Dog Bite Prevention

Each year several million people are bitten by dogs, and it’s usually by a dog they know. Though most of the victims are under the age of 12, adults are often unaware of the simple steps they can take to keep themselves and their children safe.

Never pet a dog when he’s eating.
Dogs are often protective of their food – it’s difficult for them to distinguish between a hand reaching towards them for affection and a hand reaching down to steal something they value. To keep your family safe, it’s extremely important to teach your dog at a young age that a hand coming towards their bowl is a good thing, as it often contains something even yummier than their kibble. This association will eliminate their natural inclination to protect their food.

Never pet a dog when he's sleeping.
Waking a dog up suddenly from a sound sleep can be dangerous. In a moment of confusion, your dog might feel threatened and bite to "protect" himself. Simply call your dog’s name softly and let him wake up first.

Never grab anything out of your dog's mouth.
Some dogs see their toys as a valuable resource just like their food. It’s difficult for them to distinguish between you reaching towards their toy to play with them, and you grabbing their toy to steal it. It’s important to teach your dog early on that giving up a possession often means they get something even better in return. Having a “drop it” command keeps your fingers safe!

Never pet a dog when she’s with her puppies.
All animals are protective of their young and want to keep them safe. Teach young children to wait until the dog leaves the room before playing with their babies, even if it’s their own pet.

Never pet a dog through a fence.
Most dogs become protective of whatever area they spend time in. They see your hand as an intrusion and might bite you to defend their territory.

Never run away from a stray dog.
It is a dog’s natural instinct to chase anything that moves. Running from a dog activates their prey drive. It is best to stand perfectly still. Yelling and kicking in an attempt to scare the dog off will only agitate him further. Be careful not to stare the dog in his eyes as he might see this as a challenge. Once the dog becomes disinterested in you, slowly walk away.

The safe way to approach a dog:
Many dogs are frightened by strangers, so always ask the owner for permission before petting an animal. Hold out your hand slowly and give the dog a chance to sniff you first. Then pet him on his chest, shoulder or back. Avoid petting the dog’s head because he might see this as an act of dominance.

My First Dog Bite

In honor of Dog Bite Prevention Week (or Irresponsible Owner Week, as my father likes to call it), I figured I would talk about my first dog bite.

I grew up with medium to large sized dogs. Despite German Shepherds and Rottweilers being popular in the 70s and 80s, I came from farm people in Oregon/Washington and blue bloods in Vermont. The dog of choice was the American Pit Bull Terrier.

Our dogs were incredibly patient with us. They put up with dress up, dental exams when we played doctor, being used as a horse when we pretended to be cowboys, just a whole host of different games. Our dogs didn't care. They just wanted to be a part of our day.

My dad was very good at emphasizing to us that not all dogs were like ours. "Don't think every dog is going to be okay with you using it for a pillow." We learned early on that most dogs weren't ours. Even in our own family.

My first bite was bad. And it was from the #1 biter on the latest list released by the Unniversity of Pennsylvania - the Dachshund. My grandma's dachshund to be precise. I was six years old. I was used to tolerant dogs. My fathers view of children was - you learn by doing. He took the same view of being bit by a dog. I came into the room with the adults, tears streaming down my face and my hand bleeding profusely (Dachshunds can do damage, people. Google Spork, the vicious biter who bit off the lips of a vet tech - she had to have reconstructive surgery.) Thirty some stitches later, my dad declared, "Well, you won't do that again, will you?"

That was trying to pet an obviously scared little dog. I had crawled under the bed after her. I know - horrifying. But where were my parents? My dad would say I was old enough to know better and I probably was. I had gotten the lecture about the dog many times. My dad's rule of thumb was - the smaller, the scarier. It boiled down to small dogs viewing us like the Stay Puft Marshmellow Man. We were large, loud, scary and had unpredictable movements.

