St. Croix Animal Friends http://www.stcroixanimalfriends.org Adoption and Education Center Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:44:05 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Bucky Goes to School http://www.stcroixanimalfriends.org/962/bucky-goes-to-school?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bucky-goes-to-school http://www.stcroixanimalfriends.org/962/bucky-goes-to-school#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 05:18:44 +0000 St. Croix Animal Friends http://www.stcroixanimalfriends.org/?p=962 Continue reading →]]> Lead school-age teacher through the YMCA, Emily Sies-Mandel, invited St. Croix Animal Friends to talk with kids in her program about the importance of pet care and animal rescue in our area. Crystal Fetting coordinates the Foster Program for SCAF and is a Certified Canine Behavior Specialist. She visited the YMCA School Age Care program at River Crest Elementary School with her rescue dog, Bucky. Her presentation focused on several areas.

Crystal began by mentioning there are lots of great dogs and cats needing a home that would make wonderful companions if adopted. Kids were encouraged to think about pet adoption if their families are looking for a dog or cat

She reminded students that all dogs are not like their pet at home. She explained how to interact with an unfamiliar dog by asking the owner’s permission to approach the dog. Kids were told to keep a safe distance and not approach an unfamiliar dog when no owner is present. When touching someone else’s dog, she advised kids to pet it gently on the back and not to touch dogs on the head or face or pull their tails.

Crystal gave some examples of how to read a dog’s body language and signals that show it is stressed, unfriendly, or afraid: clear signs that it should be left alone.

She described the importance of pet training, saying that a well-trained dog is a well-behaved dog, which makes life happier for the dog and its family. Crystal used tricks to demonstrate the fun side of training a dog. Volunteer students were able to help Bucky perform some of his tricks. Bucky can even go into his cage and close the door after himself. She told kids to be patient when trying to teach a dog good behavior or to do tricks.

At the end of the program, students were able to pet Bucky. Everyone went home with Bucky’s “Pawtograph” on a card.

If you would like Crystal to visit your school, please email us at info@stcroixanimalfriends.org .

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