An Okotoks resident has come up with a system for dog owners that indicates to others how their dog should be approached.

Brigitte Blais created the Dog Early Warning System, or DEWS, which has green, yellow, and red bandanas for dogs to sport to help indicate whether they're approachable or not to help avoid conflicts and dog bites.

According to the DEWS' website the bandanas represent the following:

A green bandana means that the dog is known to be FRIENDLY, and would love some attention. But remember… Even the friendliest dog may have unknown triggers, and should still be treated with measured caution so… Always ask for permission before approaching any dog!

A yellow bandana means CAUTION! The owner is open to interaction but asks that you first obtain permission and instructions from a distance before interacting with their dog. Dogs with yellow bandanas may not like people wearing hats or may prefer to be approached in a certain manner.

Red means DO NOT APPROACH! Notice that red does not mean that the dog is necessarily aggressive. It means that for their own reasons, the owner does not wish for their dog to be approached THAT DAY. The owner may want uninterrupted time to themselves, or their dog may be: in training, old, injured, sick, post surgery, or submissive, requiring protection from overly enthusiastic encounters with other dogs, children, or adults.

Blais says the point of the bandanas is to create awareness.

"There are going to be people out there who are going to put the wrong bandana on their dog thinking 'oh yeah my dog's so friendly' but with or without bandanas things still happen and DEWS was designed for responsible dog owners," she says. "It was designed for people who are trying to relay a message and don't want to tell everybody on the path 'don't approach my dog, leave us alone, we're in a hurry' ."

An organization in Edmonton called Berkeley's Place has taken over the initiative and now the City of Edmonton is giving the bandanas to dog owners when they go to get their dogs licensed. Blais says the Town of Okotoks took on DEWS as a pilot project a few years ago and were supportive of the idea.

She says preventing dog bites is all about awareness and being a responsible pet owner.

"I hear it all the time, 'my dog is so good, my kids climb all over him and he's never done anything' and when you hear of a dog biting a kid people think 'he's never bitten anybody, he's been so good' and all of a sudden one day he bites. The dog's probably been giving messages but we're not all dog trainers who know how to read those signs so honestly don't let your kids climb all over your dog."

Blais adds children respond well to the system and seem to recognize the bandana colour meanings.

She shares that she feels when a dog bites a child it's not the child or dog's fault, stating that it's parents and pet owners who are responsible and need to pay attention to what's going on.

Those who are interested in purchasing DEWS bandanas can find them at Pet Value in Okotoks or order them online by clicking here.

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