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The Dog Guardian: Spring 2015 (PDF version)
In This Issue:
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Our board meeting was held on Sunday March 22nd. Betty gave us our financial update. We discussed our 3 fundraisers: Going to the Dogs, Cards and Designs by Jenn, and Regal. Currently we are concentrating on 3 programs (CCGC, Preschool and Dog Program, and the clean up of 4 parks).
We received permission from the Liam J. Perks Foundation to include their "Let's Talk Dog!" Poster in the package we hand out at the dog parks during our clean up events.
The "Let's Talk Dog!" Poster designed by the Liam J. Perk Foundation is a wonderful tool to help teach children about dogs and dog safety. Here is the link to their website: http://www.liamjperkfoundation.org/talk.html
The poster is divided into 3 sections:
The top section shows the children what to do when they meet a dog running around loose and when they meet a very excited dog. Click on this link http://www.liamjperkfoundation.org/betree.html and find out how to be a tree or a rock.
Be like a tree - stand still, keep your hands in front close to your body and count until the dog leaves. Usually after a few minutes the dog finds something else more interesting than you to run to and sniff. If you get knocked over be like a rock and protect your head and neck.
The link goes through each step in a language the child can understand. The pictures demonstrate each step. It also gives the child and parent reasons behind each step.
The middle part of the poster explains how to meet a dog. Click on this link http://www.liamjperkfoundation.org/meetDog.html to find out what to do and the reason behind each step. For example:
Stay away from strangers and strange dogs when you are out alone
Ask permission from a distance from the owner to pet his dog
If the owner says no just walk away. Some dogs are not friendly
After you have received the owner's permission, your next step is to ask the dog. The dog will tell you by his body language whether he wants to meet you or not. The website explains with pictures and simple words on how to interpret the dog's body language.
OK, so now you have the owner's permission and the dog's permission. The website demonstrates and explains how dogs like to be patted by a stranger.
Don't forget to look at the video.
The bottom part of the poster explains common dog stress signals. The webpage http://www.liamjperkfoundation.org/stress.html explains how to interpret these body languages:
Lip Licking
Turning Away
Half Moon Eye
Yawning
Mouth Closed
Shaking Off
Here are some activities on how to help your kids remember each stress signal:
Talk about each picture on the poster
Your child can colour each picture. As he does ask what he thinks the dog is trying to say. For example "Why do you think the dog is licking his lips?" "That's right he is anxious" "What do you think happened that made him feel this way?"
Play the "Let's imitate" game. Ask the child to imitate the stress signs like licking his lips, turning away etc.
I have found the late Dr. Sophia Yin's website very informative. Here is the link to her website: http://drsophiayin.com/philosophy
The bottom of the home page states that:
"Dr. Yin is a veterinarian, animal behaviorist, author, and international expert on Low Stress Handling. Her "pet-friendly" techniques for animal handling and behavior modification are shaping the new standard of care for veterinarians and petcare professionals."
Click on the link below to find out more about Dr. Yin:
I would like to talk about the posters Dr. Yin designed to cover different situations you can encounter with your pets. These posters are free downloads. You can also read the articles online explaining each poster.
Click on the link below for the posters and the information about each of them:
http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/free-downloads-posters-handouts-and-more
In this newsletter I would like to focus on the 2nd poster "How to Greet a Dog".
The first column in the poster shows how we would feel if another person approached us in the inappropriate way that we approach dogs. The second column shows us how the dog feels about the same situation. The third column demonstrates the proper way to approach the dog in each situation. The poster goes through 8 different situations.
The poster is explained in Dr. Yin's article "Preventing Dog Bites by Learning to Greet Dogs Properly". Here is the link to the article:
http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/preventing-dog-bites-by-learning-to-greet-dogs-properly
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Rob and Kelley (picture taken by Julie More) |
Labradorable Figgy Duff |
The date of the fundraiser has been changed to Sunday September 13th, 2015 because the organizing committee felt there were too many other dog related events on the weekend of June 13th and 14th. We are still looking for volunteers to distribute posters and pick up donated items for the silent auction.
We will need help to stuff goodie bags on Sunday September 6th.
