Preparing for "Show & Tell"by SANDRA MURRAYThis past winter we were asked (particularly Uncle Chuck) if we could bring a dog sled and a dog to "Show and Tell" to our niece's grade three class. Unfortunately "Uncle Chuck" couldn't take time off work so Aunt Sandra volunteered. We do not own a multitude of dogs to give dog sled rides and the natural interest could evolve into that, but I was leaning toward just bringing a dogsled and a dog to school. Dog sled rides are already provided in the area at a couple of places. I indicated I would be prepared to provide an indoor rather than outdoor presentation. With this in mind I new I could prepare for this on a very short notice as I recalled an article on preparing for a school presentation in the October '95 issue of "Mushing Magazine.' I used their ideas and customized it a bit further. In a couple of days I was in contact with the school and the preferred day ended up to be the next morning. Here are the basics that anyone can use to prepare for a demonstration on rather short notice and no matter how large, indoors or outdoors I would prefer indoors to a school group as it is a more comfortable environment for the children than that of the climate in January here in Manitoba. Things to Ask: a) # of students or size of group Room size b) How much time is available? c) What is the teachers perception of what the students know about sledding or dogs? d) Can the dogs visit? e) Is anyone of the students allergic or afraid of dogs? f) Would there be anyone there to assist me if required? g) Where can I park my vehicle? h) Disciplining or keeping the kids in order.
In my case there were 17 students. I had approximately an hour for my presentation. The
teacher was unsure on how their reaction would be to the whole event but was anxious to see.
They had just finished reading a story book called "A Dog for Keeps" which was about a young
girl "Ivy" and her lead dog "Snow Queen" which was an Alaskan Malamute. Her parents bred
Alaskan Malamutes and her dog was going to go up for sale. "Snow Queen" ends up saving Ivy
from being lost on a sledding trip and is a hero. Needless to say they kept her dog (I've yet to
add the book to our Alaskan Malamute collectibles). I indicated that I would cut the
presentation if boredom was visible.
Things To Take
Clothing :
- Balaclava - goggles - gauntlet mifts (mine are authentic native Manitoban hand stitched leather with beading and fur trim) - boots (our 80 below Sorels) or moccasins - headlamp
Equipment:
- racing sled - a gangline - snow hook - racing and freighting harness - booties - a skijoring kit - a dog back pack - dog treats
Photos:
- large 8 X10's laminated or in plastic jackets of: - dog teams, (different sizes 2,3,4,6,etc.) - skijoring - puppies - hiking
Other - Yukon Flag*
*I spoke about the Alaskan Malamute being honoured by the Yukon Territories. The dogs
worked very hard during the development of the area. A malamute is depicted on their coat of
arms. The coat of arms is on their official flag. The malamute is the only domesticated animal
honoured on a flag.
Make sure all your equipment and clothing is clean and presentable. Check your dogs collars for
wear. Remember that some children have never seen extreme winter wear so your clothing is
also interesting.
Day of Event
- Arrive early - Report to School Office - Meet with teacher again about discipline and control of out of hand kids. It is best for the teacher to control the class. Site Preparation
- Layout sled including connected gangline and snow hook and other items such as clothing in order that you will talk about each of them. - Stand in front of chalkboard (drawing maybe required)
Introduce yourself and if you have an assistant who will be introduced later (who's holding your
dog outside the room ???)
Explain that you are here to talk about:
- dog sledding - our equipment - the sled - other activities (skijoring/backpacking) and then you'll bring in and talk about your dog(s) (the dogs will be very
distracting if in the room a this time)
Inform your audience that there will be plenty of time to ask questions and to please wait until the
end of presentation.
Include the kids with questions that need a response so everyone is a part of the presentation.
Don't get lead stray answering too many questions as you'll loose control of the presentation (In
my case I referred to their story and characters, though I did not read it I assumed some basic dog
sledding terminology was included).
Talk about the enjoyments of dog sledding. - Ask if anyone has gone for a dogsled ride? - Many do not realize that we dogsled at night. - Demo a headlamp ask for a participant from the audience
for a demo. (There usually isn't a shortage.)
Explain the other clothing and if there is a small group pass the clothing around for them to see. If
not let them see and touch it later.
- The Sled
- Parts of the sled were introduced and a brief explanation of where and what it does was provided.
- Brush Bow - located at the front of the sled - Driving Bowor handle - where the musher or dog driver holds on - Brake - brake to slow or stop the sled and team - Snow Hook - to hold the sled and team back and/or in place for a short period. - Snub Line - secures or ties the sled
The names of the positions on the gangline.
- Leaders - at the front - Point - behind the leaders - Swing - In-between the point and wheel dogs - Wheel - closest to the sled
Explain commands given to the dogs.
- "Gee" - turn right (to remember there is the letter "gee" in the word right) - "Haw" - turn left - "Whoa" - stop
Other commands the dogs listen to.-
- "Let's go" or "hike" - to get the dogs to go - "Pick it up -to keep up the speed they are running at the same pace - "sit" - to sit - "Down– - to lie down - "Stay" - to stay and not move - "Stand" - to stand up - "Lift" - to lift or help shift their weight so you may lift their paw.
Now it's time for the Dog(s)
Ask again if anyone is allergic or afraid of dogs? (Even if they don't speak up inform the
students that if they are not comfortable they may watch from a distance.)
- Ask the kids to remain seated - Don't call the dogs over - Keep the noise level down - Emphasize care, kindness, consistent training
I talked about our Alaskan Malamutes in very brief terms - the breed, their hair and eye
colour. The sizes of the males and females including their weight.
They watched Niki have her harness placed on her. I explained how the harness functions
while she has it on. If you wish you could let someone try to put a harness on your dog.
The kids were invited to come up one or two at a time firstly to stand on the back of the
sled, step on the brake and get a feeling for being on the back of the sled and then to pat the dog.
I took our "Niki" who is an average size female but seemed enormous to the children.
Remember some kids will have ever seen or touched a dog up close. I explained that they should
always present their open hand and allow the dog to sniff it. If coming up to someone and their
dog to always ask if you may pat the dog. Niki is a perfect people dog and enjoys attention.
They examined her fur, felt her paws. Some asked to see inside her mouth and look at her teeth
which is no problem with our Niki.
Questions ?
You'd never guess what they can ask! Some won't have anything to do with dog
sledding. Be prepared for your audience.
- Keep the questions coming.
- Some questions the grade three class asked besides a few about dog sledding included:
- The names of all my dogs and Niki's birthday - Does she get special treats ? (I reminded of the dangers of chocolate, coffee, tea and cola drinks as poisons to dogs) - How many teeth does Niki have? - What was my puppies names? - Where did they go? - Do my dogs have their own little things they like to do? In my cases my dogs attend dog classes, so I mentioned that my dogs go to school to learn new things, too. - Do I go to dog shows? - What do the dogs do in the summer?
The questions were endless. You'll never be prepared for all of them. Some will be
related to dog sledding, like how do you get them trained to pull a sled. etc. etc. etc.
It was time to wrap it up. In my case the students didn't loose interest and I had to end
my presentation. I thanked them, the teacher and my niece for the opportunity to introduce
sledding and Niki, our Alaskan Malamute.
I passed along some pamphlets on the Alaskan Malamute making sure there was at least a
line drawing of an adult and some puppies on it. There was also a sheet with a labeled diagram of
a racing sled, a gangline and the positions on the gangline. This gave them something to take
home and talk about...
Our dog truck was also found to be of interest to the children and some asked about it.
From the warmth of the vestibule of the school I explained the workings of the truck, the
compartments for dogs and storage.
Finally farewell.
Good Luck with your presentation |
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