Keeping Children Safe Around Family Dogs, Learning About Respect and Consent, and Creating Dog Aware Generations.
A dream from the Dreamworks Project
Hello Beautiful Soul,
Welcome to a Field of Dreams, a growing collection of the dreams and aspirations of contemporary women around the world. Each woman has been interviewed as a part of the Dreamworks Project, and is happy for her words to be shared anonymously here.
The Dreamworks Project is ongoing and the interviews are free. You can learn more about it and book your own interview through the project webpage: https://www.sarahlkent.com/dreamworks-project
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Today’s offering is from an interview I gave in May 2024.
The following words are all the interviewees and offer you a window into one of this woman’s dreams.
Enjoy!
Sarah Xx
Keeping Children Safe Around Family Dogs, Learning About Respect and Consent, and Creating Dog Aware Generations.
My dream is to start a non-profit organisation called the Dog Aware Project, dedicated to the safety of children around family dogs.
I want to reach all new and expecting families and help them to be filled with confidence, so as they enter into family life with a baby they know that they have the skills to manage their dogs. Then they wouldn't calling me in tears feeling like they need to rehome their dog or, in worst case scenarios, unfortunately, euthanise their dog - I want to end that.
I really want these families to remain together, because in many situations, they're broken apart: When there's conflict with the family dog it often leads to conflict between spouses. It can lead to a lot of personal turmoil, and I want to eliminate that.
Once there are any issues with the family dog, if people wait until there's a bite or there's a problem, it's way too late.
I'm amazed how many people actually get divorced, and I want to avoid that.
I want to give families a better understanding of body language, and the sensitivities of their dog. I want them to understand how proximity with a new baby and other things can cause a dog to become stressed.
Ultimately I want them to understand what true supervision of their dog really means, because unfortunately the best advice out there often doesn't look like what we need it to look like.
We need parents to understand their dog's body language, as well as what they themselves are communicating non verbally. So that when their child is doing something, or a situation arises that stresses their dog, they're then able to remove the dog or redirect it so that the dog doesn't feel that it needs to escalate to an aggressive move like growling or biting.
I want everybody to be able access to this project, and for it to be widely known throughout the world.
It is something that is achievable for every parent, it's just not something that people are doing currently. So it's something that I want everybody to have access to, in a way that is affordable.
We'll reach people with reading materials that we'll send out to hospitals, doulas and midwives. We'll reach out online as well, with webinars and consultations, and I believe we'll reach these families energetically as well.
Ultimately, when families understand the body language of their dogs and they know what true dog supervision is, there will be more harmony and less heartache.
I know that the heartache that happens based on a dog bite is pretty substantial.
The fear that stems from a dog bite can continue from one generation to the next.
I want to eliminate all that, and to create dog aware generations so that owning a dog something that is enjoyable for everybody.
When I was a child, I had my own dog, a golden retriever named Heidi. I had such a lovely relationship with her, and she was such an important role in my life. I really cherished our time together, so I understand the importance of having dogs in the home with children. I also showed and trained dogs back in the 1970s. I've always been involved with dogs, I think they've saved my sanity
Having a dog in a family teaches respect and it teaches consent. It teaches really valuing another being's comfort level. It allows for there to be mutually beneficial interaction, versus one way, one sided interactions.
I hope this project becomes a legacy for my family. It continues the hard work that I've put into this field for the last 22 years. It really will give me some satisfaction to see all that - and I'm get that satisfaction on a small scale now. But I would like to see it on a grander scale, and I'd like to have people reaching out to me before there's a problem.
Ultimately I hope this project will bring more harmony, love and kindness.
I believe that children learning about respect and consent with other people as well as animals is really important.
It's especially important these days, and there's no better place to learn that than in the home with the family dog.
My four kids have learned from our family dogs, and I see that in the way they interact with people, and how they interact with their own animals. So they've become the next generation of dog lovers because they grew up with it.
I'm feeling really emotional.
I really believe in this project and it feels very hard right now. It feels hard to move forward.
It's just hard to figure out where to go, and who to go to. Even finding the resources to get the project started is really difficult.
That's where I'm stuck. I need help getting started.
Interview May 2024