Would you use a CM with a Rottweiler?

No, I wouldn't.

I love dogs and think I am able to judge a dog on its own behaviour rather than the breed (years of having people avoid and look askance at our family staffy help that). But I wouldn't trust any dog to be alone with a young child, and wouldn't trust a CM to keep them strictly apart all day, every day, when it's their own dog in their own home.

For what it's worth, I think the size of a dog is relevant. When the children are small (under 2?) any dog is capable of serious damage. If my child was older (maybe 6?) then a small dog would cause a lot less damage/be more likely to be kicked off by the child/unlikely to knock child over in an attack and so reach the face/neck etc etc. it's very unlikely a dog wood attack a child, but if it did, I'm damn sure if rather it was a pug than a Rottweiler.

As I said, I would judge a dog by its behaviour. But I'd also remember that my judgement might be wrong and consider capability for harm, in the unlikely event the dog did attack.

I would be very unlikely to use a childminder with any dog but definitely wouldn't use one who had a Rottweiler or any of the large ego-dogs.

It wouldn't bother me that you had a rottie.

In fact i'd prefer that over a smaller breed dog! Terriers grab and shake, larger dogs tend to just snap once and leave off. I believe the statistic show that family-friendly Labs are the biggest biters for A&E admission statistics!

Obviously snapping at all is a big no-no and i'd want to know the dog was separate from the kids and never ever left alone with them, but imo a larger dog is "safer" than a smaller dog iyswim. I've grown up around large breed dogs - rotties, alsations, great danes. I consider dogs to be a real benefit in a child's upbringing - IF its done right!

No. Sorry.

I am past the need for a childminder, but had needed one when mine were tiny I would have actively looked for a CM with a dog. My children wanted a dog, but I knew at that point I wasn;t able to give any pet the attention it would need......a CM with a dog would have been the ideal compromise.

I Nannied in a family who had a Rottie.......it was the MOST stupidly soft and pathetic dog in the world, and ran a mile from a chihuahua.

I would be interested to know what people would think of a pug owner who decided to use her skills to go into childminding. My problem would be the over-loving nature of my pug, and the fact that he thinks he is a baby too, so any and all toys he assumes are his !

I completely respect the fact that you wouldn't want to use a childminder with a dog, that's a personal choice, what I didn't like was the way you put your point across, I think it was unkind and and belittling.

To use words such as unprofessional and suggest OP isn't taking it serious, just isn't necessary to say. Yes we all have our own opinions, but doesn't mean we can't censor ourselves and be respectful.

We just need to agree to disagree!

No I wouldn't. Not with any dog really.

It would scream. The combination. The way it would come across. I have no idea of the OP's own professionalism. It's the impression I would get. And as I've said, thinking about it, it's more as a new childminder.

Look, I really don't care if the OP goes ahead and registers as a childminder and keeps her dog. But I wouldn't use a childminder with a dog.

Add message | Report | Message poster motherinferior Fri 27-Jun-14 12:13:08
I also think the combination of no playroom AND a dog would scream 'unprofessional' at me.

Thankfully if OP wants to continue with registration process, Ofsted will take a different view to yours. As do other parents, otherwise there would be a heck of a lot of struggling childminders.

No, sorry. I would consider a CM with a dog, but definitely not a Rottweiler.

And what would put me off, in all honesty, is the OP's insistence that her dog is perfectly fine and won't cause a problem at all!

No, I didn't say the OP was unprofessional. I said that if I were a prospective parent looking for childcare, I would feel that someone with that lack of a track record plus dog - and in all honesty the lack of a playroom would come a long way behind that - would make me wary about whether they were taking it seriously. I don't know the OP at all and have no idea about her motives or background. I wasn't calling her anything. I was saying that I would be wary in this entirely imaginary situation.

I'm fully aware that childminders have to be registered and are inspected. I'm also aware that there is a wide variation in childcare, and that people go into it with different motivations.

Hey motherinferior- I know and understand what you said, but I still don't agree. You said OP was unprofessional and doubted she was taking it serious, based on what she has posted, I think that's an unfair assumption.

To be a childminder you have to go through a lengthy registration process which involves proving you have all sorts of certificates first, you can't simply be a childminder because you want to stay at home with your children. Not legally anyway.

I think you are making unfair assumptions about the OP- I would take offence if that was written about me.

I said someone who was new to childminding, had a dog and no separate space. My childminder didn't have a huge house at all. She did have (a) a room opening into the garden which was her 'childminding room' (b) a childcare history as long as your arm, starting with working as a nursery nurse. Fabulous childminder, she was, had both my girls till they started school.

But then I wouldn't want my kids around a dog. However nice it was supposed to be. And I did want someone who did childcare as a job, something they enjoyed doing and were fulfilled by, not someone who did it because they already had their own children and wanted to fit something on top.

Hi I have been a childminder for 10yrs and always had a dog, got 2 now. Our first was a staffy, which we had before our own children, I have always been in work. Although I do have a separate playroom and the use of stair gates around the home so I can restrict access to where they go. Ofsted have never had a problem with it either. Its all about personal choice, I'm honest when people ring and always mention I have them before a visit so it's up to them. Good luck with your decision

motherinferior- I wouldn't agree, I don't technically have a playroom, I have a living room that opens into garden, and kitchen. You don't have to have a huge house to be a serious childminder.

Obviously the smaller your property the fewer children you could have, but it's no less a buisness. It's certainly not unprofessional. I'm not sure what your view is based on, but it's incorrect to assume a childminder has to have separate playroom.

Well, you seem determined to go ahead, don't you. And you may find that it isn't a problem.

But like I say, someone who was new to childminding and had no playroom and a dog would strike me someone who wasn't really taking it seriously.

I've messaged you McBear x

I would not use a childminder with a dog full stop, regardless of breed.

It's a personal feeling from me that it just takes a second for a dog to turn- either unprovoked or maybe as a result of a child doing something careless to irritate the dog.

I maybe paranoid but I'd rather not take the risk.

nope. it would, I'm sure, almost certainly be fine, if not a great big positive for the child to hang out with a dog, but i wouldn't take the risk esp as I'm not there to gauge the behaviour/interraction etc.
wouldn't take the risk, sorry.
and yes, its the breed in particular that would make me decide sooner not to iyswim. id probably deliberate further with another breed, and wouldn't mind, say, a lab (coz i have experience of them prob).

I consider myself pretty dog friendly and ds goes to a childminder with a dog. Saying that, when he was a baby I saw a cm with a rotty and couldn't quite bring myself to take the very tiny chance, chose someone else. Probably not rational but then where children and babies are concerned, most aren't! Sure there are people it doesn't bother though

McBear- I asked your question on a childminding forum, and all the CM that replied said that they have never had a problem with Ofsted or parents. They have to risk asses and make sure there is an option for keeping dog away from children, but they don't have to be locked up all day.
They also said that when parents ring to ask for vacancies, they tell parents about their dog(s) and often this is a selling point for parents, because they want the home from home environment, and want the children to be around loving pets.
If you are seriously considering CM, I don't think it will be as bigger issue as I first thought, (and as others have said) It certainly won't mean your business is unable to thrive! You just have to be honest with parents, and if they don't want to use your service, don't worry, someone else will! X