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Caring for Cats and Dogs WSPA Caring for Cats & Dogs Teachers Guidelines An Interactive Decision-Making Classroom Resource for Teachers (Suitable for use with children 7–12 years) Understanding Origins, Needs and Behaviour Keeping Healthy and Safe Promoting Respect and Compassion Caring for Cats & Dogs TeachersContents Guidelines PAGE 3 Introduction t Animal welfare and global environmental concerns t Animal welfare values within Humane Education t The place of this resource t Its origins t Animal Welfare Education 5 Aims of this resource 8 How to use this resource t The structure t The process 11 Animal welfare and personal sensitivities 13 Animals in the curriculum and in schools t A school policy on the use of animals t Good practice on animals in schools 17 Section 1: Wolves and Pekingese, Wild cats and Siamese 18 1.1 The origins of dogs and cats and breed diversity 22 1.2 The domestication of dogs 25 1.3 Breeds of dogs 39 1.4 The welfare of dogs 46 1.5 The domestication of cats 49 1.6 Breeds of cats and cat welfare 59 Section 2: The life cycles of cats and dogs 60 2.1 It’s a dog’s life 65 2.2 It’s a cat’s life 71 Section 3: Being a responsible pet owner 72 3.1 All animals have needs 74 3.2 The Five Freedoms 82 3.3 Before buying a companion animal 84 3.4 Being a responsible pet owner 87 Section 4: Telling Tails 88 4.1 Doggy speak and cat communication 91 4.2 Understanding a dog’s body language 103 4.3 Understanding a cat’s body language 113 4.4 Safe behaviour towards dogs and cats 117 4.5 Safe behaviour when you meet a new dog 124 Appendix Health and hygiene 126 References & Acknowledgements 2 Caring for Cats & Dogs Caring for Cats & Dogs Teachers Guidelines Introduction Animal welfare education is not just about animals, it is also about people. It is not just for animals, it is also for people. Animal welfare and global Animal welfare values within environmental concerns Humane Education The growth of international trade, global Humane Education (HE) is a concept that en- travel and communications often creates the compasses all forms of education about social impression that somehow our world appears justice and citizenship, humanitarian and envi- to be shrinking. For many, technology brings ronmental issues and animal welfare education, together countries and international issues the welfare of animals and our responsibilities almost instantaneously, and yet there are for their care. HE brings awareness of wide- anomalies as some people still struggle against ranging concerns and solutions to children. It fundamental hardships to meet their most lays a foundation for developing respect for all basic needs. life, developing attitudes of compassion and empathy, responsibility and critical thinking Tied up in this complexity and irrespective of skills. ethnic group or nationality there are the mas- sive environmental problems and dilemmas Although everyone would readily accept that which face us all. Concern for the well being human rights should be respected, it is right of our planet, over the use and abuse of the that we should consider the welfare of animals animals, plants and natural resources which too. Public interest in the concept of animal are part of it, is truly universal. The interaction welfare is growing. Public opinion is becoming between animals and humans, a timeless rela- more informed and animal welfare is generally tionship, is at the heart of humane education. seen as something we ought to take account The concept of animal welfare or how animals of, acknowledging its place in the ethical feel is a growing concern in our world. dimension of the educational process. Animal Welfare Education (AWE) focuses on our Why should this be? Why does the concept involvement in the lives of non-human animals ‘animal welfare’ so often focus on the suffer- and taking responsibility so that animals have ing imposed on animals by humans? Maybe the freedom to satisfy their needs. AWE aims one reason is that in our technological race we to have a positive impact on social skills, in- forget that we too are animals. Perhaps we also cluding generating respect and empathy among view non-human animals as resources to be humans resulting in increased self-esteem. used with less regard for their wellbeing than for their utility, but if life is cruel for some people, why should we be bothered about the lives of non-human animals? Caring for Cats & Dogs 3 Caring for Cats & Dogs Teachers Guidelines The place of this resource To enable young people (approximately 7-12 year old pupils) to develop into informed and confi- dent citizens; to face environmental challenges; to develop respect, empathy, compassion and myri- ad responsibilities; to tackle social and ethical dilemmas, they need key skills. This resource gives practice in the skills of thinking critically, gathering and selecting evidence, making informed choices and arguing a point of view while respecting the opinions of others. This resource aims to help develop these underpinning skills by focussing on topical issues con- cerning two animals with which we have had long associations – dogs