"Smooch your Pooch" children's book review

My head exploded at the Scholastic book fair Friday morning at precisely 8:52 AM. Well it didn't explode per say, but I was seen acting a bit like a crazy person. A few kiddos close to me may even had heard me mutter the H E double hockey stick word. There I was with my 9 year old daughter sleepily picking out a few books when I opened what appeared to be a cute dog book and BAM! The very first page of Smooch your Pooch is a dog bite waiting to happen.

The book is geared for 4 and up! Four and ups! Certainly it could understood by kids as young as 2.

What were the words that made my head explode? What were the words aimed at children that could with no exaggeration result in them getting bit by a dog square in the face?

Smooch your pooch to show you care, give him a hug anytime, anywhere.

Holy Hell!

Dogs do not understand hugs. Dogs do not hug each other. Teach your kids not to hug dogs, especially strange dogs that they do not live with. Many dogs will tolerate hugs from their own family, but will not tolerate hugs from strangers. Besides which what about if the dog is sleeping, or eating or any number of other things?  That is bad advice for a child for any animal.  Animals are not hanging around just hoping  we will come and disturb them.

Applied Animal behaviorist Dr. Patricia McConnell explains it this way in her book The Other End of the Leash.

"Dogs don't hug...and often they don't react kindly to those who do. Your own dog may benevolently put up with it , but I've seen hundreds of dogs who growled or bit when someone hugged them."

Personally I have had many dog bite training cases where the kid's were bit in the face after they put their faces right up to the dog's and kissed and hugged it. Often times the dogs gave clear warning signs that were missed. In many of these cases the dogs were inadvertently hurt by the child, were already over stimulated, or just plain had enough.

Starting in my puppy classes I show owners how to teach restraint and to teach pups to accept and tolerate hugs, but this lesson always comes with a caveat.

Dogs are canines and we are primates. Being of different species we are bound to misunderstand each other .Humans hug to show affection and to comfort, while the closest thing a dog has to a hug is mounting, which can be interpreted as aggression. While it is true that most dogs learn that we don't really mean any harm, some remain uncomfortable and won't tolerate it.

So I ask you, even if your own personal dog loves any and all attention, is it not negligence to teach the opposite of safe dog behavior via a very cute picture book?

I have been giving my  Kids and Dog safety demo  free to qualifying groups going on 15 years, and I have been a presenter for  the national program Dogs And Storks   going on three years and I  sure think so.

UPDATE-

Click here to write a review on Amazon and let people know that this book is dangerous for kids

The Passing of the Paws

I knew this day would come.  I knew the day would come when Finney took over for Charlee.   When we got Finney four years ago this past July, I had spaced out my dog's ages on purpose. I always feel so badly for people who have multiple dogs close in age, who hit their senior years together.

Finn has always been my great with other dogs dog, and Charlee my great with people dog. Finn's job from the day we took him home was as what I still refer as "bait" dog. The term "bait" dog is not politically correct. because it evokes images of fighting dogs, when in fact, Finn brings peace. Some old timers, like myself have a hard time breaking with tradition and using a more PC term like helper, or distance dog, or neutral dog.

Finney will always be a bait dog to me.

Charlee looks like crap. She has lost a lot of fur, her coat is dull and her tumor toe looks yucky, but she is felling great from what I can see. She is eating and drinking well, and still has the energy of the younger dogs. Last weekend when I was working Finn on front and finishes over a jump, Charlee literally jail broke the house by bulling her way out the back door when one of my kids opened it a crack. Charlee did a go out over the jump on her own free will, and came at me at full speed. She sailed over the jump, whizzed past Finney, and came to a  Quarter horse like full speed ahead sliding sit front, followed by a big air flying swing finish left. She still has a lot of drive, that one and she loves to work. For those coming in late, Charlee may or may not have cancer. Her hair loss may be due to her thyroid issues, even possibly the flea issue we had earlier in the summer.  Or not.

It was with a heavy heart that I chose to leave Charlee home and take Finney on what would have been her favorite kind of job, a Safe Dog/Safe Kids demo for kids ages 11-14 at Strive   http://pslstrive.org/about   in South Portland. After conferring with my daughter  in the same age range, we both agreed that kids that age would not be able to get past "gross," and I had no desire to field public questions about her toe, or hair loss. My daughter Hannah came with me and we both agreed that Finney was awesome and far exceeded our expectations of him. Finney won over everyone in that room and he was really happy to get the gig. In one of the perfect life moments of "he knows", Finn lay down for the child who was most unsure of him and was a perfect statue when she approached him, while most of the other kids got licks to the nose. From start to finish Finney rocked the program.

The kids at Stride have special learning needs and were a sweet and wonderful group. When we were heading back to the car my middle schooler said "I didn't know doing something for free could make you feel so good."



The Safe Dogs /Safe Kids runs 30-40 minutes and is free to qualifying groups. The program  is suitable for all ages.
My fantastic dog Finney looks forward to many more demos. .

Charlee says don't count her out yet.