Dogs play a significant role in societies worldwide, with an estimated global population of one billion. Their roles vary from cherished companions in developed nations to free-roaming animals in less developed countries. Children’s interactions with dogs, whether at home or in public spaces, can sometimes have negative consequences, including dog bites and animal abuse. Recognizing this, dog welfare advocates emphasize the importance of educating the next generation. Furthermore, research suggests that dogs can positively contribute to education, stress reduction, and even anger management.
Despite the frequency of human-dog interactions, dog safety and welfare education are often lacking in school curricula. This guide provides a framework, resources, and practical tips for dog welfare organizations seeking to address this critical gap by developing and implementing effective humane education workshops for children and youth.
- Examples of Existing Workshop
- Defining Goals of Your Organization’s Education Program
- Setting Goals for a Particular Workshop
- Understanding the Workshop Audience
- Deciding on the Location
- Determining the Workshop Format
- What Topics to Cover
- Writing A Lesson Plan
- Supporting Materials
- Conclusion of the Workshop
- Evaluation
- Marketing Your Program
- Grants to Consider
- Last Tips for Success
- Connecting with the Humane Educator Community
Examples of Existing Workshop
Many organizations already offer diverse forms of humane education for children. These initiatives vary in purpose and format, ranging from basic dog information to specialized programs addressing specific needs.
- Immersive Classroom: SPCA Hong Kong’s 270-degree immersive classroom, aligned with educational curricula, engages children with interactive lessons on animal types, cat and dog breeds, daily pet care, and responsible pet ownership through captivating cartoons.
- Building Confidence: The Dogs Trust “Be Dog Confident” workshop focuses on children who are anxious around dogs, providing reassurance for parents and caregivers.
- Birthday Parties and Camps: Organizations like East Bay SPCA and the SPCA Serving Erie County utilize birthday parties and school break camps to educate children about kindness towards animals and explore animal care professions.
- Short Programs: Organizations like the Humane Society of Kitchener, Waterloo & Stratford Perth offer programs such as “Paws for Parents,” a two-hour session allowing parents to drop off their children at the shelter for tours, movies, and snacks.
- Addressing Violence: spcaLA’s award-winning Teaching Love & Compassion (TLC) program targets both students and youth offenders, using shelter dogs to teach patience and anger management.
- Rabies Education: The Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) collaborates with the Philippines Department of Education to integrate rabies education into the national curriculum, providing comprehensive resources.
For more examples, see this list of humane education initiatives for children, maintained by the Dog Welfare Project.
Defining Goals of Your Organization’s Education Program
Organizations may initiate humane education workshops based on a teacher’s proposal, a grant opportunity, or an internal initiative. Before developing a workshop, organizations should clearly define their overall educational goals. These goals should guide workshop content and contribute to the organization’s broader mission. Consider the following objectives:
- Reduce Shelter Intake and Returns: Families with children are statistically more likely to relinquish or return their dogs. Educating children about responsible pet ownership, including the time, commitment, and resources required, can help mitigate this risk. Workshops can cover topics like breed selection, understanding dog behavior, and preparing for the responsibilities of pet ownership.
- Cultivate Responsible Pet Ownership: Even young children can contribute to dog welfare. Workshops can teach age-appropriate tasks like training, walking, grooming, and providing enrichment. Emphasize the importance of consistent care, meeting a dog’s physical and emotional needs, and the long-term commitment involved in pet ownership.
- Prevent and Manage Dog Bites: Dog bites have serious consequences, ranging from physical injury to the risk of rabies in some regions. They can also lead to the euthanasia of the involved dog. Education on safe dog interaction, recognizing dog body language, and understanding bite prevention strategies is crucial.
- Promote Appreciation for the Diverse Roles of Dogs: Highlight the various roles dogs play in society, from beloved companions and service animals to therapy dogs and working dogs. Respect for dogs in all contexts, including free-roaming dogs where relevant, should be emphasized.
- Deliver Mutual Benefit: Some programs leverage the human-animal bond to address societal needs. Examples include animal-assisted therapy for children with special needs, vocational training in animal care (e.g., assisting with preventive veterinary procedures), and programs that address issues like violence prevention through empathy development.
