The on-line version of the RDOC Newsletter
The on-line version of the RDOC Newsletter
Our newsletters are also available in pdf format; you will need Acrobat Reader to open the pdf documents. You may already have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer but if not,
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Newsletter - Winter 2015 :: also available in
PDF format 
In This Issue:
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Winnie (photo by Kit Watson) |
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Welcome to our first newsletter of 2015. In this issue we are introducing a new section requested by my dog, Tyler.
He wants to tell you about his most favorite toy, the Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball.
Yep you guessed it; this new section is called Toy Review.
– Julie More
Tyler (photo by Julie More)
The main focus of our November 30, 2014 board meeting was to plan the programs we will be concentrating on for the next six months.
The following four programs were decided on:
The plan is to evaluate each program every 6 months to see how successful it was and how it could be improved.
We are pleased to welcome our newest board member, Claudette Levac who has volunteered to be our secretary.
Claudette was featured in the Volunteer Corner of our Christmas newsletter and brings both office and board experiences
to our organization. Claudette worked for Revenue Canada for twenty-eight years and retired in 2010. She was a member
of the Board of Directors for her condominium association for ten years.
Welcome Claudette. We are really pleased to have you on board.
I have 2 dogs. Tyler, my black lab, is the friendliest dog. He is easy-going and good with kids. Nellie, my Australian Shepherd, on the other hand, has no social skills whatsoever. She is a rescue dog with history. She loves our family but hates strangers. After a while she warms up to people visiting us.
Like people, each dog is different with some being friendly and others not. It's difficult to teach small children how to be safe around dogs. The Doggone safe website http://www.doggonesafe.com/ has some wonderful resources to help teach dog safety. I really like the ‘Kid and K9 Safety Tips and Activities’ test designed by Joan Orr and Teresa Lewin. On the home menu scroll down and click ‘Resources’ http://www.doggonesafe.com/Doggone_Safe_resources .
Click ‘Free Downloads’ http://www.doggonesafe.com/free_downloads then http://www.doggonesafe.com/Resources/Downloads/activity_page.pdf
The Tips and Activities test is a good conversation starter with your child about dog safety especially when you meet other dogs.
(Not to worry parents, the answers to the questions are on the page.)
It covers:
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Dog Bite Prevention Through Education |
I was searching the web on how to teach preschoolers about dog safety and came across this wonderful website called http://www.getdogsmart.com/
The home page introduces you to Diggity the Dog, to the author Lisa LeLeu, and her reason for creating this website. Diggity the dog takes the children for a friendly walk around the neighbourhood showing them how to behave around dogs.
Click here: http://www.getdogsmart.com/play_the_story.php to get to the next page where you are given a choice of reading the story to your child or have Diggity tell the story.
On his walk, Diggity covers 17 safety rules, giving examples of what to do when you meet a strange dog.
After finishing the story click on: http://www.getdogsmart.com/printable_story.php to print out your favourite pages.
Want to have fun? Click on Flash Game: http://www.getdogsmart.com/flash_games.php for your child to play 2 more games.
Click on the Safety Tips button: http://www.getdogsmart.com/for_kids_and_parents.php to get a list of safety tips for kids and parents, for dog owners, and what to do if your child is bitten by a dog.
A very well designed website and a great educational tool.
We are working hard to organize the 2015 Going to the Dogs Fundraiser with Therapeutic Paws of Canada and Hopeful Hearts Rescue. The event will be held on Sunday September 13, 2015. The organizing committee is made up of Lynn Grogan from Hopeful Hearts Rescue, Dian McTaggart and Courtney Chew Leung from Therapeutic Paws of Canada, and Candice O’Connell, Julie More, Betty Harris, and Dagmar VanBeselaere from RDOC.
We are looking for volunteers to distribute posters and pick up donated items for the silent auction.
We will need help to stuff the goodie bags on Sunday, September 6.
On the day of the event (Sept. 13) we will need volunteers to:
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Please note this date has been changed from June 14. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Let me introduce you to Jill Sandwell our webmaster and volunteer for 15 years. She is one of our longest serving volunteers. Here is Jill's story:
"I have been involved with RDOC from the beginning days when it was known as the National Capital Coalition for People and Dogs (NCCPD). I have been the webmaster of the NCCPD/RDOC web site since 1999 after a chance meeting at the Bruce Pit with one of the founders of NCCPD, Candice O’Connell. Candice was working hard to preserve off-leash dog walking privileges at the Bruce Pit at that time, and formed a group named Friends of Bruce Pit. Friends of Bruce Pit later widened its horizons to become NCCPD. Designing and maintaining web sites was one of my hobbies and I offered my services to Candice.
I have lived with dogs most of my life and presently share my home with my husband and a lively and rather self-willed brown standard poodle named Morgan. The sporting dogs have always been my favourites for their happy personalities and energy."
It takes a special person to volunteer for an organization for 15 years. RDOC is very lucky to have you. Hopefully we will have you for another 15 years.
In partnership with the Ottawa Public Library we will be presenting our first Preschool and Dog Interactions Workshop for preschool teachers on Thursday Feb. 19, 2015 from 7‐8pm at the Nepean Centrepointe Library.
The workshop is based on the curriculum RDOC developed for preschool teachers to familiarize 2‐4 year olds with dogs and dog safety.
Topics covered will be:
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Suggestions of activities for circle and free play times will be offered to cover each topic.
To register please call the Nepean Centrepointe Library at: 613‐580‐2940 or go online at http://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en
You can also email [email protected] or call 613‐868‐2201.
Register early. Spaces are limited.
