PAWSitively Youth: A Guidebook about Dogs for Community Outreach Leaders (NRAES 180)

Abstract

PAWSitively Youth: A Guidebook about Dogs for Community Outreach Leaders provides science-based information for those interested in learning more about the responsibilities and pleasures of dog ownership. Behavior, anatomy, health, nutritional needs, and feeding regimes are discussed. Overviews of breed characteristics, home and travel safety, community concerns, and dog sports are included. The book is a self-directed learning guide intended for use by a teen or adult leader or by an individual that wants to learn more about dogs. Leaders can use the book or individual chapters to develop educational programs for children older than 10 years or community members interested in learning more about dogs. Fourteen group activities explore such concepts as nutrition, first aid, breed characteristics, dog sports, and career opportunities. Each activity includes a list of needed items and suggested ways to implement it. Activities are designed with youth development principles and experiential learning models in mind. It is not necessary to own a dog to participate in the activities. A group or an individual can choose which chapters to review based on their interests. It is not necessary to read previous chapters to understand later chapters. The book will be useful in informal and formal educational environments such as 4H, after-school programs, animal shelter outreach programs, big brothers and sisters, boys and girls clubs, boy scouts, and girl scouts. The book includes 33 illustrations, 14 activities, six tables, and a glossary. Featured are ten pencil drawings showing various behaviors. They were drawn by the winner of a state-wide youth drawing contest in New York State.