Pitbull working with people - Need your opinion please...

Short story - I brought Birdie to a nursing home to visit as a dry run to visiting a sick client in the hospital. He is a Korean War Vet who loves my dogs so much that I bring them to his house to visit with him.

The folks at the nursing home LOVED Birdie and begged me to bring her back. I've taken Birdie to the nursing home a few more times, but she is only interested in the people who have had strokes and I feel bad that she ignores the other people who want to see her too. (Birdie is training to be my service dog BTW) (Birdie's reaction to stroke victims is another thread for another day)

Birdie also does great with kids, retarded people, people who are loud and boisterous etc. I have socialized her with just about every kind of person you can imagine.

Because she does so well with kids, works great in crowds and enjoys doing tricks in front of people, I am considering doing a program in schools that teaches children about Dog Safety. I've sent off for information from three different sources so I can review them all.

I am also considering joining a program that encourages kids to read by letting them read to the dog. (Birdie has done this with pre-schoolers and the teacher invited her back)

So now I need to make a choice. Do I work with older people or the younger people.

I am leaning towards younger folks because I can't change the past but I CAN influence the future. If kids learn that pitbulls aren't mean - then maybe we can start changing the tide of the future.

What is your opinion?

 

Wow this is a tough one. If you cannot do both I would have to agree with you. As long as kids learn not all dogs are dangerous, we are a step closer to educating the masses.

 

try to talk the teacher to get the kids to go on a field trip to the nursing home.and do the reading there..atleast once a year and spend the rest of the time with children..invite the local paper on that day also..dog looks great,kids look great,you look great,its a good day.its awsome that you do what you do..thank you.

 

Hell, I'd say Lockjaw hit it on the head. Field trip for the kids to the nursing home to read to the dog and elderly. All will come away much happier...great for all involved.

 

That was a good idea. I was stumped on which to recommend, they are both needy. I think Lockjaw nailed it.

 

i was going to start taking my ofrn male to nursing homes. he doesnt go hunting like the other dogs, and is nice and quiet (unlike the other dogs LOL). he absolutley LOVES children though, so im going to try and take him into hospitals as well. good way to change some opinions on the breed.

 

I love both ideas. Bless you for your work to enlighten the public. Watch out for troublemakers however. They are out there to spoil everything for everyone.

 

Great job Hoyden, I have gone to schools with Rollo. I think it's great to see teachers and kids completly change their out look after an hour. It's a lot of fun. Keep up the good work!

 

Getting the kids and older people together would be a great field trip. They actually do one around the holidays so the kids can sing carols and make crafts with the seniors.

I can probably get one of the new stations to cover it. I have a good rep with them.

 

yup! Good one!
also, since kids seem to be the number one bite victims, an education program for them just rocks in my book!
Way to go. I've worked with both the elderly (12 years), and young kids (4 years, in the school system), and BOTH are VERY rewarding! Either way, I wish you the best, and I commend your contributions! The world needs more people like you!

 

There is a very good trainer named Karen Peak who developed a school "dog safety" presentation called Safe Kids /Safe Dogs I'm pretty sure if you ask her she will send you all her information on how to set one up.. http://www.westwinddogtraining.com/

She is also against BSL A very very nice lady.. I know she also has dogs that are therapy dogs.

 

Awww, this is so nice. I commend all of you who volunteer like this, I know if I ever had a dog come to my school I would be so happy. I can only hope that when I am old... please, please let there be dogs near me! There needs to be so much more of this!

 

Getting the news stations involved would be awesome! Being that u have a good rep makes it even better! God bless you for what you are doing!

 

Although the younger people are the future, we must also respect those who came before us & gave us life. Plus, I've found that many elderly people also owned APBTs back in the "good old days" & love to see the dogs from their past. It's always fun & interesting to hear the stories that will eventually come out from them seeing your dog. So although I'm a huge fan of working with children, it's the elderly who gave us life, fought for us, & are now forgotten--so you know where my advice lies.

 

I Would Say If You Had To Pick One I Would Say The Kids So You Can Educate Them And Teach Them That Not All Pitbulls Are Monsters Also It Will Influence The Parents When They See How Pitbulls Really Are,cause The Way I Look At It The Parents Are The Ones Who Cry For Bsl And The Kids Will Be The Futre Board Members Who Will Pass The Bsl,so If We Can Show Them Both How True Bulldogs Are Then Thats The Way To Go.

 

I actually do alot of visiting with the elderly because when I go to take care of their gardens, I bring one dog and the Gremlin with me. We have several Landscaping clients that are Veterans that I do this for - it makes their week, the Gremlin likes to hear the stories and the dogs get spoiled. There are five that we garden for and we won't let them pay us.

In the cold months, we stop by and visit anyway.

My biggest concern with visiting the nursing home is that Birdie seems to hyper-focus on stroke victims. She ignores the other residents & doesn't visit with them.

She just seems to sense something, she goes right to the side affected too. The occupational therapist is thrilled because Birdie got a patient who refused to use her hand to pet her.

If there isn't a stroke patient there, she's fine. This kinda worries me and I don't know what to think.

 

I don't know what to tell you. Miakoda has this "sense" about people who are disabled herself. My neighbor's oldest son, who's 4, has cerebral palsy that affects him physically but not mentally (for all you mommas, this boy was born @23 wks weighing right at 1 lb). Mia gets very focused onto him & is insistent upon staying close to him that it almost comes across as pushy.

If she does devote so much attention to the stroke victims, maybe there is a way to let her visit them, then let her visit all the others individually. I would just hate to say "stay away".

As for the children, I say "just do it". We need all the positive p.r. we can get!