Description
- Color
- An Elementary School Program About Dogs and Resdponsibilty for Grades K-6
Children love dogs. Many children ask their parents for a dog and promise to take care of it forever and ever. Children can become good, responsible dog owners, but they must be taught the correct way to take care of their dog. With this in mind, the American Kennel Club created the Best Friends program in 1991. Since then this educational program about responsible dog ownership has reached hundreds of thousands of school children nationwide through more than 60,000 elementary schools. Best Friends contains a 12-minute video, lesson plan ideas and copymasters. The video features children teaching other children the fundamentals of responsible dog ownership including proper grooming techniques, the importance of basic obedience training and regular veterinary visits. The American Kennel Club designed Best Friends to work with an elementary school curriculum, and teachers can integrate the copymasters into reading, writing and math lessons. The American Kennel Club also offers a list of AKC-affiliated club volunteers who are available to make presentations about canine safety, and other dog-related topics, to groups of children. These volunteers, called Canine Ambassadors, usually make presentations with their dogs.