Dogs and Environmental Health

Dog health, human health and environmental health

Today we will be talking about dogs. Dogs can help us and help country, or they can be a problem for us and for country.1

The environment is what is around us. Its where we live,the air we breath, the water we drink and land we live on.

What is environmental health

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Like human health and dog health, environmental health is how healthy the environment is.Dogs and people can make the environment an unhealthy place to live.An unhealthy environment can make us and our dogs unhealthy.What is environmental health

UNHEALTHY PLACE TO LIVEChild playing in dirty water. Bad germs in the water can make the child sick if the germs get inside their body.Dog drinking dirty water can make the dog sick. Sick dogs can make people sick.Like human health and dog health, environmental health is how healthy the environment is. Dogs and people can make the environment unhealthy. An unhealthy environment can make us and our dogs sick.Example: dog drinking dirty water from dripping tap can make the dog sick. The child playing with the dirty water and the dog can pass diseases to the child.3DOG HEALTHHUMAN HEALTHENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Emotional healthEmotional healthSpread Disease (eg, worms and scabies)Spread Disease (eg, worms and scabies)Spread Disease (germs)Spread Disease (germs)HuntingHuntingBreeding (dingo-dog hybrid)Breeding (too many puppies)Breeding (too many puppies)Dog Health, human health and environmental health are all linked. Today we will focus on how dog health impacts human and environmental health. Emotional health: Happy and healthy dogs can make us feel happy and healthy, but sick and sad dogs can make us feel sick and sad too. We can also impact the emotional health of dogs. If we tease dogs we can make them scared or angry, but if we look after dogs we can make them happy.

Spread Disease (eg, worms and scabies): Sick dogs can spread their diseases to us and make us sick and we can spread disease to dogs too.

Spread Disease (Germs): Dogs can spread germs to us and the environment, and can make country unhealthy. For example, by tipping over bins and spreading rubbish where germs like to live.

Hunting: Dogs are good hunters so can help us hunt, but dogs can also hunt animals, like wildlife, that we dont want them to hunt.

Breeding (Dingo-dog hybrid): Dogs can have puppies with dingoes and make dingo- dog hybrids.

Breeding (too many puppies): When dogs can have lots of puppies, there will be too many dogs for us to look after and too many dogs roaming around country. Thats too many dogs making problems!

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Emotional HealthDogs can impact our emotional health and we can impact our dogs emotional health.5

Dogs are part of the family

Dogs are part of the family, we love our dogs and our dogs love us, so we want them to all have good food, clean water, shelter (place to live), health care when they are sick, exercise and play. If we make our dogs happy, they make us and the community happy.6

Spread disease: WormsDogs can spread disease, like worms, to people, and people can spread diseases to dogs through the environment.7The gut worm story

Clean handsstops infectionMedicine kills the worms in the gutClean dry yards stops infection

Clean dogsstops infection

Lets talk about the gut worm storyGut worms can live inside the dog. When the dog poos, the worms come out with the poo. The worms spread onto the ground. When other dogs sit in the dirt where the worms are, the worms go onto the dog. When the dog licks itself it gets the worms into its body.

When we play with the dog, let the dog eat our food or let the dog lick us we can get the worm. Gut worm can make us sick, like giving us diarrhea. So we should wash our hands after touching the dog to stop us from getting germs.

Medicine like ivermec kills gut worms in the dog. We can get ivermec from the vet or animal management workers.

If we have worms, dogs can get the worms from us, for example, by eating kimbies (nappies). We need to keep our yard clean and thow kimbies in the bin so dogs cant eat them.

We should wash the dog so the worms on its skin goes away.

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Worms can make us sickWorms can cause cysts inside the eye.

Young worms (larvae) can leave itchy trails in kids skin.

There are many different worms that can live inside us, and we can get these worms from dogs. These worms can make us very sick.

Worm larvae can cause itchy trails in kids skin.

There are also worms that can cause cysts inside the eye.

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Spread disease: GermsDogs can spread germs to us and the environment.10

The Germ StoryGerms are living things that are too small to see with just our eyes.There are many different germs, some germs are good and some germs are bad.Germs can be found in many different places.

Germs can make us sick

Itchy skin from scabies can cause skin sores.Sores can be infected with the germ (or bacteria) called Streptococcal pyogenes (Streps).When a sore gets Streps in it, the body makes antibodies to fight the Streps.If children have lots of sores infected with Streps, their immune system can stop working properly.The antibodies that are made to fight the Streps can cause problems in the childs heart and kidneys.For example, we can get Streptococcal diseases

So Streps can cause kidney problems, called nephritis, and heart problems. The heart problems are the cause of rheumatic heart disease.For example streptococcal diseasesItchy skin from scabies can cause skin soresSores can be infected with the germ (or bacteria) Streptococcal pyogenes (Streps)When a sore gets Streps in it, the body makes antibodies to fight the Streps.If children have lots of sores infected with streps, their immune system can stop working properly.The antibodies that are made to fight the Streps can cause problems in the childs heart and kidneys.So Streps can cause kidney problems, called nephritis, and heart problems. The heart problems are the cause of rheumatic heart disease.12

How germs spread

Germs grow best in rubbish bins, toilets and puddles.

