Lessons helping pupils understand and respect dogs

Sessions about how to interact with dogs are helping improve children's understanding of the animals, a charity said.

Hour-long classes are being held for Year One pupils in Jersey as part of a project from Family Nursing & Home Care to discuss what they should do around dogs and other pets.

The charity set up the project following a rise in Jersey's dog population, which has gone up 25% over the past five years with more than 10,000 dogs now living on the island.

Mandy Le Tensorer, who runs the lessons, said the aim was to keep children safe around dogs rather than making them scared of them.

"We need to appreciate that children don't read the dog the way adults do," she said.

"Those facial expressions and body stances dogs give us to stay away - that's where the problem lies."

She added the key messages for children were to never put their faces next to a dog's face and to never touch a dog without asking the owner first.

Le Tensorer said signs a dog is unhappy included bearing its front teeth - which can be mistaken for a smile - along with having its tail tucked between its legs and repeatedly yawning or licking their nose.

While pupils are given tips about how to interact with dogs they are not familiar with, Le Tensorer said children often are bitten by dogs they know.

"It's about understanding that children can be unpredictable and animals can be unpredictable, and if they're left alone together, then accidents and incidents will happen," she said.

While the sessions have a serious message, Le Tensorer said there is also a lot of laughter and questions from pupils.

She added: "Interestingly, what we do is we show them some photographs before we start and just ask them, is that a happy dog, is that not a happy dog?

"Then at the end of the session, we show them the same photos again.

"It's only an hour's space, but in that hour, I would say that their understanding has improved massively."

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