Responsible pet ownership for children
The Responsible Pet Ownership (RPO) program educates children from ages 4 to 12 on:
- living safely with dogs
- responsible pet ownership.
Our pet educators and their dogs visit over 2000 kindergartens and 800 primary schools in Victoria each year to promote the vital safety messages through animated presentations, song and role play.
The We Are Family Program educates expectant parents and parents of children 0 to 4 years old on pet safety around young children. The program is delivered through antenatal centres in 70 hospitals and 680 maternal and child health centres each year.
These programs are paid for by a levy collected by local councils as part of the annual dog and cat registration fee.
For more information on the RPO program, access to teachers' and parents' resources and to book a program at your school or preschool email: vic.pet@agriculture.vic.gov.au or phone 1800 000 776.
Pet Town learning tool
Pet Town is a fun and interactive learning tool educating kindergarten and Primary School aged children on responsible pet ownership and dog safety.
It reinforces the information and messages that children are taught when the RPO Program visits their school.
Pet Town uses learning activities and games to promote the important key safety messages in regards to living safely with dogs.
You can visit the Pet Town website or download as an application on tablets.
We Are Family program
The We Are Family Program educates expectant and new parents on the many advantages of allowing their child to experience the joys of having a pet in the family.
The programs presents the potential risks of owning a pet. It provides knowledge and strategies to ensure pet ownership is not only a physically and emotionally enriching, but a safe too.
This program is available free to all hospitals with antenatal programs and all maternal and child health centres.
We Are Family booklet
We've produced a small booklet that families can download for free. It contains useful tips on raising children and pets together.
Download the We Are Family booklet:
More information
Phone: 1800 000 776
Email: wearefamily.program@agriculture.vic.gov.au
Kindergarten Program
The Living Safely with Dogs program delivers over 2000 visits to more than 65,000 kindergarten children and 18,000 parents each year.
Our pet educators visit with their suitability tested dog and demonstrate how to safely meet and greet a real dog. Each child is then given the opportunity to participate in the meet and greet with the pet educators dog.
For many children this can be their first interaction with a dog and provides a positive and educational experience for each child.
The interactive program focuses on teaching students:
- when dogs should be left alone
- things we should not do to dogs
- how can you tell if a dog is happy, scared or angry
- a safe way to approach and greet a dog
- what to do if approached by an unknown or aggressive dog
For further information contact: vic.pet@agriculture.vic.gov.au
Primary School Program
The Responsible Pet Ownership primary school program is aimed at 5 to 12 year olds and has been delivered to over 1 million Victorian primary school children. It visits over 800 primary schools each year across the state.
The program includes:
- a dog visit
- multimedia tools
- role play
- song and story time
The program focuses on teaching students about dog safety:
- when dogs should be left alone
- things we should not do to dogs
- how can you tell if a dog is happy, frightened or angry
- a safe way to approach and greet a dog
- what to do if approached by an unknown or aggressive dog
The program also introduces and develops the following concepts:
- choosing an appropriate pet
- general welfare
- husbandry
- the importance of identification and registration
- confinement and housing
- exercise and training
There are a range of presentations designed to target the specific audiences in relation to:
- grade level
- prior knowledge
- learning modes
A comprehensive, integrated curriculum package is available to all Victorian primary schools, free of charge. The curriculum units are supported by a highly interactive resource package, incorporating picture story books and multimedia activities.
For further information please email: vic.pet@agriculture.vic.gov.au
Pet educators
All dogs used in the program are carefully tested and under the control of a pet educator at all times.
The RPO program needs pet educators throughout Victoria to ensure that the program can reach kindergartens and schools across the state.
Our educators are trained and remunerated for their work in developing the program's key safety messages.
Suitability tested dogs
Each pet educator is accompanied by their suitability-tested dog.
These dogs are very comfortable in the school environment and enjoy their time with the children. They are on leash and under the direct control of the pet educator at all times.
Our dogs work under strict guidelines in relation to how often and when they can work.
The dogs are owned by the pet educators and live with them. The health and well-being of our dogs and the safety of participating children is our key priority.