08/09/2026
🐾Living Safely With Dogs Incursion🐾
Today, our Kinders had a very special visit from responsible pet ownership education program, who brought along their wonderful dog, Harper 🐶
Our kindergarten children learnt some very important strategies for staying safe around dogs they are unfamiliar with, including what to do if they come across a dog off-lead that may be frightened, angry or unsafe.
-Stop, Stand still
-Hands by your side
-Quiet as a mouse
-Eyes look at the ground
And practiced repeating the saying: “No owner, No lead, No touching.”
Because dogs can’t speak and tell us how they feel, we need to look for signs in their body language. We looked at pictures of scared, angry and happy dogs. The scared dog had floppy ears and tail and was shaking and crying. The angry dog had big eyes, big teeth, a stiff tail and hair standing up. The happy dog had a wagging tail, its tongue out and looked relaxed and playful.
After all the wonderful discussions on how to approach a dog and when we should avoid a dog it was finally time to officially meet Harper. Children each took turns practicing how to politely approach a person and their dog on-lead, remembering to always ask, “Can I please pat your dog?” 3 big steps away before approaching. The children learnt to let the dog sniff them first, move to the side of the dog, gently patting from the bottom of the neck towards the back. Our Kinders were so patient as they waited for their turn to meet Harper🐶
Harper was an absolute superstar, so gentle and calm, loving all the attention and pats from the children!
A big thank you to the responsible pet ownership program and Harper for helping us learn such important lessons about being safe and respectful around dogs.
Tracie said that our group of Kindergarten children asked so many wonderful questions, some she had never heard before! We are so proud of our curious learners during todays session.
