Program gives children lessons in safety

Heather Rawlyk

Friday, Jan. 30, 2004 | 3:22 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

Jan. 31 - Feb. 1, 2004

Nevada Agriculture Department's safety tips for children

For more information on the school-based dog safety program or how to order the video, contact Dr. Ron Anderson at (775) 688-1182, ext. 233.

First graders throughout the county will be getting lessons in how to talk to the animals.

A new video, titled "Bow Wow 'Ow!,' " gives youngsters safety tips for approaching dogs, including body language that communicates to the canines in a way they can understand.

At a debut of the eight-minute video this week, the 18 boys and girls of Laura Drew's first grade class at Helen Herr Elementary came to school wearing their "favorite outfits," ready to view the video and tell the video's creators what they thought and, most importantly, what they learned.

The video addresses a dozen common situations where children could have a negative experience with dogs, according to Dr. Ron Anderson, one of its creators.

In the video, a narrator explains to a group of children how they should approach his dog, an animal the children have never met or played with before.

The narrator explains important safety tips, including how to approach a dog, when children should not approach a dog and what to do if a dog they don't know approaches them.

The video also teaches children how to "stand like a tree" to avoid being attacked by a dog. In this scenerio, children are taught to stand up straight, put their hands in their armpits, and look straight down, avoiding eye contact with the strange dog.

"By doing this, the dog will only walk up and sniff you, and will eventually lose interest and walk away," the narrator explains.

The video also teaches children what to do if a dog knocks them to the ground or approaches them while they are sitting down on the floor.

"Curl up like a ball," the narrator says. "Curl up as tight as you can and put your hands behind your head, right on your neck until the dog goes away."

It's the latest part of a school-based dog safety program started in 1998 by the Nevada Agriculture Department, in which school nurses teach first grade students the "proper behavior when interacting with dogs in order not to have a negative experience," according to the Agriculture Department.

The program has been "very well received" and appears to have good results, the department said. Since the program began, Clark County has had a decline of over 11 percent in victims in age group 5-9 years seeking medical treatment, officials said.

The video will be distributed to all 318 elementary schools in Nevada and, according to Anderson, "has the potential of touching the lives of over 116,000 students in grades K-3."

During its debut the children sat Indian-style in front of the television, while Assemblywoman Vonne Chowning joined Agriculture Department representatives, reporters, school nurses and teachers in a row of chairs behind them.

Amy Runge, a school nurse at Robert Taylor Elementary School, was chosen to narrate the showing to the children.

Runge began by holding up two pictures: the first, a picture of a fluffy little white dog, and the second, a full-grown black Rottweiler.

The children were then asked which dog looked mean and which dog looked friendly. The students automatically answered, "The white dog looks nice," and "The black dog looks mean."

Runge corrected the children, telling them they can never tell just by looking at a dog if it is friendly or aggressive.

"That's why it is important to never go up to a dog you don't know," Runge told the class. "That's why it is important for children to learn dog safety."

After watching the video the student audience was able to try out the "safety moves."

Runge immediately got the children on their feet and asked them to practice "standing like a tree."

While the children stood like sturdy pines, Runge pulled out a stuffed toy dog and moved it as if it were sniffing the children.

The "stuffed dog" eventually got bored, and walked away with Runge.

"See. By standing like a tree, the dog will just walk up and sniff you," she said. "If you stand still that dog will think you're no fun and you don't want to play with him and he or she will walk away."

The children were then asked to curl up like a ball, to protect themselves from the "stuffed dog," which was ready to attack them.

Once the children were balled up on the floor, Runge again moved the toy around the children and then "walked away."

The children returned to their Indian-style seating on the floor, while Runge asked them questions.

When asked if they liked the video, the children screamed yes. The children then told Runge they thought other classes should watch the video too.

Daniel Knocke, 6, said the video taught him how to be safe around dogs and around his own puppy named Maddy.

"I learned to stand like a tree," Knocke said. "I learned how to be safe around Maddy and I can play ball with him if I'm friendly."

Leslie Venegas, 7, said she learned a lot from the video.

"I learned how to roll up like a ball," she said. "I learned how to play with nice dogs."

In addition to the distribution of videos to schools, videos can be purchased for $15 each, Chowning said.

For more information on the school-based dog safety program, or how to order the video, contact Anderson at (775) 688-1182, ext. 233.

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