My younger brother had to get bit a few times before he learned. Dad never said "Well, you won't do that again!" to Drew because 9.99 times out of 10, he was bound to try it one more time. With the same results. Drew was bit by the neighbor's Cocker Spaniel, a friend's "outdoor" Labrador Retriever and our aunt's Jack Russell. Oh, and that darned Dachshund. That little dog bit every single child in our family more than once and got several adults as well.

As we roll out Dog Bite Prevention Week, we need
1) Always supervise small children with dogs. ANY dogs. Small dogs can inflict just as much damage as large dogs. Small children can inflict pain. Better safe than sorry.

2) Teach our children when it is okay to pet a dog and when it is NOT okay to pet a dog. This is critical. Most dog bites are preventable.

3) Teach our children (and remember ourselves) not to run from any dog. A dog with no leash and no owner will give chase. It's a fun game. They have four legs. We have two. We can't ever outrun a dog. Surprisingly, many children tell me that they can. They haven't tried. They just think they run "fast as the wind", "faster than lightening", "mom says I run like a cheetah." Not around a dog. FREEZE. Stand still. Be BORING.

4) Small dogs are not safe. This is a common misconception. As many studies have proven, the top biters are all small dogs. Children need to be aware.

5) A breed does NOT make a dog dangerous. The danger in telling children there is only one or two breeds that bite is that they let their guard down around others that supposedly don't. ALL dogs bite. All dogs can be dangerous. Education is key.

What about you - have you ever been bit by a dog?

FUN Friday

YAY for FRIDAY!

Let's have some FUN!

What's more fun than a talking dog??



This little lamb is SO adorable!


Paws and Learn wishes you a wonderful weekend!

Why We Educate

That's Meredith in the picture teaching a first grade class how to be safe around all dogs, not just their own. We have beautiful presentation boards based on pictures of our own dogs (that's Lily and my husband as the "Safe Dog - grown-up owner, leash and collar" board in the background) and two life-size (and very life-life) puppets that lend a hand as well. It's a standard Dog Safety presentation that is done in most communities these days.

What does Dog Safety mean?
It means we teach the kids they need to see all three things before it is safe to go up to a dog and pet it. But first, they must ask the owners permission. If the owner says yes, they have to say hello to the dog by letting it sniff their hand. Then it is safe to pet them on the chest, the shoulder or the back.

If a stray dog approaches them, they are to stand like a tree. Kids have two legs. Dogs have four. It is unlikely that a child will ever outrun a dog. Staying frozen and being as boring as possible helps keep them safe.

We also teach safety around their own dogs. Don't touch your dog when she is with her babies. Don't pet her while she is sleeping. Don't ever pet her while she is eating. Don't take things out of their mouth.

Why is this an important lesson?
In April, we had a particularly bad week with a few children receiving bites that were preventable. One got bit when she sat on her dog while it was sleeping. The dog, startled, turned and bit her. Another child got bit running up to his mom dog while she was nursing her puppies. A third child was severely bitten when he got too close to his own dog's food bowl. These are all situations we teach children NOT to touch for this exact reason. By educating children, who in turn can educate their parents with our take home handouts, we are preventing bites like this. We empower children and we save dogs because a dog that bites is usually a dog that ends up euthanized.

More and more communities are coming on board with Dog Safety. The CDC, the AKC and the AVMA recommend starting programs in your area because the majority of dog bites are preventable. Even if you don't have one in your area, you can go over these basics with your children to help keep them safe. Here is a link to the CDC web page to get you started. Or you can book us for your school, here.

The Luckiest Dog

That's Bubba to the left of Lily (your left, not hers). He's a GREAT dog. And a very, very lucky one. You see, Bubba has two strikes against him - his coat is black and he's shy.

Black Dog Syndrome - Black dogs, especially large breed dogs, don't fare well in the shelter system. They're euthanized at a much higher rate than their light coated counterparts. Different reasons have been given when adopters are polled - some people are superstitious, black dogs tend to get overlooked in dimly lit kennel runs, they're harder to photograph, they look "meaner". Coming in, Bubba already had a huge strike against him.

