Childminder's dog has bitten DD

Childminder legally also has to report this to Ofsted herself and should have a EYFS risk assessment document on her regarding animals in the home, if ask to see this.

I’d also be asking why the child was left unattended with the animal (likely be against her risk assessment)

Id also be reporting this [email protected] or 0300 123 4666

Yes this is an animal bite however it’s not a non event , it’s a safeguarding failure which has left your dd injured and needed hospital treatment, it’s a reportable safeguarding failure.

The dog clearly should not be in an environment where they are easily startled and cause injury to the children, simply because they walked into a room.

She may well have touched her roughly etc. but she is 3 and it’s not for her to understand

I’m sorry your kid was bitten. But by 3 kids should 100% know and understand not to touch dogs roughly. If they can walk and talk, they should know basic safety about animals - and that’s on you, as the parent, to install.

Why are childminders allowed dogs anywhere near the children? their own children is up to them but no way they should be allowed around other people's

i still have two little teeth marks on my face from a dog when i put my face close to his.

You need to report this. Take photos too. How would you feel if you didn’t and the dog maimed another kid?

Report to whoever you report Childminders to, if you think she's really not taking it seriously I'd also report to police, she has a duty of care to both child and dog and failed in both respects. Another avenue is the dog warden - the outcome would be likely to be a control order, dog not to be in the same room as kids etc.

Child and dog not at fault at all (how can they be, neither is able to legally be responsible for their own actions!) and PTS is an outrageous suggestion, as for the person saying they'd kill the dog themselves, don't be ridiculous, control yourself!

CM absolutely at fault, this shouldn't have been possible if she'd managed appropriately, meeting both child and dogs needs.

A dog was allowed to bite a child being paid to be cared for. You don’t need to know anything more. No childminders dog should EVER be in that position

As if you’d kill the dog yourself, stop talking shite 🤣 what are you going to do? Knock her door and stab the dog? I wish people wouldn’t exaggerate like this, it makes you sound ridiculous.

OP, It entirely depends on how hard the bite was, what lead to it and what the childminder did/will do to prevent further bites (such as muzzle, or PTS if the bite was serious enough) before I would be making a decision on what to do.

Edit: I think it also matters how long your daughter has been going there and whether this is the first time she has been bitten, because if she’s been going there for a reasonably long period and this is the first time anything like this has happened, then I might think perhaps the dog is unwell or elderly and can’t cope well with being around small children who are perhaps unintentionally a bit rough with petting or tugging at the tail and therefore the CM could put the dog out of the room in its own space in peace when she is child minding.

Please report this to ofsted and the police. You have made the (correct) decision to remove your child from this setting but other kids are, and will in the future, be around this dog and next time it may kill or seriously maim a young child. You have the potential to stop that from happening if you act now.

If this dog was really triggered to attack from a toddler running into the room it clearly should not be living in a house where child minding is happening.

I hope your little one heals quickly 💐

What absolute nonsense without knowing the whole story

Just to be clear @Jugglingitall85 my comment was to the PPs who are calling for the dog to be PTS - one even suggesting doing it themselves 🤣. Such hyperbole. I was just trying to emphasise that not everything is as black and white as it seems.

I'm sorry you've gone through this, and I hope your daughter makes a quick recovery.

Perhaps the kid was tormenting the dog. In which case would you kill the kid?
You sound ridiculous.

Oh yes, I don't disagree with what you are saying, but it seems like some PP are condemning the dog to death when it could be something other than a mauling by Cujo.

I hear what you're saying, but - whatever happened - it was the childminder's duty to make sure that none of her charges were in contact with the dog.

The dog might well be blameless, but the childminder certainly is not.

Out of curiosity OP, was it a single puncture wound or several teeth marks left? I know you've told the minder's account, but also said that she didn't see it happen. The only reason I ask is that when we were kids my sister was sat with the dog and she 'bit her' leaving a single puncture wound just below her eye.

She didn't bite her though and my mum witnessed the whole thing. A fly was flying around and the dog instinctively went for it, unfortunately it was by my sister's face and one of the dog's canines caught my sister's upper cheek.

The bastard that was my dad had that beautiful dog PTS and I hated him for it, even though my mum protested. I even resented my mum for a while for being so bloody weak to him and for not saying 'No, the dog is not going to be PTS'.

I don't understand why anyone running a childcare business would take the risk of letting their pets into the same space as the kids.
Little kids don't understand the way animals react, it's just stupid to take the risk.

I Would not go back there, not sure what level of publicity I would seek

The fact of the matter is that it should have been impossible for any child being minded to be in contact with the dog.

The dog should have been kept well away from the children. It's totally unacceptable that this was allowed to happen.

I had an absolute nasty bitch of a childminder (took me a while to realise unfortunately) many years ago and even she kept her two dogs well away from the children.

I didn't even know she had a dog when I engaged her services.

I think the fact that she didn’t actually see it happen is annoying me as well.

This is the major issue and something that should never have happened.

What had the CM said to you? Have been given a proper accident form? Has she told you her plans going forward with the dog? Has she informed other parents of the incident? Had she reported herself to Ofsted?

How the CM has handled it would depend on how I handled it? A one off error that she was genuinely apologetic about and the dog removed from the setting and I'd remove my child and move on.

If she still had the dog in contact with children I'd be reporting to Ofsted and making it very well known to other parents.

If she looks after other children you owe it to them to report it.

I think the fact that she didn’t actually see it happen is annoying me as well.

To be honest, this is the most concerning part..

An old dog, who is startled, trod on or grabbed hold of from behind (?), may swing round and snap instinctively, it doesn't mean he is an aggressive dog, but no one should be leaving their three year old alone with their dog, so this is a HUGE safeguarding problem seeing as she is a bloody childminder FGS.

I wouldn't be sending her back, but I don't think the dog should be destroyed either, but she should definitely be keeping the two things separate anyway, especially if she is not actively supervising, it's a recipe for disaster.

Our 4YO grabbed our dogs tail as he was passing last week and he instinctively swung round, because of where she was his quick swinging motion clouted her in the face, but there was no biting or aggression, it was just an impulsive reaction to someone hurting him, most dogs have that instinct.

I would contact the regulatory agency myself.

i would also reach out to all the other parents.

the circumstances don’t matter. It should not have been possible for your child to get access to the dog. Even if the dog was in another room, the security was insufficient. This is negligence pure and simple.

If I was the parent of a child attending I would pull them immediately and I would expect to owe nothing on my contract. As far as I am concerned, the childminder has broken the contract from their side.

I would report this to the police, and I would consider suing them depending on the extent of my daughters injuries and how traumatised she was, God forbid. She would never step foot in that house again