how to tell them to get away or they were telling them and they didn’t listen, Rivera said.

The proper way to approach is a dog is to kiss your hand and touch them from collar to butt cheek, she said.

"It’s really not safe for you to put your face in a dog’s face," she said. "Simba is a really, really friendly dog. He has no personal issues, but most dogs, if you get in their space, they may react and be uncomfortable."

While dogs might like to play fetch, they don’t like when toys, bones or food are taken away from them, Rivera said.

"It’s a very, very risky move, and we see a lot of kids get bit that way because they think their dogs are friendly and they think their dogs love them," she said. "Of course they do, but they don’t want to have anything taken away from them, and they are just dogs, so they don’t understand how to react or communicate the way that we do."

People should look for whale eye, a body language signal where the dog shows the whites of its eyes.

"That’s the No. 1 sign to look for in a dog that is uncomfortable," Rivera said. "They will look at you sideways if they are scared, if they are unhappy, sometimes if they are in pain and you’re getting near them. If you ever see a dog looking at you sideways like that, they are telling you to get away. They want you to back up and give them space and leave them alone."

People also should notice when a dog licks its lips or yawns.

"Most people think they are tired, but that’s not always the case," she said. "If a dog is in a possible uncomfortable situation, they are going to start yawning a lot. That means that they are stressed and they are uncomfortable. I have seen a lot of my dogs do that when they are getting tired from training. It doesn’t mean they are uncomfortable or scared. It means they are stressed."

Dogs also lick their lips when they are stressed, she said.

"They’ll do that over and over and over again," she said. "It’s a calming behavior. They are trying to calm themselves down, trying to relax themselves."

A dog’s ears will go back, too, if they are stressed, and it may turn its body away from you and give a low growl. That all means they are unhappy and want you to get away, she said.

"If you recognize those early on, the dog is going to be comfortable and happy because you’re understanding what they want," she said.

She also told the students not to ride a dog like a horse and grab onto their collar or tail.

"That is terrifying for a dog, not to mention it’s going to hurt when you sit on them," Rivera said. "It doesn’t matter how small you are or how big they are, they are not built to hold onto you guys and withstand your weight. That is definitely not a good thing to do. Just because it’s fun for the kids doesn’t mean it’s fun for the dog."

At the end of the program, Rivera told the students she was going to give their teachers a pledge form for them to sign to promise to be safe around dogs.

On their way out of the cafeteria, the students could pet Simba and Remington, giving them an opportunity to practice what they had learned.

Third-grader Emily Bair said she thought whale eye was interesting to learn about, and she will take all of the tips shared when she’s around her dogs at home.

"I got to learn a bunch of new things that I didn’t know. I learned a lot more," she said. "You should treat your dog how you would want to be treated."

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For information about the Dog Stars program, call 812-565-9311 or visit dogtrainingwithmonica.com or facebook.com/dogtrainingwithmonica.

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