Safe Animal Handling
Session Focus |
Learning Intention |
|
Introduction to Dog Safety |
Meet our dog and Mentor and hear their story. |
| Safely greeting a dog | Understanding the importance of safety around dogs Basic principles of interacting with dogs |
| How can we make the dog feel comfortable? | To comfort a dog when approaching, avoid direct eye contact, turn your body sideways, crouch to their level, offer a hand cautiously for sniffing, use a gentle voice, and make slow, deliberate movements. Maintaining a calm demeanour and a relaxed facial expression helps convey friendliness and reassurance. |
| Assessing a Dog's Willingness to be Approached | Dog's Body Language Identifying key body language signals in dogs and Understanding positive vs. negative signals We are determining: if a Dog Wants to be Approached, Recognises a dog's invitation for interaction and Signs that a dog is uninterested or feels threatened. |
| Ongoing Dog Body Language Assessment and Interaction |
Engage in introspection about your friendships and their constructive influence on your well-being. Gain insight into the qualities of a supportive friend, the factors contributing to friendship challenges, and the dynamics that lead to friendship shifts. |
|
Caring for others and Its impact on me |
Real-time evaluation during interaction, Knowing when to continue or stop an interaction and Responding to changes in a dog's behaviour |
| Safe Approach Techniques | Proper ways to pat a dog (e.g., under the neck, empty bowl technique) |
| Have a go - role-playing dog body language and greetings |
Examples and case studies of different dog behaviours, Identifying approachable versus non-approachable dogs and Role-play or interactive exercises to practice assessment skills |
| Conclusion | Discuss how to safely interact with dogs by understanding canine body language and recognising signs of a dog's willingness or reluctance to be approached and touched. Say goodbye to the dog and mentor. |
A Success Story
James attends a special development school and has a moderate to severe intellectual disability, paired with a rare genetic disorder which presents as severe episodes.
James has shown continued improvement in his emotional regulation and has been engaging in more programs on a regular basis. He is expressing himself using verbal language more consistently and often asks when he will be seeing the dog again.