Poo Patrol Big Spray Day from www.sustainablelearning.com Some children may find the content of this PowerPoint a bit squeamish. It is also important to emphasise that the dog’s are simply exhibiting natural behaviour and that it’s some of the dog owners who need to make a change not the dogs. It may also be worth reassuring the children that there are different kinds of worms and some are much more common in humans and are not harmful and so the children mustn't worry.

What do you think we might be here to talk about today? Let the children speculate and suggest ideas. Perhaps give them a moment for paired talk to reflect on the three key questions. Feedback if time allows. Why might we want to talk about this? What are your experiences of dog poo? What has it got to do with us and our school?

What are the problems with dog poo? Children are likely to make links to their own experiences of playing football in the park or perhaps a picnic. Encourage them to think of the problem from the perspective of other people too.

There is another problem called Toxocara Toxocara canis is a roundworm that lives as a parasite in the gut (small intestine) of dogs. As an adult it feeds on the contents of the intestine and does not cause the dog much harm. Female worms lay eggs that pass out in the faeces. Life cycle Eggs develop larvae (=immature worms) inside them over a period of time. By the time the larvae develop the faeces have usually decomposed and the infective eggs are therefore in the soil. The eggs are sticky and dogs pick them up, e.g. on their paws, and then ingest them – the larvae then grow to adult worms again in the gut. Eggs produced Lots of eggs are produced – each worm produces around tens of thousands of eggs per day – and they live in the soil for many months. Dog faeces can contain 10,000 eggs per gram. Although only 1 or 2 out of 100 dogs are infected at any one time, we can’t easily tell which these are, and if faeces from an infected dog are left to decompose, millions of eggs enter the environment. Any one of these could cause illness if they get into a person. Can anyone tell me what that is? Can you suggest why this might also be a problem?

How might the eggs get into our bodies? Toxocara Toxocara canis is a roundworm that lives as a parasite in the gut (small intestine) of dogs. As an adult it feeds on the contents of the intestine and does not cause the dog much harm. Female worms lay eggs that come out of the dog in it’s poo. If the eggs get into our bodies then they make us very poorly. How might the eggs get into our bodies? Toxocara can cause lots of different health issues in humans. Consequences depend on where the larvae end up, e.g. in the eyes (=visual impairment), other organs (abdominal pain, rash, sleeplessness, allergies including asthma, brain causing epilepsy or learning difficulties) – but hard to detect the larvae so many of the consequences are hard to pin down. The eggs can find their way into our bodies after touching soil perhaps during a picnic, when playing on the grass, during sport etc.

Facts Did you know 4 tonnes of dog faeces are produced in Bristol each day, and not all of this is picked up and disposed of? Did you know dog owners can be fined for not picking up their dog poo? Did you know each worm produces around tens of thousands of eggs per day? That’s the equivalent to 2 elephants! Lots of eggs are produced – each worm produces around tens of thousands of eggs per day – and they live in the soil for many months. Dog faeces can contain 10,000 eggs per gram. Although only 1 or 2 out of 100 dogs are infected at any one time, we can’t easily tell which these are, and if faeces from an infected dog are left to decompose, millions of eggs enter the environment. Any one of these could cause illness if they get into a person. We estimate that 4 tonnes of dog faeces are produced in Bristol each day, and not all of this is picked up and disposed of. That equates to around 1 billion Toxocara eggs per day.

Toxocara and Us – How can we make a change? We still want to encourage children to play outside and it is very important we emphasize that we mustn't stop doing this. Instead we can make sure we wash our hands before eating and we can remember that it is very important to pick up our dog’s poo. We can also remind others that it is their responsibility by participating in Poo Patrol Big Spray Day.

Poo Patrol Big Spray Day Explain to children that the school is participating in Poo Patrol’s Big Spray Day and that perhaps they could look out for the chalked stencils on the floor. Do they think it will make a difference?