title: Examining parents' behaviors and supervision of their children in the presence of an unfamiliar dog: does The Blue Dog intervention improve parent practices?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Young children are at particular risk for dog bite injuries. This study examined parents' supervision of and reactions to their children in the vicinity of an unfamiliar dog.
  
  
  METHODS
  A pre/post intervention/control group randomized design assessed whether exposure to The Blue Dog, a dog bite prevention and education program, positively impacted parent behaviors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No group differences in pre or post-intervention measures emerged, indicating that The Blue Dog did not evoke improvements in parents' behaviors. Generally, parents showed risky reactions and encouraged children to interact with the dog, even though they knew very little about the dog's safety or disposition. Supervision measures (proximity, watching) remained unchanged (watching) or more lax (proximity) across sessions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results highlight the importance of targeting parent behavior, not just child behavior, in programs that aim to reduce risk of childhood dog bites. The Blue Dog did not effectively change parent behavior.
authors.affiliation: University of Guelph, Canada. bmorrong@uoguelph.ca
authors.forename: Barbara A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Morrongiello
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Schwebel
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: Aaron L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Corbett
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D016487:Parenting; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D010332:Paternal Behavior; D012449:Safety; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014742:Videodisc Recording