Dog Community

HELP! I NEED IDEAS NOW!

Posted : 3/26/2007 3:24:08 PM

So, I have to plan a field trip for girl scouts. It is at 4:30! I work at Petco and I was supposed to host this, but they forgot to schedule me, so I didnt even think about it...well, they told me today that its at 4:30! I guess I'm supposed to basically cover responsible pet ownership. So, I'm going to cover each type of animal breifly. Here are my plans:
Small animals (hamsters, mice, rats, etc...
   Nutrition
   Housing
   General Care Requirements
Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, CHinchillas
   Same as above
Ferrets
Same as above
Cats
   Same as above
Dogs
   Same as above plus
   Training
Reptiles
   Housing(lighting)
   Why frozen mice are best for snakes
   Nutrition for the basic species
Fish
   How to set up a tank(very quick)
   Fish compatibility
   Tank Sizes
Birds
   Nutrition
   Training
   Housing
This is all supposed to last an hour and I'm just going to cover very basic stuff in each of those categories. I want them to know the basic types of food and housing for most. Training will most likely go with small animals also but not really training for tricks, but how to get them used to being handled. It won't be anything in depth at all, but most likely "this animal eats this food because..." The fish part will be short, just very basic stuff to show that it really isn't just "oh, lets put a goldfish in a bowl!" Any more ideas??????
AND ADOPTION!
ETA: I have no idea what age these girls are. But, I am thinking they are probably at least Juniors...so maybe 4th grade or so??? But, with my luck, its going to be Daisy's and my whole plan is gone!

Cita

Posted : 3/26/2007 3:32:05 PM

It looks fine! Break up the (boring?) informational parts with interesting tidbits or "ooo look at the pretty colors" type moments to keep their attention. If they get to touch an animal or feed a treat to a parrot or something I'm sure it'd make their day.

ColleenC

Posted : 3/26/2007 3:41:18 PM

I am going to let them pet a guinea pig, ferret, and snake. We also have a cat adoption center where they can play with the cats through the cages. I dont have any good birds for them to hold right now because the two friendly ones are still being handfed and I dont want to expose them to that many germy hands! I will probably show them the grooming salon too if there is a dog being groomed.
And, its not going to be straight lecture like it looks. Its going to be more question and answer.

Xebby

Posted : 3/26/2007 3:43:56 PM

Make a time after each stop for questions, this alone will take a while and if need be ask question to quiz the kids like"does anyone remember what I said about...". I'm sure you will hear a lot of "i have one of those" or "my sisters best friend's mom's uncle has a..." it sounds kinda fun to me. Good luck!

ColleenC

Posted : 3/26/2007 3:45:52 PM

Yep, that was my plan! I'm going to try to treat it like one of my training classes and let the kids lead it some also. I don't want them to just have to listen, but to also interact and tell their experiences!

Xebby

Posted : 3/26/2007 7:38:17 PM

How did it go?

cairnterriers

Posted : 3/26/2007 8:12:32 PM

Sounds like you've got everything under control. [

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Emily Walker

Posted : 3/26/2007 8:39:12 PM

Let us know how it all went!

ColleenC

Posted : 3/26/2007 9:32:57 PM

It went great! The kids really enjoyed it and I think they learned a lot. I even got in a push for Pit Bulls! We were talking about adopting the right dog for you and I was talking about how not to judge based on breed alone. Many of them were interested in the fact that they really are family dogs. They loved petting the guinea pig and told lots of stories. They lost a bit of interest at the end, but not bad at all!

cairnterriers

Posted : 3/26/2007 11:17:56 PM

That's great! I'm glad it went well. [

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