Swimming great Matt Welsh, his wife Lauren Newton and their 22-month-old son Sam launched The Royal Children’s Hospital dogs ‘n’ kids resource kit, 3rd edition, today.
Recent research has found an average of 1,628 emergency presentations occur per year for dog bite injury in Victoria. Two-year-olds are at highest risk.
Dogs ‘n’ kids aims to address dog bite injury to children by teaching and promoting appropriate behaviour around dogs. The kit includes a comprehensive booklet, brochure and poster that is provided free of charge across Australia to health professionals and parents.
Matt Welsh said both Sam and his six-month-old daughter Eva loved their dog. In fact, according to Matt, Sam’s first word was ‘gog’ (dog).
Veterinarian and animal behaviour specialist Dr Kersti Seksel discussed the benefits of growing up with pets and offered advice on how parents can assist their children and dogs to interact safely.
She said it was important for children to understand that a wagging tail does not mean a dog is happy, rather that it is willing in interact. She also said that dogs, just like humans, don’t like strangers patting them on the head.
Dogs ‘n’ kids is produced by the RCH Safety Centre and made possible with expert information and funding from the Petcare Information and Advisory Service.
The project was introduced in 1997 and was one of the first initiatives in Australia to specifically address injuries from dogs in small children. Since then, thousands of booklets and hundreds of thousands of brochures have been provided free of charge across Australia to health professionals and parents.
“We understand that growing up with pets is a wonderful experience for children and their families, and many of us have enjoyed having pets ourselves. Our aim is to minimise the risk of dog bite injuries by giving health professionals and parents relevant information to help them do so,” RCH CEO Professor Christine Kilpatrick said.
To increase the availability of the program to newer Australians, the brochure has been translated into Turkish, Arabic, Italian, Mandarin and Vietnamese. The resource has been presented at national and international conferences, and utilised by local governments to encourage safety and the enjoyment of dogs.
You can download a copy of the dogs ‘n’ kids booklet by clicking here.
Other child safety resources are available on the RCH Safety Centre website.
Right: Matt Welsh, Lauren Newton and their son Sam interact safely with King Charles Cavaliers Tilly and Kadee from the Lort Smith Pet Therapy Program.