A new campaign is being launched on responsible dog ownership.
Welfare charity Dogs Trust is offering adult safety workshops for parents, guardians and expectant parents on how to help ensure their children are safe around dogs.
The charity has been running two successful programmes - 'Be Dog Smart' and 'Be Dog Confident' - which deliver practical and informative workshops to both parents and children.
These have been combined into 'Be Dog Wise' awareness week, to encourage a better relationship between dogs and their owners.
Dogs Trust are hosting a variety of workshops in their Rehoming Centre in Finglas, Dublin over the coming months.
The charity is inviting parents and guardians, and expectant parents and guardians to attend a workshop on how to help ensure their children are safe around dogs both indoor and out and about.
While most dogs make wonderful family pets, the trust is reminding parents to always supervise play time between children and dogs.
The workshops outline 21+ warning signs that a dog might display, which could give dog owners advance warning that your dog may be uncomfortable in a situation.
Observation of body language
"By teaching adults about a dog's body language, we can give them the opportunity to de-escalate a potentially dangerous situation which could in turn decrease any unfortunate incidents happening", it said.
Education and community manager at Dogs Trust, Fiona Gregan, said: "Our workshops aim to help people learn more about dog's behaviour to help prevent unfortunate situations from arising.
"Although we can never know exactly how a dog is feeling, knowledge and observation of their body language may help you identify situations in which your dog is uncomfortable."
The workshops also encourage better socialisation for dogs to increase their confidence in new environments and situations, leading to a happier more well-rounded dog.
Ms Gregan added: "We visit thousands of schools delivering our 'Be Dog Smart' and 'Be Dog Confident' workshops every year.
"We are aware that many children can be afraid of dogs, which inspired our 'Be Dog Confident' workshops to help children with low-level anxiety manage their fear around dogs. These workshops can be delivered in primary schools and any community-based venues in many areas across Ireland.
"Our 'Be Dog Smart' workshops are designed for both children and adults.
"We are encouraging adults to attend our workshops as they cover important topics such as how to prepare your dog for a new baby, simple training tips to help train your dog, advice to encourage children to be gentle when playing with dogs and tips for how to create a more social dog, making for a happier dog in new situations".
More information can be found here
