The free app A Dog's Story teaches children dog safety in a fun way through a tablet or smartphone.
OurAuckland caught up with Auckland Council animal management officer Janet Larsen, to find out how she's using the new app in school visits across the region.
Tell us about what you do day to day.
It varies, but I spend a lot of time following up on calls for roaming dogs, attacks and bites and also spend time at court hearings for investigations involving dogs. Another part of my role that I'm especially passionate about is education.
We've heard about the new dog safety app A Dog's Story recently, can you tell us about that?
The Animal management officers, me included, are using A Dog's Story at our school visits across the region. We've always gone out to schools (and other adult groups that are at high risk of dog attacks such as home-visit nurses), but A Dog's Story provides a fun, engaging tool that children can take away and practice on at home.
When I visit schools with my 13 year old dog and team mate Cody, and after the initial delirium has died down for having a dog in the classroom, I ask the children if they have ever been bitten by a dog.
A lot of them put their hands up and when I ask them if they were bitten by a dog they know, most of them keep their hands up; it proves that our children are being bitten by family pets because of a lack of dog safety education.
We also know from hospital admissions that a lot of dog bites and attacks are happening in the new born - nine year old bracket, so we're aiming to reduce this.
What do the children think of A Dog's Story?
The children love it! They just go wow and I can hear them saying to each other "did you see that?" It also helps that all of us officers have our dogs with us, so they can practice what they've learnt right away.
Some of the children are scared of dogs, and that's ok, I seat them at the back of the group, but I've seen some of the most scared children pat Cody on his ears at the end of a session.
Dogs have been in the media a lot recently. Do you find yourself getting busier?
Oh yes. More and more people are becoming aware of what's normal or acceptable dog behaviour and how we can help them, and we're getting more calls.
We've had people call us and say "this is the second time the neighbour's dog has bitten our daughter." When we look up the address, we can't see any prior history. That suggests that in the past people may have just accepted that there was nuisance dog in their neighbourhood, and now they feel they have support to do something about it.
A common misconception is that we want to take nuisance dogs away from owners and put them down, and this couldn't be further from the truth. That's the worst case scenario and the hardest part of the job.
What do you want to see in the future?
Shortly, I hope that everybody who wants to have a dog, has one in their backyard, in their house, wherever.
I hope to see fewer dogs being abandoned and put down due to neglectful owners and that they are treated like a loved family member.
What can we do to help improve dog safety?
If you have children in your household or even in your extended family, download A Dog's Story and spend the time to teach them how to interact safely with a dog.
It's the children today who will be dog owners in the future, so it's important we teach them how to act confidently around dogs.
A Dog's Story is available on Google Play and iTunes for free.
If you're interested in adopting an unwanted puppy or dog, please contact one of our shelters.
