80000 copies of the BlueDog DVD and booklet have been distributed to date to 19 different countries and the accompanying booklet translated into 17 different languages.
Recently, the Federation of Veterinarians in Europe (FVE)K, as well as members of the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)l in the US as well as the American Veterinary Associationm have explicitly endorsed the use of BD in 2011/2012 publications.
Research carried out at University of Lincoln, using the existing expertise at the Lincoln Infant Lab in assessing children and developing software toolsa, helped to create, develop and assess the BlueDog in its current form. The research has shown Blue Dog to be an effective, evidence-based tool for dog bite injury prevention. The research has also found specific factors that contribute to dog bite risk in young children, like children’s leaning-in behaviour or children’s striking misinterpretation of dogs’ facial expressions.
Methods have used personal interaction, questionnaires, laptop-based testing as well as state-of-the-art eye-tracking techniques to investigate less accessible details of children’s perception.
The current research programme with its various facets has led to changes in practice, e.g. in education, services and public policy and improvements in health, quality of life and welfare; in particular, change in education of veterinarians, dog trainers, teachers, children and adults (parents); change in attitude and awareness towards better understanding of child-dog interactions and health risks; behaviour change; change towards improved and assessed bite injury as well changes in rabies prevention.
Beneficiaries include children, their families, pets, teachers, veterinarians and the wider public with evidence of these impacts at local, national and international scale.
Read more: examples and scope of impact on Society