Setting Goals for a Particular Workshop
Effective workshops require stakeholder input. Consult teachers, parents, and students (especially teenagers) to determine workshop goals. While an organization’s overall education program may encompass multiple goals, individual workshops should focus on one or two objectives to maintain participant engagement. Use multiple workshops to address broader objectives.
Understanding the Workshop Audience
Identifying the target audience is crucial for workshop planning. Age significantly impacts content, delivery methods, attention span, evaluation strategies, and the appropriateness of having a dog present. If an educator has initiated the workshop for children, this information is readily available.
Deciding on the Location
Schools are common venues, but animal shelters and community centers are also suitable. Each location has advantages and disadvantages. Schools offer convenience, desks and chairs with readily available technology, while shelters provide tours including a behind-the-scenes view of rescue work and increased interaction with dogs.
Determining the Workshop Format
Three common workshop types include:
- Learning Workshop: This traditional format focuses on teaching a specific skill or technique (e.g., dog body language, positive reinforcement training).
- Exploratory Workshop: These workshops introduce a topic, prompting discussion, analysis of associated problems, and brainstorming solutions. An example could be a group discussion on how to enrich the lives of shelter dogs.
- Creating Workshop: These workshops bring participants together to create something, such as adoption posters or a community dog park design.
It is also possible to combine different elements, making learning workshops more interactive. Here is an example of what it could look like:
What Topics to Cover
Learning topics depend on the audience’s age, session length, the organization’s focus, and the workshop’s objectives.
Exploratory and creation workshop topics are highly diverse, ranging from relevant community issues (e.g., stray dog welfare) to supporting organizational needs (e.g., adoption promotion).
Writing A Lesson Plan
To best communicate your ideas with teachers and educators, we need to create a formal lesson plan. This will allow them to easily understand and implement the material. A great resource for this is the Association of Professional Humane Educators (APHE) Lesson Plan Workbook, which provides a step-by-step guide and numerous examples.
Supporting Materials
Leverage existing, vetted materials whenever possible, as many align with national education curricula. The Dog Welfare Project’s comprehensive list of teaching resources offers a starting point for finding free materials from organizations like Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) and national SPCAs. But here are some highlights:
- Possible Written Materials:
- Potential Videos:
- Potential Activities:
- Pet Stories: Storytelling exercises like this one from Dogs Trust can give children a chance to practice their literacy skills.
- Role Playing: Role-playing is a fantastic way to engage young learners. Consider using resources like the animal shelter dramatic play kit from the Regina Humane Society (for pre-K to grade 1), the “CIT Squad” activity (for ages 8-12) to investigate the case of a sick puppy, or a future vet workshop session (below).
- Supporting Handouts:
- Humane Books:
- Create a humane bookbag
- Activity Books:
- La Aventura De Cuidar Un Perro (in Spanish)
- Coloring Books: A range of coloring books exist, including ones from AVMA, Family Paws, and Purina Farms.
- Comic Books: Some examples include ones from AVMA and SPCA Hong Kong
Conclusion of the Workshop
Don’t just say goodbye — inspire them to learn more! Since most workshops for children are short and can only introduce the topic, leave children and students wanting more and provide clear directions on where they can find additional information and resources.
- Finish with clear next steps: Explain how children can get more involved with dog welfare and your organization (facility tours, education camps, volunteer programs, vocational training).
- Conclude your workshop with an engaging evaluation: A pop quiz with small prizes can reinforce key takeaways and create a fun, positive atmosphere, while a more formal survey can provide valuable feedback for program improvement (see next section for details).
- Consider those who may not have attended: Provide materials and follow-up opportunities for absent students, such as the possibility of attending an alternate session.
- Distribute leaflets for parents: Prepare parent leaflets that include information about the workshop, your organization, and responsible dog ownership. For example, this Dogs Trust leaflet offers valuable dog safety advice for parents.
Evaluation
Evaluation is crucial for demonstrating program impact to educators, funders, and your organization. It also provides valuable feedback for program refinement. Evaluation methods and scope should be determined before the workshop and applied consistently across all sessions. Research suggests the following best practices:
- Create Relevant Metrics: Align metrics with workshop goals. Avoid vague metrics like “satisfaction.” Encourage written feedback, especially from older students.
