Going Back To School

 Writing about an educational program may sound boring or technical or just too dry to be put down in words. The Great Dane Club of Arizona has a Children's Educational Program that is just exceptional. I could write paragraph after paragraph, trying to adequately convey the fun, the educational value and the excitement of this program and still not come close to giving a true picture.  Fortunately, a group of students that participated in this program wrote about their experiences and I think they say it all...............

 So, before getting to all the technical stuff, let's enjoy some of the fun and see a bit of the impact that this program has made. The following article was written by school-age children, attending the John C Lincoln Hospital Learning Center, North Mountain Campus in Phoenix, Arizona. They are 6-12 years old and they completed the school newsletter with only minimal editing from the staff and teachers.

 Note: This article is reprinted in it's original form, just as the children wrote it. The grammar and misspellings are priceless!

 The Days of the Danes

.....they were GRRRRRRRReat!

 Special Reporters: Nikianna M, Caleb B., Harrison T., Tyler S., Jacob H., Alex R. and Kenson I.

The Therapy Dog Group came to our room for four programs. They are going to be talking to us for about eight or ten more times.

The first time they brought in four Great Danes. The dogs were like horses, or maybe ponies. They were huge! Some of us felt a little scared of them at first, but after they were with us a while we felt good about them.

 The therapy dogs names were Bart, Skyler, Shea and Sampson. Bart is the Dad. He is six years old. Shea is the Mom. She is six and a half years old. Skyler is their kid, he is four years old. Sampson is their friend and he is three years old. Oh, yeah, and I almost forgot about Tootsie, Jubilee and Scarlett. Tootsie is Shea's granddaughter and Scarlett is Jubilee's Mom.

 Great Danes come in six colors. The ones that visited us were black and gray except for one day when one was kind of tan. I think it was Jubilee. The gray one is really called blue in the dog world. When Skyler was born he fit in his owner's hand. It is hard to believe that giant great danes could be so little when they come out in the world because they grow up to be so big. I guess that is because they eat a lot. Great Danes even eat raw meat. That is gross!

The dog people taught us a lot of stuff. Dogs can do any kind of stuff. Some are leaders and help blind people. Some are used for search and rescue when people are lost or injured. Some are police dogs and help the police. Then others are therapy dogs that let people hug on them.

 Of course, we mostly talked about taking care of dogs. When the lady cleaned Bart's ear it was really really really dirty. He had a four cotton ball ear! The lady said that all dog's ears get dirty. She also said that some dogs have natural ears and some have cropped ears. They have to teach their ears to stand up. That's funny!  

Some of the dogs did some cool tricks. Bart rolled over on command. His big legs almost got tangled up but he did it. Kendrick was real brave and volunteered to shake Sampsons hand when the girl asked for a volunteer. His paw was really strong and big. Shea worked with the lady from hand signals. She sitted, layed down, spinned around and the took a bow. She has really big muscles and is so neat. I wish I could have her.

 The basic commands we learned were : Sit (Pet the dog.), Heal (Have the dog walk on your left side.) Stop (The dog should sit.) Down, Stand, Stay, Come, Back, and Bow. The trainer said that giving the dogs commands is important, but giving them lots of love and playing with them is more better.

 We also learned about keeping dogs cool and keeping dogs warm. Wading pools, giving dogs lots of water, swimming, shade, fans and misters help a lot. Also, we should never leave a dog in a hot car in the summer cause it can hurt them real bad. Some people sew their own doggie clothes. The trainer lady made a heart one for her dog. It was pretty.

 We played a cool game of Follow the Leader with Shea. We did everything Shea did. When she sat down, we sat down. When she walked, we walked. When she backed up, we backed up. It was really funny to follow a dog. Everybody laughed a lot.

 One of the interesting things we talked about was about how to help a lost dog find it's owner. Some dogs have dog tags with their name and address on them, but some dogs have micro-chips in their shoulder or back. The micro-chip is put in by a Vet. It is very little like the size of a piece of rice. And if a dog gets lose, someone can wave like a magic wand over the micro-chip and the dog's information comes up. It sounds pretty cool. Some of our friends said their dogs have micro-chips. It is a good tracking system.

