Bite Off the Challenge! Dog Bite Prevention Week

May 16, 2012 - PRLog -- Washington County, FL – In recognition of International Dog Bite Prevention week, the third week of May, 2012, Doggone Safe Inc. and The Pet Professional Guild (PPG), are challenging its members to educate 50,000 children about safety around dogs.  Dog Bite Prevention week was established to call attention to one of the most commonly reported public health problems - dog bites.  By the age of twelve, half of all children will be bitten by a dog and the majority of these bites are inflicted by the family dog or other dog known to the child.

Doggone Safe is a non-profit organization dedicated to dog bite prevention through educational programs.  The organization was founded by Joan Orr, M.Sc., a scientist and internationally recognized dog training professional, and Teresa Lewin, an animal behavior consultant.  According to Orr, “The 3 most important things to teach your kids about dogs are, dogs don’t like hugs and kisses so teach your kids not to hug or kiss a dog on the face, if a strange dog approaches ‘be a tree’ - teach kids to stand still like a tree and never tease or disturb a dog, especially if it is sleeping, eating or protecting something.  We are looking to educate 50,000 children on dog safety in one month through our programs, presenters, sponsors, schools and volunteers.”

In support of Doggone Safe programs and International Dog Bite Prevention Week, PPG is hosting a free Doggone Safe webinar for its members, Learn How to Teach Kids to Be Safe around Dogs.  Niki Tudge, PPG founder, explains, “All PPG members are committed to using only force-free, scientifically based dog training methods that are the foundation to training a happy, well socialized family pet dog.  This alone helps reduce the chance of dog bites in the home and with our growing international membership base The PPG is in a unique position to help spread the importance of educating young people about how to behave around dogs.”

Doggone Safe and PPG promote positive training and particularly clicker training as a way for children and families to interact and bond with the dog and to learn to empathize with the dog and gain the respect and co-operation of the dog. For more information visit http://www.doggonesafe.com/ or http://www.petprofessionalguild.com