Teaching Brownies Responsible Dog Ownership

Last night Mary-Anne, Marylou and I headed across town to do a dog presentation to a group of Brownies. We discussed everything from responsible pet ownership, how to approach a dog that is with their owner, how not to approach a loose dog, what to do if a dog gets rough with them and nips (yell ouch and stand like a tree till an adult comes to help) and highlighted general doggie traits of various breeds as to why they are different - like why some can swim way better than others. I was surprised to learn that out of 20 of them, only 3 didn't have dogs and one girl was leary of them. They were all very interactive along with being quite able to answer my questions.

Here I'm talking about keeping their dog in a healthy weight and showing them how to do a "Health Hug", using the Purina Brochure.

Pups started out in an xpen to get used to all the new sounds and smells ... altho nothing seemed to faze them.

Marylou & Brownie Owl Robin waiting with the 3 older dogs we brought "Maple", "Casino" and "Harley". When it came time to work with the puppies, a circle was made, each had a treat and the Brownies learned how the puppies used their nose, going around to each child.

Marylou works with one of the Brownies who was a bit unsure of dogs.

Puppies and kids are doing great!

The last item we had the kids all do was to individually approach the adult dogs that were on leash with us, they had several items to remember - quiet feet, from in front; ask the owner permission; offer their hand to smell and then tickle under chin before petting the dog anywhere else.

Brownie & Tawny Owl (I think that's what they still call them!) having some snuggle time with the pups.
All the Brownies were excited to go home with a ProPlan scarf. It was a fun night out ... big question was, when could we come back?!

What did I get out of this?? teach children about my passion and a super night of puppy socialization!