The second strike was not his fault either. His first owner had failed him. Bubba grew up in a backyard with little to no human interaction. His interaction with men seems to have been particularly negative. When he was brought to the shelter, the man claimed he had found Bubba running the streets. The staff scanned him and Bubba had a microchip. When they dialed the number on the microchip, the man's cell phone rang. Caught.

Bubba was left at the shelter by the only owner he had ever known and loved despite the poor treatment that he received. He didn't show well. He ran from potential adopters or barked in his kennel run. He was scared. He had never been outside of his backyard, had never been around people. He didn't like this new world. It was big and full of things that frightened him. That's not something most adopters look for in a dog. No one wants a project.

Mel saw past all of this. She loved his black coat. She didn't care that he was scared. She adored this dog. As a volunteer, she showed up to walk him day after day. Her heart broke for him as his kennel mates and friends got adopted or were euthanized. When Mel bought a condo, she came for Bubba.

He's the luckiest dog in the world. If not for her, he would be dead. He has the best life now. He gets several walks a day, fun trips to Santa Barbara, hikes, the dog beach. She has opened up his world. He still finds it scary at times, but he's made huge strides in the past two years. It takes him a few visits to warm up to you, but once he does - his love knows no bounds. He's been a great friend for Lily. They've enjoyed playdates and hikes and trips to the beach together.

He's the luckiest dog in the world. But Mel is pretty lucky too.

FUN Friday

YAY for Friday!

Let's start the day off with some laughs, shall we?

We looooove this video done by the staff at the Nevada Humane Society to celebrate two of their dogs going home.


Isn't it adorable the way kittens can fall asleep ANYwhere?


And for our dog video, you know how much we love to watch Wallace do his thing. In this video, he's joined by a few friends. How beautiful are these dogs in motion?


We hope you have a FABULOUS weekend!

City Wildlife

This little guy showed up in our yard a few nights ago. We had the windows wide open and one of the cats started going crazy. Shining a light into the yard to see what was up, we discovered this little one ambling around.

Living only a few blocks from the hills, we have frequent wildlife visitors. One morning, we had a coyote in our yard. We spot them late at night on our street every so often. Because of this, we tend to keep a closer eye on stray cats, or little guys like this one.

We debated whether he was too young to be on his own. Deciding that he was, we spent some time searching for a nest or the mom. We turned the flashlight off and sat in different parts of the yard straining our ears for the little sneezing type noises that the opossums use to locate each other. Nothing.

We're not big on interfering when it comes to wildlife. If an animal is obviously sick or injured, we would step in. We know we are out of our element so we always contact wildlife rehabs/rescues for advice and if we need to take them there, we donate. Even $20 is a big help to these non-profit organizations that dedicate services to helping out sick, injured and orphaned critters.

We decided we would wait a few nights. He's big enough that he wasn't in any immediate danger (about 5 inches nose to rump). Last night, he came all the way up on the porch to our grey cat. He was going to rub her, she was going to eat him. At that point, we decided he'd either fallen out of his tree or off of mom so we needed to do something until Monday when I could call an expert.

After consulting an online resource, we left him water and some cat food mixed with water (to soften it). He drank all the water from the cat food container, but couldn't eat the kibble. I put out a little wet food and he ate that (please don't be mad, Dad - I did listen to your 'let nature take its course' lectures growing up). After about an hour or so, our cat started racing from window to window. Shining a light in the yard, we saw...an adult Opossum.

We turned off the lights in the house so we could watch the happy reunion. We listened to the little sneezing type noises. The baby came tentatively up to the mom and then...rubbed her. She cleaned him. We watched as he climbed onto her back and she waddled off with him. If it wasn't his mom before, it was now.

An hour later, the bold little thing was back in the yard again. We look forward to watching them again tonight, but there won't be any food out. It was a one night event and not something we want them to get used to. There are plenty of natural food sources for them in our area - crickets, snails, fruit (from all the fruit trees). They don't need to become dependent on cat food, which isn't nutritionally suffient for them.

What about you - do you have wildlife in your area?