This page features a variety of dog safety activities for kids in preschool and elementary school. Some of these activities directly teach important dog safety concepts; others are just fun dog activities you can do as you teach kids about dog safety. Enjoy!
Dog Finger Puppets
A printable pdf sheet containing dog finger puppets for your kids to color, cut. and assemble..
Yawning At Doggy (A dog safety activity for kids of all ages}
Humans aren’t the only ones who read body language. Dogs do it too. So here’s a trick you can use if you ever encounter an angry or aggressive dog: Yawn. That’s right, yawn. Dogs typically interpret yawning as a sign that you’re not a threat. I guess they figure that if you’re tired and bored enough to yawn, you must not be interested in doing anything b_d to them, and so they calm down too. Practice this technique with your kids using either real dogs or each other:
With real dogs: Clap your hands an talk to the dog in a high-pitched voice to get them all excited. Then when you have the dog’s attention and it is looking at you, drop your arms to the side, stand straight up and give the biggest yawn you can muster. The dog is likely to be confused by this sudden change in demeanor. You may even get the sideways ‘confused dog’ head nod, or it may come up to try and rouse you back into a playful state.
With kids: Have one child get down on all fours and play the doggy, barking and growling and pretending to be aggressive. Have the other child pretend to be sc_red and then yawn real big, calming the ‘doggy’ down. Then swap places and play-act this scene again.
Repeat these motions over and over again several times to solidify it in a child’s memory. Yawning at dogs isn’t foolproof, but this technique has been successfully used to fend off an attack.
Dog Collars (Art: A dog safety activity for kids)
Have children decorate pretend dog collars to wear. Get out a variety of art materials, such as stickers, markers or crayons, Glue, Glitter, or whatever else you can find.
Next cut up pieces of construction paper lengthwise. Give children two strips to decorate each. When they are done and have dried, use tape to tape them together and attach them around the children’s necks like dog collars.
Dog Face Masks (Fine Motor)
Start out using paper plates with markers, paints or another art material. Cut our eye holesin the paper plate. Use scrap construction paper to make cut outs of tongues and ears for the kids to glue onto their face mask. Let them be creative.
Doggie Play (Dramatic Play: A dog safety activity for preschool & kindergarten)
Turn your dramatic play into a dog kennel for kids. Set out dog collars, leashes, doggie bowls, dog food, dog biscuits, dog beds if you can manage them, and any other prop that would go with pretending to be dogs. Give the kids different props to make dog houses with. Have them develop a little dog community, while using the time to have them think about how it feels to be a dog, and remembering play nice rules.
Dog Attack (Dramatic Play: A dog safety activity for preschool & kindergarten)
Have your children pretend to be vicious dogs in the dramatic play area, while one or two of the children pretend to be little kids. (Big stretch, I know) Have the children pretend to attack the little kids as a dog would, while they practice the steps of behavior as learned in the dog safety area of child safety.
Play Nice Dog Rules Mini Coloring Book
See also…
- Bicycle Safety Activities for Kids
- Car Safety Activities for Kids
- Car Satety Songs
- Danger Spotters Activity
- Dog Safety Activities
- Home Safety Activities
- Stranger Danger Activities for Kids
- Street Safety Activities for Kids
- Street Safety Songs
- Winter Safety Activities
- Mirror Signaling Activity