Germs grow everywhere, they grow best in rubbish bins, toilets and puddles and some of these germs can be bad and make us and our dogs sick.13The title feels like a summary, but actually this is at the guts of the EH story. i think this slide needs unpacking into a few slides to tell this story more clearly.- germs can make us sick- germs grow best in places like rubbish bins, toilets and puddles (pic of skinny puppy with rubbish in background, maybe consider animating some worms, ticks or germs glowing in rubbish and on dogs paws and muzzle, worms craling up to him or something- dogs can spread germs through the house (pic of dog in rubbish bin)- and give them to family (pic of person and dog being close)Then once that whole big picture story is explained, go with teh summary slogan.

How germs spreadDogs can spread germs through the house and give them to family.

When the dog eats and plays in rubbish, germs go on their body. They can pass these germs onto other dogs and people. If these germs are bad germs, they can makes other dogs and us sick.14

How germs spreadKeep rubbish and bins away from dogs and flies that spread germs.Fence rubbish bins or tie them to a pole to stop dogs and kids getting in.Always wash your hands after using the toilet and before eating.

Spread disease: ScabiesDogs can spread scabies onto us. Scabies makes us and the dog itchy.16

The scabies story

Scabies makes the dog itchy so it loses its fur like this dog.There are two types of scabies demodex and sarcoptes (video). We will use sarcoptes in this story.1. Sarcoptes lay eggs in the dogs skin. The eggs hatch in the skin. This makes the dog itchy.2. In people, the sarcoptes lays the eggs but the eggs dont hatch. It still makes people itchy. When germs get into the sores, we can get Streps which makes us very sick!3. Giving dogs ivermectin stops scabies. The dog stops being itchy and the hair grows, like this dog. This also stops people getting scabies from the dog.4. Washing bed sheets and clothes and putting them outside in the sun kills sarcoptes so they cant make us itchy.

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HuntingDogs can be great at hunting.18

Dogs help us huntDogs have a good nose for hunting.Dogs are fast and strong so can catch prey easily.

Dogs can help us hunt for food. Dogs have a very good nose, better than our nose, so they can smell where prey is hiding. Dogs are fast and strong so can catch prey easily and quickly.19

But dogs can kill wildlifeDogs are good hunters so can scare, hurt and eat a lot of wildlife.

But because dogs are good hunters, if we let them roam on country without us, they can scare, hurt and eat a lot of wild animals these are animals that belong on country and we dont want our dogs to hurt or kill them. If they kill or scare too many wild animals, there will be less wild animals to hunt for food and less wild animals to look after country.20well yes, that's teh point of a hunting dog, isn't it? maybe there needs to be teh concept of kill too much wildlife, or something?

Breeding: Dingo-dog hybridDog and Dingo

How are dogs and dingoes different?

Dingoes live in packs with one boy and girl dingo that can have puppies. They are called the alpha male and alpha female

Only the alpha male and alpha female can have puppies

And they only have 3-5 puppies

They have their puppies in the bush

But ALL girl and boy dogs have puppies

And they breed in camp

Dogs have 5 puppies every time they breed!22

Cross breeding with dingoesCross breeding makes hybrids, so there are fewer dingoes and more hybrids.Hybrids are different to dingoes. They harass stock more and have hybrid puppies quickly.

Dogs and dingoes can have puppies together this is called cross breeding.Cross breeding makes a dog-dingo mix called a hybridWhen lots of hybrids are being made, there are fewer dingo puppies being made. Fewer dingoes to look after country.Hybrids behave differently to dingoes. They harass live stock more and have more hybrid puppies quickly.We need to make sure our dogs dont breed with dingoes and make hybrids. One way to stop dogs breeding is to give them an operation that stops them having puppies. Dogs that have the operation are less likely to roam too.23

Breeding: too many puppies

If dogs can have puppiesBoy dogs fight to have puppies with girl dogs.If our dogs can have puppies, we need to look after too many dogs and it can be stressful.Dogs roam and make problems in community if they can have puppies.

If dogs are allowed to have puppies25

Too many dogs

Click image to download puppy maths video on AMRRIC website: too many dogs can be a problem. This video shows how one mother girl dog can lead to too many dogs. Mother dog has five puppies, the puppies grow up, they have puppies, they grow up in two years theres 290 dogs to feed good food, give clean water, give them a place to live, take them to the vet when they are sick and look after. There can be too many dogs in the house, in our yard and in the community.26

Giving dogs the operationOperation can stop them roaming too much. It is easier to keep them healthy.They can not cross breed with dingoes.We dont have to look after too many dogs and puppies.

The vet can give the dog an operation to stop it having puppies.27

Dogs can be a problemDogs can spread worms and germs that can make dogs and family sick.Dogs can make hybrids with dingoes.Dogs can have too many puppies.Dogs can kill wildlife.

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Or dogs can be our friendDogs can make us happy.Dogs help us in our lives.

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(08) 89481768 P.O. Box 1464, NIGHTCLIFF, NT, 0814 www.amrric.org