Tyler and Nellie would like to tell you about their friends whose humans ran into hard times and sometimes need help providing food for their pets. The Parkdale Food Centre not only helps 2‐legged customers, but 4‐legged ones as well. Louise Fox, one of the volunteers at the Food Centre explains:
"The Parkdale Food Centre is in immediate need of donated pet food to help feed the dogs and cats owned by the people in our community who benefit from the emergency food assistance provided each month by this centre. Many of these individuals have dogs and cats and we want to do our best to keep these beloved pets well fed, healthy and happy.
The Parkdale Food Centre is a registered not‐for‐profit charity that helps approximately 700 people per month in the west central part of Ottawa, in association with the Ottawa Food Bank. If you have extra or unused pet food, both wet and dry food for dogs and cats, and you would like to donate these items, please contact: Karen Secord, Manager, Parkdale Food Centre, 30 Rosemount Avenue, Suite 2, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 1P4. Telephone: (613) 722‐8019 or (613) 304‐0878. Email: [email protected] | www.parkdalefoodcentre.org .
Income tax receipts can be issued for new donated pet food items accompanied by a store receipt. Donations can be dropped off during the centre’s business hours: noon to 3pm on Tuesdays, 6‐8pm on Tuesday evenings, and noon to 3pm on Thursdays. Other times can be arranged by contacting Karen. If required, pick up of large quantities or heavy items from your home or place of business can be arranged by contacting Karen. Any assistance that you can offer to help alleviate this ongoing need in our community would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your consideration."
Love Your Dog by Judith Heneghan
Published by Windmill Books, an imprint of Rosen Publishing, 2012
ISBN-10: 0750268913 ISBN-13: 978-0750268912
Hardcover (32 pages)
Available: Ottawa Public Library (J 636.7HENEG) | Chapters book store | online at www.amazon.com
A well written, illustrated children’s book explaining in simple terms how to look after a new puppy.
Some topics covered are:
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Tyler, my 7‐year‐old black lab would like to tell you about his most favorite toy. Yep you guessed it, the treat ball.
The official name is the "Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball" and costs between $10 ‐$16 depending where you buy it.
Check it out here: http://www.omegapaw.com/products/tricky-treat-ball.html
It used to take Tyler 3 minutes to gobble down his breakfast and supper. Now he gets his meals in his treat ball and it takes him about 45 minutes to eat it. I put about 10 kibbles in the ball and roll it down the hall. Tyler runs after it and then pushes it all around the house until all the kibbles roll out, which of course he catches and eats. Then he has to find me so I can fill up the ball again. Eight times out of 10 he forgets to bring the ball with him. He has to go back, find the ball and bring it to me. He puts it in my hand so I can refill it. Tyler gets fed twice a day. Thanks to the treat ball he gets an extra hour and a half of exercise a day. In fact we had to increase his food. He was losing weight with all this extra exercise. An extra bonus in Tyler's book.
The toy is a vinyl ball with an opening where you put the treats. As your dog rolls the ball the treats fall out.
The outside surface of the ball is shaped like many small craters that not only hide the hole the food is dispensed from
but also help your dog to pick up the ball and push it around.
Tyler's Tricky-Treat Ball
(photo by Julie More)
What is the CCGC™ test? What will my dog get out of doing the test? What will I as a dog owner get out of the test?
To answer these 3 questions let's go to the information section of CCGC™ on the RDOC's website: http://www.responsibledogowners.ca/ccgct-info.html
Let's start with our first question: “What is the CCGC™ test?”
“The CCGC™ Certification Program is a ten‐step test that assesses a dog’s behaviour in simulated everyday situations in a relaxed atmosphere. It identifies and rewards dogs that have the training and demeanour to be reliable family and community members.”
Question two: “What will my dog get out of doing the test?”
“The purpose of the Canadian Canine Good Citizen™ Test is to ensure that our favourite companion and assistant, the dog, is a respected member of the community because it is trained and conditioned to act mannerly in the home, public places and the presence of other dogs.”
Let’s tackle our third question: “As a dog owner, what will I get out of the test?”
“Upon successful completion of the test, the owner is awarded a CCGCT™ certificate signifying that the owner is a responsible dog owner who has taken the time and effort to provide his or her dog with basic good manners and that, on the day of the testing, the dog demonstrated that it is a socially acceptable dog.”
“Dogs that have solid obedience training are a pleasure to live with, adapt well to a human living environment, exhibit good manners in the presence of people and other dogs and are content in the company of the owner who took the time to provide training, intellectual stimulation and an enriched quality of life.”
Overall, the CCGC™ test certificate is a reward for a well‐matched partnership demonstrating that the owner took the time and loving care to train his/her canine.
RDOC would like to welcome its newest member team, Amani Wassef and loveable black lab, Figgy Duff. Together, they make up Paws & Co. Animal Assisted Therapy and Learning, a small business dedicated to providing creative healthcare solutions tailored to meet individual and organizational needs.
Figgy Duff is one-year-old and in training so he can soon join Amani’s team. When he’s not learning to be a therapy dog, Amani says he can be found lying upside down on the couch, stealing cat toys, or catching snowballs on the beach. Figgy lives in a loving household with his people and two very tolerant rescue kitties.
Amani says: "Ethical and safe dog ownership are very important to me so organizations like RDOC play an essential role in helping to promote this. I am happy to be part of a national network that helps to build dog-friendly attitudes and responsible education programs."
Paws & Co. is located in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia and offers educational, consulting and therapeutic services to meet a range of health care issues. If you’d like to learn more about Paws & Co. or how Animal‐Assisted Therapy (AAT) differs from volunteer Animal-Assisted Activities (AAA), please go to www.pawsandco.ca .
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Rosie (photo by Mary Dunne) |
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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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Archived Newsletters :: Spring 2015
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