and cats. Its origins Animal welfare education Much of the material in this resource is based Animal welfare education is a process, which on an earlier publication Caring for Animals promotes knowledge, skills, understanding and originally developed in Taiwan. attitudes related to: • Our involvement in the lives of Many countries around the world have prob- animals. lems relating to the over-population of stray • The effects this has on animals’ ability and unwanted dogs and cats. The World to satisfy their needs. Health Organization (WHO) estimates that • The responsibility this places on us. there are approximately 500 million dogs in the world, approximately one tenth of the Animal welfare as part of a wider humane human population. Some cause problems for education approach provides teachers with humans including rabies and other zoonoses, opportunities to: attacks on farming livestock, faecal pollution, • Nurture in children a reverence and noise pollution and road accidents. respect for all life, and generates a responsibility and duty of care for the In the 1990s, an animal welfare organisation earth and other species. in Taiwan, Life Conservationist Association • Convey accurate information, enabling (LCA), created Caring for Animals, a manual children to understand the conse- for schools funded by the Council of Agricul- quences of their decisions as consum- ture, Executive Yuan, Taiwan. The resource ers and actions as citizens in relation to was ultimately published with the support of their impact on animal welfare. the World Society for the Protection of Ani- • Inspire and generate creativity and mals (WSPA) and available to more countries natural curiosity. for the promotion of responsible pet owner- • Develop children’s skills in critical ship. thinking, evaluating information and solving problems independently. • Encourage children to make informed, humane choices, empowering them to help bring about a better world for animals. (Adapted from: Institute for Humane Education, http://hu- maneeducation.org) 4 Caring for Cats & Dogs Caring for Cats & Dogs Teachers Guidelines Aims of this resource Approach Multiple Intelligence learning styles (and ac- Caring for Cats & Dogs presents teachers tivities) are: and students with interactive activities centred • Interpersonal: activities involve dia- around dogs and cats. By practising skills in logue and working with others. evidence selection and decision making the • Intrapersonal: activities involve work- fundamental components of animal welfare ing independently, devising own strate- education are introduced. There are two main gies for formulating questions, apply- aims. ing the concept or issue to personal experience and prior knowledge. • Animal welfare education; pro- • Kinaesthetic/practical: activities such moting knowledge, understanding, as cutting, pasting, improvising and skills and attitudes relevant to our role play. relationship with dogs and cats but • Linguistic/Literary: activities such as emphasising the transferability of these writing, reading, discussing. attributes to other animals and to our • Logical/mathematical: activities such relationship with people. as calculating, using data, looking for • Problem solving and decision patterns, applying informal logic. making: practising these skills • Musical/auditory: activities using through inter-active, practical activities music, sounds and words to stimulate supported by background information. ideas; making up rhymes, raps, songs; singing and using music to affect one’s This resource is designed to: mood. • Offer opportunities for children and • Visual/spatial: activities involving teachers to explore topical animal wel- diagrams and maps, designing post- fare issues and to apply these to their ers and plans, painting, sketching and local circumstances. drawing. • Offer opportunities for children to • Naturalistic/environmental: activities seek and use information from a involve ecological thinking, care for variety of sources to develop informed animals, plants and the environment opinions, to share their ideas with (both the built and natural). peers, to respect the right of others to • Emotional/intuitive: activities involve hold views which may be different to responding with feelings, respond- their own and to be willing to change ing intuitively, aesthetic appreciation, their views in the light of experience. experiencing awe and wonder. • Include strategies that encourage Pupils can become better thinkers so that they individuals to investigate, explore and may make reasoned judgements by practising make their own personal sense of the ‘higher order thinking skills’. Examples of situations in order to create meaning, activities in this resource which promote these so taking account of their preferred skills are: learning styles. • Sorting / classifying / grouping. • Offer teachers opportunities to in- • Drawing conclusions and explaining clude in their teaching styles activities them. that (a) correspond with some of the • Using factual evidence to make in- learning styles of what is often called formed opinions.
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