Dog Bite Prevention for Kids

Be a Tree! Presentation

What you can expect from the dog bite prevention program

Our dog bite prevention presentation is 30-45 minutes long and best for kids between the ages of 5 and 11 years old (humans only, no dogs).

This educational program, from Doggone Safe focuses on fun and interactive activities to teach children how to read canine body language and how to act safely around their own dog and strange dogs. Great for grown-ups too!

The main message of the presentation is to “Be a Tree” if a strange dog comes near you or any dog is too frisky or is making you uncomfortable. Since this behavior is boring to a dog, they will just sniff the child/tree and then go away. We give the children “tools” from their own body – eyes, legs, mouth – to use when encountering a dog.

With the older kids, we practice dog bite prevention activities (acting out scenes and playing games) to allow the children to recall the information better in real life settings.

There are no dogs present for the Be a Tree presentation. 

“Be a Tree” presentations for your school or kid-oriented community

Our dog bite prevention seminar is free for Seattle schools and other kid-oriented, non-profit community organizations including libraries, boys and girls clubs, girl scouts/boy scouts, and more. There may be a travel fee for schools/groups out of our geographic area.

In order to ensure that each child will be supervised and can get involved in the activities, we ask that groups are no larger than 45 kids at a time (2 classes at a time usually works). Pre-registration is required for all community presentations.

If you have more than one class you’d like to present to, or need special arrangements, please feel free to contact Danette@dogsdayoutseattle.com or call 206-706-4875 for more details.

About the instructor

Certified instructor Danette Johnston, CPDT-KA is the NW Coordinator for Doggone Safe and a MOM!

I feel very passionately about the human-dog bond and what better place to start strengthening that bond than with our children! As a dog trainer, I see clients having problems with their dogs all the time, from the simply annoying to extremely dangerous, all stemming from the human not being able to “read” their dog. Dogs do not speak a verbal language so it is our responsibility to learn their body language. Once people are able to understand and “read” their dog accurately, their entire relationship changes for the better and strengthens the bond between them. When children understand their dog, and strange dogs, they gain a feeling of control and power over the situation and no longer need to feel afraid. Dogs can be great friends to kids (and adults!) if we take the time to get to truly know them.  -Danette

For more information on Danette’s experience, please see her dog training bio.

Have a little one on the way? Danette also teaches Barks & Babes, a dog and baby educational seminar held at the Lytle Center for Pregnancy & Newborns at Swedish Hospital in Seattle that helps new parents and parents-to-be prepare for baby with a dog at home.