 On behalf of the School Age Editorial Staff and the School Age Teaching Staff, Have a great School Year!!!! it has been a fun summer! You are the greatest!

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If this peaks your interest in this program here's some information on the one in which these students participated.

 The Great Dane Club of Arizona has a Children's Public Education Program that teaches school age children about responsible dog ownership. Our participating club members volunteer their time, and their dogs, to go to the schools each week to provide this extremely rewarding program for the students.

 Currently, all volunteers are also members of the Arizona Great Dane Drill Team and they provide the students with a sound foundation on the care and training that is a necessary part of owning a dog.

 Students are taught how to be safe around dogs and how to provide their dogs with a safe environment. They are introduced to the many activities that are available for them to do with their dogs and learn about the many different jobs that dogs can actually perform.  

This program is in high demand in our community, with a long list of schools waiting for their turn. The club has utilized information and materials available through the AKC public education department, as well as input from members, to create a program that is fun and educational for all involved.

 Two to four volunteers and their dogs attend each lesson and everyone adds their own special tidbit of information, training, skill and humor to make this a truly wonderful experience. One of the most rewarding experiences, always, is watching the child that starts out afraid of dogs and who, by the end of our program, is confidently petting and walking the dogs around. We routinely have students ask for more information and they tell us about how something we've taught them has helped them with their own dogs. 

 Many students (and teachers) have expressed interest in learning more about training or attending formal classes.

 The four lessons that we use in our basic school program are listed below. Each lesson consists of two parts, the first being an educational portion that introduces pertinent information on the subject being presented. The second part is a hands-on activity that the children can do with the dogs.

 Each lesson has hand outs for the students to take home that reinforce the subject covered that week.

We present this program to kindergarten through 8th grade students during the school year. Each lesson is specialized to include age appropriate information depending on the grade level. Additionally we have a 14 week lesson plan that can be used for longer commitment programs and this we use for our summer program at local hospitals and child day care centers that have groups of children during the summer months.

 Basic care for canines and Dog Wash

 The lesson begins with a viewing of the AKC video "Best Friends" that discusses the many ways that pets enhance our lives. Our responsibility, as owners, to properly care for our pets through proper feeding, grooming, training and health care is covered.

 The second part of the lesson is a hands on exercise in which the students get to bathe the dogs. This allows the students some hands on time with the dogs. The class will be divided into 2-4 groups and each group has a dog to groom. The dogs are lying down and the students use a bucket, sponges and towels to "bathe and dry" the dogs. The handlers will demonstrate cleaning ears, clipping toe nails and discuss brushing and hair clipping for longer coated dogs.

 This exercise allows the students to touch the dogs so they will be comfortable with them.

Safety around dogs

This lesson begins with a viewing of the AKC video "Safety around Dogs" that teaches children how to properly greet a dog and also demonstrates some basic safety rules to follow if and when they should encounter a loose dog.

The second part of the lesson is a hands on demonstration on how to properly greet a dog. Each student is asked to approach an owner/dog team, then ask to pet the dog and show the correct way to approach the dog.

Obedience

This lesson teaches the students the importance and value of a well trained dog. The lesson begins with a discussion of the different types of training equipment and techniques. The students get to be puppies that are learning their first obedience commands.

The second part of the lesson is a demonstration of a CGC test that shows the commands that the dogs need to know to earn their AKC Canine Good Citizen Award.

Agility

The first part of this lesson introduces the children to agility and provides information on the many varied activities available for them to participate with their dogs. It includes a video of an AKC agility trial in which one of the dogs that comes to their school competed in. A variety of dog sports, jobs and activities in which owners and their dogs may participate are discussed.

The second part of this lesson is an actual demonstration of agility by the school demonstration dogs.

Every lesson has time for question and answers and, most importantly, cuddle time with the dogs!

The Great Dane Club of Arizona encourages all clubs to consider starting an education program in your area. The benefits are innumerable. If your club would like more detailed information on this program please contact :-

Kathleen Holland,
Great Dane Club of Arizona
Corresponding Secretary
krhdane@cox.net