As an AKC Canine Ambassador, Neisha, my Airedale, helps me teach children to feel safe around dogs. We visit schools, summer camps, branches of the Dallas Public Library, and Girl Scout, Brownie and Daisy troops to teach children about being safe around dogs and how to help dogs in their communities.

Some parts of Dallas have serious problems with loose dogs, and I often find that many of the children that I talk to are afraid of dogs. Some have been chased by these dogs and knocked down. I talk to them about how to be safe around dogs, about never approaching a loose dog, about telling an adult about a loose dog so the adult could call for help for the dog, and what to look for before approaching a dog. Using advice from another AKC Canine Ambassador, I tell the children to be sure they can see a collar attached to a leash held by a person, or more briefly Collar - Leash - Person and I get the children to chant those three words so that they will remember to look for the collar, the leash and the person.

I tell the children that when they see a loose dog coming towards them, they need to stand still and “be a tree.” And I tell them not to stare at the dog, but to look to the side or down at the ground. I tell them about a time when I was a child and two St. Bernards loved to chase me when I rode my bicycle by their house. I tell them how I learned to stop, be very still and firmly tell the dogs to go home. I tell them how that worked for me and helped me get over my fear of dogs that were not mine.

I demonstrate how to how to ask permission to pet a dog (as long as it has a collar, leash and person) first with an Airedale stuffed toy and then with Neisha. I show them how to determine even if they get permission whether the dog seems happy to be petted by the child, how to let the dog sniff their closed fist, and how to pet the dog under its chin or on its chest.

Then I let them approach me and Neisha one by one. They are always so cute, and at this last visit, a child who had been knocked down by a loose dog was one of the first children to approach us. Neisha stands quietly, and lets each child approach her, sniffs their fists, and lets them pet her. When a child forgets to pet under her chin and reaches over to pet her head, Neisha's nose does just what I had demonstrated with the stuffed Airedale: she follows their hand with her nose making it impossible for them to pet her head because she is so busy sniffing their hand.

When every child has had an opportunity to pet her, we relax with her, usually by sitting on the floor around her with one child at a time stroking her, giving her a treat, or just talking to her. Neisha loves this part of the visit, and often initiates it by lying down in the midst of the children. The children love giving her treats because she has a very soft mouth and they never feel her teeth. My job is to make sure they don’t overdo the treats!

All too soon, our visits are over. I give each child one or two AKC coloring books, one about safety around dogs and the other about responsible dog ownership, and a bookmark with reminders about caring for a dog. Then we pack up and head home..

All together, a great outing and a great experience. Neisha seems to enjoy doing this as much as I do.