On the day of the event (September 13th) we will need volunteers to:
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picture by Ivan Harris
We are very grateful to Jennifer Harris for our second fundraiser project. "I have been designing cards as a hobby for several years but two years ago I decided to make it a business in which I would donate all my proceeds to organizations like RDOC that help people and animals. Currently RDOC is getting half of my proceeds; the other half is going to organizations such as LiveWorkPlay or Citizen Advocacy.
My cards are original designs which can be personalized with names or custom messages. Popular cards are Happy Birthday, In Sympathy and Merry Christmas. I do cards with envelopes (4 by 5 ½"), signs (8 ½ by 11") which could be posted on the internet, or wine bags.
Some ideas I get from the internet, others are out of my imagination. I enjoy making my cards because it helps me relax and I like making people happy."
Jennifer Harris Cards and Designs by Jenn www.cardbyjenn.blogspot.ca
We are excited to use Regal Gifts for our third fundraiser project. Regal offers more than a thousand products with hundreds being priced under $20. There is something for everyone either for themselves or as a gift.
Please email [email protected] or call 613.868.2201 to request a catalogue or place an order. It takes about 3 weeks for the orders to come in. Everything, (except books, opened CDs, DVDs and personalized items) is fully guaranteed for 60 days. If you are not happy with any merchandise we will gladly refund your money or exchange the article. Sorry but there are no refunds or exchanges on books, opened CDs, DVDs and personalized items. Regal has a low shipping rate - only $6.50 for orders under $100, and 6.5% for orders over $100. Responsible Dog Owners of Canada will receive 30% on every order. We thank you for your continued support!!
Winter was long and cold but spring is coming. Yep, you guessed it, so is our spring annual park clean ups. We do this twice a year - once in the spring and the second time in the fall. Most of us are very good in cleaning up after our dogs but not after ourselves. You won't believe how many McDonald's and Tim Horton's cups we collect on our clean up days. These events also help get our name out and inform people of what we do. It gives us an opportunity to answer people's questions. During the morning we hand out the bags and gloves to the dog owners. They are the ones who do the hard work of cleaning up the garbage etc. Their reward is a much cleaner park and their dogs get dog cookies.
Here is our spring schedule:Stittsville Park - Saturday May 9 from 9am - 11am Heritage Park, Orleans - Saturday May 16 from 9am - 11am
Conroy Pit Park - Saturday May 23 from 9am - 11am Bruce Pit Park - Saturday May 30 from 9am - 11am |
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Julia Wasser and Jill Sandwell for putting a huge number of hours into creating the last newsletter. Julia did the layout of the newsletter. It's thanks to her that we once again have a professional looking newsletter. I just sent her the articles and she did her magic. It took Jill (our webmaster who we featured in the volunteer corner of our last newsletter), Julia, and I forever to get it right so people could read it in PDF version, Microsoft version and also be able to read it on the RDOC website. The Winter newsletter was the first one with the new layout. Hopefully this newsletter will take much less time. The three of us work well together. We winter in three different parts of the country. Jill lives in Ottawa but winters in British Columbia (she has the best of both worlds), Julia lives in Wolfville, Nova Scotia and I live in Ottawa. While Jill had the windows open enjoying wonderful weather, Julia was trying to shovel herself out from the deep snow that they kept on getting, and I was trying to defrost myself. Lucky for Jill that Julia and I are nice people and didn't send snow and freezing temperatures her way.
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Our first volunteer party of the year was held on Sunday March 8th in the party room of Claudette's condo building. It was a potluck dessert and hors d'oeuvres party. Needless to say we ate too much. Janet makes the best deviled eggs with shrimps. We discussed many things. Some RDOC stuff and some that definitely weren't . Our next party will be in the summer at Candice's house. Date and time to be decided on. |
Winnie, our sweet golden girl with a personality and heart of gold, is a happy, friendly, well adjusted family pet who is now living the good life in our home where she is safe, well taken care of and showered with lots of TLC, good food and toys. However, life wasn’t always so kind to Winnie. Her life began in a puppy mill. When Cliff and I adopted her four years ago, she was very timid, shy and fearful of everything and everybody. We worked hard and patiently for months to gain her trust, along with professional trainers, who helped us give her the confidence she so desperately needed to overcome her fears and trust issues with people, in order to enable her to adapt and settle into her new life with us. She still, to this day, is fearful of thunderstorms and fireworks. However, she has come a long way from the shy and fearful girl she once was in her puppy mill days to the loving, affectionate, trusting gentle soul she is today. She loves her walks and enjoys meeting other dogs, and is comfortable meeting new people now. It is very rewarding for us to know that we have saved Winnie from a life of hell. She has now become our faithful companion and is a wonderful addition to our family.We look forward to spending many more wonderful years with her.
