I need suggestions, ideas, help!!!!

[Pixie]

My married daughter has asked me to help out with her "Girl Achievement" class (like girl scouts but by the church) She wants me to talk to the girls, ages from 7-11, about the care and up keep of a dog. She would like it to last at least 30 min. My problem is how to do this with these girls and not totally BORE them to death.

I have thought I could show them how to brush one of my dogs, maybe let a couple of them do it too.
Clip the nails,won't have them even try this, just show and tell them it is important to have done.
Maybe have a little obedience show(have to work on one of my dogs for this), like sit, come, heel, stay.
Have pictures of before and afters of dogs I have groomed.
How often to feed and water.
Maybe have my dogs do a couple of tricks, rollover, situp, chase a ball.
Should I have any handouts for them to take home?

I have a little time to get things together, I'm doing this April 25th, but I also don't want to wait until the last min. to figure out what I'm doing. I would love to have suggestions, any ideas. PLEASE HELP!!!

[RevWind]

If you're going to do a handout, get a picture of a slicker brush and a double sided comb and offer instructions on the use of each.

[SpikeyTheYorkie]

Diane, that is awesome, the girls will love it!

I'd keep it simple. If you think about it, 30 minutes really isn't that long. I would focus on Grooming/care, more than training, and definitely explain the importance of grooming, and nail care.

Hey, if you need a PELT to show them, I have one from a dog and one from a cat!!! You're welcome to borrow them. This dog pelt is so thick you can't even pull it apart. It's amazing.

Tammy

[Angie]

Sounds like what you are thinking will be great. Girls that age would probaly be more attentive with the "hands on" rather than the 'lecture"
Once you get started, 30 min will go by pretty fast.

Encourage questions. Roll with it and have fun!

[Poodlefluff]

Age 7-11 my well my daughter is 7 and she loves to help when I let her come up to my job or at a dog show. I give her a brush and let her brush the dog, maybe you could show them how to brush the dogs teeth -they will think it is silly. Teach them how to brush the coat with the grain... Show them some pics of creative grooming.

[Fluffy Puppy]

Glad you asked this. I may have to do the same thing with my sons tiger cub scout den. One of their electives is to learn animal care and visit a vet or groomer. Was wondering how I was going to keep a bunch of 6 and 7 yr olds from getting bored too.
I was thinking of also doing a tiger paw on my Standard. I'm just not sure how that will go with him....he is overly excited around kids and probably won't want to hold still for it.

[toomuchfunbnme]

Great Ideas!

I think that your ideas are great! Instead of a dog training demonstration, if you have the time, it may be helpful to show the girls how to safely approach dogs that they are not familiar with and the proper way to pick up and handle dogs that they know. The grooming demonstration ideas sound great! Will they allow you to do a simple home grooming guidline handout with your business name on it? I hope you let us know how it goes. It sounds like it will be lots of fun!

[sheilabgroomer]

I don't have any ideas to add. I just wanted to say that if you have a "hands on" dog there you won't have to worry about them getting bored....lol...you know how kids are about animals. I think that is awsome what you are doing. The younger kids are taught about pet responsibility the better it sinks in. Just had a thought....could you maybe incorporate a mini lecture on the importance of spaying/neutering? Of course it would have to be worded for their age group but it may "plant a seed". Good luck and let us know how it goes!

[pamperedpups]

Edited.

[Briarpatch]

Another thing you could do is bring some of your grooming equipment and have the girls guess what things are used for and why they're important.Of course, brushes are obvious, but a stripping knife is sure to get their attention. A fun gathering activity would be to give the girls an outline of a dog and crayons and let them "creatively" groom it.

[aberbomsark]

Suggestions for meeting with the girls

Hello,
I think that is great you are helping with the kid. Not much more to add to what others have sent but what I have done in the past with groups of kids.
Maybe print out a dog and have the girls draw a grooming pattern and color it. I got some small plastic dogs to put on pencils at Party City. They where not expensive and handed them out. I am sure what ever you decide to do will be great. Kids that age are a lot of fun and like to learn. Having your own dog there will be great to. Have a blessed day.

[plushpuppy]

Our local library has a summer reading program and last year it was all about animals. The Theme was Scales, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails. They asked if I would do a demo for the kids and parents. I did a hand out and found a great 4H site that had wonderful info on it. I used it and put a picture of my dog on a cover page with a caption "Complimets of Teddy Thomas & Lickety Clips Grooming. I did a full clip on My Shih Tzu Teddy and He was perfect and loved the attention that he got.
Here are a couple of the sites that I used. Most of the info was from crazy canine critters under info

http://www.utextension.utk.edu/4h/projects/activities/Dog-W049.pdf

http://crazycaninecritters.nebraska.edu/default.htm

Good Luck!!!!!!

[SwissNChow]

If these girls are 7 to 11, I would skip the spay/neuter talk. First, you don't need to get into the doggy birds and the bees, and they are simply not the decision makers for the family pets. And, responsible pet ownership does not requre spay/neuter, it simply requires proper care and confinement.

With this age group, I would talk about general dog safety and what they can do to help with the family pet. Basic pet care needs such as feeding, fresh water, exercise, confinement, the importance of clean up and grooming. The majority of children are bit by their own family dog, discuss it!

If you have a clicker trained dog, do a 5 minute clicker session teaching the dog a quick trick, such as "go to Shana" or "go to Jana" involving two children on opposite sides of the room where the dog has to make the decision of which one you are asking them to go to. Something involving the group, and something obvious that the dog wouldn't know before it got there.

If you can talk about several different things, with visual aids and group involvement, you are likely to keep their attention and have them interested in the topic. If they are attentive and interested, they will learn something.

[toomuchfunbnme]

I love these ideas!

Another thing you could do is bring some of your grooming equipment and have the girls guess what things are used for and why they're important.Of course, brushes are obvious, but a stripping knife is sure to get their attention. A fun gathering activity would be to give the girls an outline of a dog and crayons and let them "creatively" groom it.

These are two really great and simple ideas! I love both of them. I have worked with children and animals in the past and will keep these in mind in case I can use them in the future. You are so creative!

[Pixie]

Who can I count on? PEOPLE ON THIS BOARD, THAT'S WHO!

Thanks so much for all the suggestions you have given me. There are soooooo many. Now all I have to do is put it all together and make it great, fun, and entertaining enough so the kids will learn something.