New Zealand has one of the highest rates of dog ownership in the western world.

The likelihood of a child coming into contact with a dog in their community is more or less guaranteed. Owning and being around dogs has so many wonderful benefits and with the right knowledge, understanding and tools it can be a safe and positive experience for all.

BARK NZ is a registered charity dedicated to supporting our communities by providing education to children on how to be safe around, and have positive experiences with, dogs.

Our Aim: To reduce the national dog bite statistics in children 12 years and under.

We achieve this by providing established programmes to New Zealand’s children at pre-schools, schools and other learning and community facilities. We serve as a hub for volunteer educators throughout New Zealand who have an active interest in the safety of our children around dogs.

BARK NZ have designed and implemented well-structured lesson plans to integrate smoothly with the national school curriculum, Te Whariki early childhood curriculum and with individual class, school or organisational processes. We use Government-provided programmes (Dog Box kit) to enable our educators to deliver consistent, reliable and proven messages to all age groups.

BARK NZ is currently New Zealand’s only registered charity dedicated to providing free dog safety and animal assisted education.

Did you know

That a very high percentage of reported dog bites around the world are towards children, and most are by dogs that the child is familiar with, i.e. their own pet, or a friend or relative’s dog.
Dogs show very subtle signs when they are uncomfortable in a situation.
All too often people don’t notice these subtle signs, and inadvertently put dogs in a position where they are only left with one next option, which is a bite.

We are here to educate children about those all-important subtle signs.