Submitted by Kit Watson
"The Dog Lover's Guide" by Honor Head
Paperback
Chapters book store $7.99
Book topiary (on line) $19.50
http://www.booktopia.com.au/the-dog-lover-s-guide-honor-head/prod9781781719176.html
This is a wonderful book for all ages. I especially like how the book is divided into various topics
with the ease to choose topics in terms of reader's interest.
Just to name a few:
Dog Care
Dog Breeds
How to Speak Dog/safety
Training and Tricks
"The Dog Lover's Guide" explains what to do with a dog as well as the importance of why to do it. I especially like the topic on "How to Speak Dog". Learning about how a dog communicates is so important to ensure our safety and to meet the dog’s needs. It also helps teach us how to have fun and enjoy our dog.
The comprehension level of the text appears suitable for ages 8 and older. However, the text is easily adapted for a child of a younger age. I enjoyed reading this book with my 3 year old and 5 year old grandsons. I highly recommend "The Dog Lover's Guide" especially to new dog owners.
Submitted by Denise Jean
Several months after Christmas ... and Morgan’s Christmas present is still in one piece. Much loved, chewed, chased and pounced upon (there’s a very quiet squeaker inside) it has survived pretty much intact. There are some frayed threads at each end, and Morgan has chewed at the corners and frayed those a bit as well. However, so far she has not succeeded in chewing through the tough fire hose material which has resisted punctures from her sharp teeth. I bought the medium size, which I thought would be harder to destroy than the small size.
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photo by Jill Sandwell |
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I had my doubts about this toy but so far so good. I am impressed not only because Morgan hasn’t destroyed the bumper yet, but also because she is still interested in chewing it, throwing it around and jumping on it after all this time. Morgan is easily bored, even her expensive elk antler is only good for a few minutes per day, whereas she loves this bumper.
This toy is the Kyjen Hard Core Firehose Squeak n Fetch Dog Toy available from your local pet store, or from Amazon.ca:
Their description: "This durable toy is made from the same tough, durable material that firemen use. Consists of a rubber lining and multiple layers of tightly-woven fabric. This provides excellent resistance to abrasion and superior strength for a dog toy. Did we mention they float too?"
Submitted by Jill Sandwell
This ten-step test provides a good measurement of a dog's behavior in a social setting with different distractions.
For more information on the CCGC test or CCGC preparation course, please contact RDOC at:
[email protected]
RDOC would like to welcome the Kearns family. They are owned by Tyke, a cute Jack Russell Terrier. Tyke is Ryan's dog. Diane and Jim look after Tyke when Ryan works long hours. Like any grandparents they love to spoil their grand dog. Tyke loves going to the cottage and playing in the lake, which she does with amazing style ... swimming circles around her family.Diane, Jim, Ryan and Tyke volunteered for us at the Pet Expo two years ago. Diane also helped out with our Preschool and Dog Program. We needed to try out the program and Diane agreed to act as a 3 year old. She definitely has acting talent
Tyke (photo taken by Diane Kearns)
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Responsible Dog Owners of Canada (RDOC) Responsible Dog Owners of Canada is a registered non profit organization that promotes responsible dog ownership through education and support, cultivates respect for the rights and privileges of members of the dog-owning and non dog-owning communities, fosters recognition of the contribution that canines make through companionship, service/assistance and therapy and aspires to assemble a strong network of responsible dog owners to ensure the restoration and preservation of a dog-friendly society. Responsibility · Respect · Recognition Contact RDOC by: Write
to us at: Or visit us online at:
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