Teacher’s dogs in classroom?

A designated school dog or other animals is fine and can be hugely beneficial to the children but a classroom pet is not fair on the animals.

I've worked for some organisations where staff were allowed to bring their dogs to work, but none of us did because the workplace is a professional environment and bringing home responsibilities into work isn't the professional thing to do, regardless of whether colleagues like dogs or not.

Assistance dogs - totally different. Absolutely. Crack on. But this isn't that. This is 'not sorting out doggy day care and instead bringing your responsibilities to work and dressing it up as a benefit for the kids'. That is unprofessional and selfish. Whilst I get that doggy day care is expensive, and also that teachers salaries are appalling for the work they do, the solution here isn't to bring the dog to school.

I'd kick up a fuss and watch the messages of thanks roll in on WhatsApps from the grateful parents who felt likewise but weren't prepared to say anything.

This doesn’t sound right.
I’m a deputy head and we have a dog in school but there’s a lot of paperwork, training and insurance. It is absolutely not allowed just to sit in a classroom all day.

You need to clarify this with a member of SLT.

I'm a teacher and I think the teacher is taking a huge risk, tbh.

I can't see how it can meet the needs of the dogs for a start. And I'm not a 'doggy person'. Maybe I'm only basing it on experience of my school but the behaviour we see coming into Reception would not let me put a dog in that situation.

I inherited a class pet one year but it showed huge signs of distress in the class room so I took it home one holiday and never took it back.

DD's school has a school dog. DD adores him!

I love dogs, but this is the teacher dressing it up as a good learning experience because she doesn’t want to leave her dogs at home all day and pay for a dog walker.

One of the teachers at my child's school lives near me & has a badly trained dog. Id be horrified and terrified for my child if it was taken into school.

One of my DC also has plenty of experience of dogs (very popular pets in our area) but hates them and with good reason. Too many people have poorly trained dogs, he's been jumped up on by large dogs a lot.

Dogs absolutely should not be in schools unless they are trained and registered assistance dogs.

Ridiculous. There is no need to have two dogs there all day.

Im a massive dog lover but honestly this sounds absolutely bonkers!!!!

Friend of mine works in a school where some staff bring in their dogs and she's a bit pissed off by it because it depends upon them having an office or space to have the dog and strikes her rather unequal. She hasn't and also has to pay a dog walker!!

I don't think it's fair on the dogs having to be around a class of young children.

Sausage dogs can be bitey

When I started school in the early 80s my first teacher had her collie in the classroom. I still remember how honoured I felt whenever it chose to lay under my desk and remember it sitting with us in the reading area. It’s a positive thing I think

My daughters school has a "school dog". It's in the process of being trained to be a therapy dog and is part of an association. It's her teachers dog and she is the trainer. We have had to sign consent forms for my daughter to be in the company of the dog. The dog is primarily for the kids that struggle with various learning and social situations. But they have all been visiting the dog in pairs and the whole class had a morning walk to the woods to play and have a picnic. The dog isn't in the school every day, and when it is, it's kept in a spare classroom. So it's all very responsible. In your situation it sounds more like it's just for the teachers convenience. However, I think you shouldn't be projecting your fears onto your son. If you feel strongly about it, you need to contact the school, it doesn't matter if you don't want to be THAT mum. Presumably this affect their insurance somehow? 🤷‍♀️

What happens if they toilet in the classroom? Is she going to have to interrupt class every time they need to go out?

I’m gobsmacked this is allowed tbh. An occasional therapy dog yes but not what you have described. An accident waiting to happen I think. I love dogs too.

If the dog is in the classroom, in all likelihood it'll be crated during lessons.

DC's headteacher brings their dog into school. The students love it.

Our school (private) has 600 students and three dogs, belonging to staff. I'm not bothered but I know others are. The dogs are with their owners at all times and always on a lead. One of them belongs to the SENCO and I assume an argument was made about emotional regulation or something. Personally I lean towards to no-dogs camp purely because I don't think it's a good environment for a dog with potential overwhelm and noise and also because of course some children will be allergic.

I think therapy dogs bought into school for reading etc great. The owners very kindly volunteer to do this. They are able to not bring the dog if it's not appropriate e.g if its been under the weather. We had an amazing dog come into school once a week. He is now retired.
Teachers getting puppies and bringing them to school to be in all day every day I don't think is great. The dogs haven't chosen this. What if their temperament isn't right for a classroom. What if they have had enough. It's not fair on the dog. It's also an accident waiting to happen. A school cat - great....because the cat won't be there if it doesn't want to be. It will get up and go!!
Also dog poos and wees in the playground and on the field - yuck. Unless they have a fenced off area.

My eldest daughter is terrified of dogs, so I wouldn’t be happy. We’re working on this ourselves but if I’m not there she is still terrified. I’ve also known a few sausage dogs in my time who are grumpy little sods and werent great around children
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Dachshunds aren’t the best dogs around kids. My work revolves around dogs and they certainly aren’t my favourite breed due to them often being a snappy breed

But your child's fear isn't relevant to what the OP is asking. That's my point. I love dogs. But that has nothing to do with what the OP is asking.

is this normal in schools? She also said that if any parents were uncomfortable she’d try and work something out. I’m nervous around dogs but mostly because I have a four year old boy who doesn’t have experience being around them. I feel in an awkward situation where I don’t want to be ‘that’ parent if I say I’m not happy but equally, maybe it’s ok?

The question is specific to her and her son and not all of the potential issues for other students.

I don't see how it's helpful for her to be asked to consider everyone else when she's trying to figure out what to do about her son.

It's a bit weird having dog in the classroom, but on the other hand it's no wonder kids grow up with anxiety disorders when parents are constantly trying to shield hem from every conceivable danger, and this apparently includes sausage dogs.

What do mean making up scenarios? My DC is petrified of dogs. If they went into a classroom where there was a dog, I'd struggle to get them back there again because they have ASD and it's a severe fight/flight response that's not necessarily logical to others.

Is it really that hard to imagine that bringing a dog into school is a bad idea?

My dd's state primary school has a resident dog (who belongs to one of the teachers) However he mostly stays in the school office. The kids are occasionally allowed to read to him and pet him etc as a treat/therapy. I think this is lovely and beneficial. However as far as I know he is never forced on kids/parents who aren't comfortable with it. Daschunds aren't the most reliable of breeds around young children and I could only hope that this teacher has fully risk assessed the situation. I do understand your concerns. Done correctly it could be really positive though. My dd loves her school dog.