MetroFamily Magazine May June 2023

Be prepared. When faced with or approached by an aggressive dog, it’s important to know what to do to stay safe. To begin, remain calm and yell commands in an authoritative voice, like, “Stop!” Avoid looking into the dog’s eyes, as this may be perceived as threatening, and don’t turn your back. Resist the urge to run and instead back away slowly. “Dogs are hard wired, meaning it’s their natural instinct, to chase prey,” said Soriano. “Never try to outrun a dog. By running, it triggers the dog’s innate drive as a predatory animal.” Learn more Soriano has spent his entire career studying canine behavior and has always had dogs in his life. He grew up watching his father informally train their beloved pets, and then when he chose to become a professional dog trainer, he had the opportunity to be mentored by some of the best trainers in the industry. Along with his work in dog bite safety training, his expertise includes search and rescue (SAR), tracking, cadaver search, personal protection, police and drug dogs and severe behavior curbing. Since establishing K9 University in 1985, a family owned and operated business, it has become the largest institute in the Midwest to include nearly all aspects of dog training and behavioral curbing — and employs Soriano’s patented training methods.

“The introduction of our Dog Bite Safety training and now the addition of our videos tailored to kids is an opportunity for us to continue meeting a need within communities and help individuals of all ages safely coexist with dogs,” said Soriano. “We hope schools and any organization that works with children will consider this an effective resource to help educate and protect kids.” Editor’s note: For more information and to access the children’s video series The Adventures of Frannie and Frankie , visit dogbitesafety. com . The videos are ideal for use by caregivers, day cares, schools, scout groups and more to share age-appropriate education and instruction about dog behavior and how to prevent dog bites. This video series is most appropriate for kids 12 and under.