Doggone Pawsitive is passionate about dog bite prevention and safety. Given that many families who attend our classes have children and that many of our private behaviour consultations stem from dog bites - we recognize the need for simple, effective bite prevention training for children and all family members. How often do we hear people say - the dog bit with no warning? However, if we better understood canine behaviour and communication and what situations and human behaviours can cause dog bites - we would be better able to recognize the warning signals that our dogs are giving us.

Dog bite statistics prove that there is much room for improvement when it comes to dog bite education. For example:

• There are 460,000 bites per year in Canada. In the U.S. - 4.7 million per year
• Most bites are by a known dog
• Children are the most common victims
• 50 per cent of all children are bitten by age 12
• Bites to the face and head are the most common

Doggone Pawsitive wants to change those statistics. Our classes include bite prevention exercises.

Doggone Pawsitive is involved in presenting several different styles of public workshops on dog bite prevention. We hold workshops at our facility for children, parents, expectant parents and also give presentations to various community organizations and work places.

• Doggone Pawsitive is a presenter of the Doggone Safe Be a Tree^TMbite prevention program for children.
• We offer general workshops for families and workplaces on how to be safe around dogs.
• Specialized workshops for expectant parents on how to prepare the family pet for the new baby’s arrival and how to develop a safe bond between the dog and new baby.

These workshops focus on a positive preventative approach and teach children, families and workers how to :

• understand why dogs bite and dog communication
• modify dog and people behaviour to decrease the risk of a dog bite
• recognize, deal with and avoid dangerous situations

Be a Tree^TM bite prevention workshops for children and parents are held at our office location - dates and times for 2011/2012 to be announced in the fall of 2011. Pre-registration is required. Doggone Pawsitive is happy to present customized Bite Prevention workshops for your community group, school group or business organization. Please call us for details.

For parents looking for resources - see Doggone Safe - a national non-profit organization geared toward dog bite prevention. Their website is: doggonesafe.com/