- Avoid Biases: Be mindful of phrasing and potential biases in questions. Emphasize that alternative views are welcome.
- Measure Before and After: For learning workshops, pre- and post-workshop surveys can demonstrate knowledge improvement. One effective method is to survey half of the participants before the session and the other half after.
- Ask about Future Selves: Postcards where attendees write about how they will apply what they learned can be redistributed later as reminders.
- Behavior Follow-Up: If possible, collaborate with teachers to assess behavior changes after the workshop.
For evaluation ideas, consider reviewing the teacher evaluation used in the World Animal Net humane education pilot project, or adapting this workshop feedback survey template.
Marketing Your Program
You’ve invested significant time in developing and delivering your workshop — that’s a great start! Now, maximize that investment by actively marketing your program to other organizations to expand its reach and impact.
- Targeting Educators: Expand your reach beyond individual schools by exploring partnerships with local school boards or teachers’ unions. Collaborate with these organizations to promote your program through their marketing channels or, ideally, advocate for its integration into the official curriculum.
- Engaging with Parents and Students: Directly engaging educators is crucial, but also consider connecting with parents (including your volunteers), older students, and other youth organizations like Scouts and homework clubs. Resources like Best Friends’ guide to engaging with schools offer valuable advice on identifying relevant clubs and student groups, and empower older students to become advocates for dog welfare.
- FAQs: A comprehensive FAQ section on your website can address common questions from educators and parents. A good reference would be these FAQs from the SPCA New Zealand Kids Portal and ones from Dogs Trust.
Grants to Consider
Organizations seeking to initiate or expand humane education programs should explore diverse funding options, including traditional animal welfare funders, as well as foundations and funders that support children’s well-being and education. The following are some examples of potential funding sources:
Australia
- Animal Welfare Victoria: The Animal Welfare Fund Grants Program provides funding to nonprofits that promote responsible animal ownership education.
Canada
- Animal Welfare Foundation of Canada: offers grants for public outreach initiatives that raise awareness about specific animal welfare issues, as well as online humane education content for school children.
United States
- The Lathom Foundation for the Promotion of Humane Education: offers grants for humane education programs, with each grant cycle focusing on a specific theme.
- Rhode Island Foundation: The Program for Animal Welfare funds organizations implementing projects or programs that educate about the humane treatment of animals and/or promote general animal welfare.
- Tails that Teach: offers a free book donation program for shelters. Qualifying organizations receive copies of their books to give to every child participating in a humane education program, along with a free 8-page activity book.
Last Tips for Success
- Regulations and Policies: Ensure full compliance with all applicable local regulations, school policies, and your organization’s insurance policies. Be aware that smartphone and social media use may be restricted or prohibited in certain settings. Exercise caution and ensure compliance with legal requirements regarding photographing children. Review your insurance policies carefully, as they may restrict interactions between minors and animals. Policy amendments may be necessary if you wish to offer such experiences.
- Be Prepared for Anything: Working with children requires patience. Discussions may veer off course, and accidents can happen. Asking clarifying questions, keeping explanations simple, and seeking assistance from teachers when needed are essential. For additional tips on effectively working with children in a workshop setting, consult this helpful resource.
- Keep It Fun: Remember that the primary goal is to engage and inspire young people. Maintain a positive and energetic atmosphere throughout the workshop. Incorporate interactive games, hands-on activities, and age-appropriate humor to keep participants interested and enthusiastic about learning about dog welfare. A fun and engaging experience will leave a lasting impression and encourage future involvement.
Connecting with the Humane Educator Community
Running a humane education program for children and youth is not straightforward. These are the groups that could help support your efforts.
- Association of Professional Humane Educators: provides resources, networking and professional development opportunities to its members.
- HEART and the HEART Network: HEART is the leading humane education nonprofit in the United States, developing innovative, compassion-based curricula and supporting shelters, sanctuaries, and rescues with teaching resources.
- Certified Humane Education Specialist: This certification, offered by the Academy of Prosocial Learning, covers the history of humane education, learning theories, and the instructor’s role in inspiring young people and breaking the cycle of violence.