Childminder's dog has bitten DD

I would be very unhappy. Children and dogs need to be very closely supervised. If this was the case of the child winding the dog up, the childminder should have intervened as soon as the dog's body language suggested it wasn't happy, and stopped the child from doing whatever it was that provoked the dog into biting. A reactive dog who is liable to get aggressive at short notice shouldn't be around children at all.

This. I can remember walking our family dog when I was a teenager. Some kid ran up to her and smacked her on the nose and shouted 'doggy' at her. She snapped at him but I was able to pull her back and she didn't bite him but it was close and I was worried what his Mum would say. She actually apologised to me and told me it would teach him not to do it again. It scared me though as it could have been so different and it wouldn't have been my dog's fault

How many times do we read on here and elsewhere about dog attacks and the majority of dog owners say their dogs are lovely members of the family and daft as a brush…BUT they would never leave their dogs alone around children because they are good responsible owners. The child minder is at fault, a risk assessment should have been done and the dog should have been kept securely away from any child. This is not on the child at all.

You can teach a 3 year old to be kind to animals, but 3 year olds do not have the impulse control or memory of an adult. A three year old will need reminding not to run etc around dogs, especially if they don't have one at home. The childminder has 100% fault. A child should never be left unsupervised with a dog. And tbh if a dog can't be trusted around children, it has no business being around them. Kids should be allowed to run around outside etc without the fear of triggering a dog. Young kids move quickly and make loud noises sometimes. It's highly unreasonable to expect them not to do that.

This poster is probably one of those people who would blame a member of the public for triggering a Pitbull. Gross.

Imagine victim blaming a child 🙃 3 year olds are rough sometimes as they're still learning. Have a word with yourself if you're assuming a child that young can be safe and act perfectly around a dog.

If you have a dog that randomly bites because someone has come into a room, that is not a safe pet.

She's 3.

I'm a CM and will admit I judge CM's who have a dog.
I really don't understand why you would take the risk but people on here saying a TODDLER should know better is disgusting.

I would never ever assume a toddler knows how to act around an animal or how they would react in any situation TBH they're not known for their predicatability so it is 100% on the cm to keep the children safe.
Disusting blaming a small child

OP do you have a dog yourself?

If you don't, then there is no reason to think a three year old would automatically know how to behave around a dog, if anything they would be more at danger because they have never been taught the risks and what not to do. I'd ignore posters like that tbh.

I do think that the childminder may be fibbing slightly when said the child 'ran into the room' and startled the dog though, only because if it was anything other than then she would have to admit that she had left them alone together unsupervised.

I think it's more likely that she left them alone and something happened, not the child or the dogs fault, IMO most dogs only lash out when they are frightened, being hurt or defending themselves, if the dog would randomly bite someone coming in to a room she shouldn't be allowing the dog anywhere near the children anyway.

My nephew has a learning disability and will flap and make excited happy noises around dogs. Different small children are capable of learning different things. Owners have to be responsible, especially a childminder with a dog in the house.

I don't understand why police haven't been called already if op took her child to a hospital for treatment and antibiotics. I thought staff were obliged to call them in this situation.

Put the dog down!!!

I can't understand the victim blaming from the dog lovers. It's embarrassing to read.

Report the dog and never send her back there.

Sorry but it literally sounds like your child was rough with the dog and the poor thing retaliated and snapped. Why are you making excuses for your daughter? She’s 3. By that age they should know animals aren’t toys.

For all the people saying 'why on earth would you have a childminder with a dog'-.I don't love it either but it is so, so common. When looking for a childminder a few years ago, I looked only at childminders who were Ofsted registered good or above andrecommended by other parents. Around half had dogs. I chose one that didn't - and then she got a dog! She sent a full policy around how safety around the dog would be managed, had gates in the house to separate the children from the dog etc. but I still never felt great about it and probably would have looked elsewhere if we hadn't been due to move shortly anyway. But it really isn't some unusual madness that OP's childminder has a dog.

Why on earth would you use a childminder with a dog? It’s not just her judgement that’s iffy.

Report to OFSTED and find another minder/nursery.

@Jugglingitall85 as others have said, please report the incident.
This is simply not a safe environment for any child.

As an aside, has the CM contacted you to check how your dd is? Any apologies (not the ‘she must have come in brusquely into the room’) but proper apologies and letting you know what she is planning to do to protect the children, all of them?
Because I think it also says a lot on how she is ‘evaluating’ the situation….

And quite frankly, it is. By three children should know how to behave around pets. Regardless of what happened and why, OP should accept that.

@LandSharksAnonymous well first starter, it’s quite hard to teach a 3yo how to behave around pets if you/grand parents don’t have any at home.
So stop trying to point fingers towards the OP saying it’s all down to bad parenting. It’s not.

Then EVEN IF the child was used to be around animals, 3yo are impulsive. They shouldn’t be left around animals if they’re not under supervision. That child wasnt.

You really sound like one of those dogs owners who think poor dog can’t do anything wrong and it’s all the fault of the person/child if something happens because they should have ‘known’. Stuff that.

Nope.
When you send a child to a professional to care for it, that person is fully responsible for making space SAFE for children.

Having dogs around children is not safe in professional setting, unless you have specially trained dog.

Even in your own home it is not advised to leave children preschool age alone with animals.

My mother was a nanny in the 1940s. She adored dogs herself. One of her inflexible rules though about looking after children was that they were never left alone with a dog without adult supervision. She kept this rule with my children even though her spaniel was a big softy and endlessly patient with children. Of course children were taught how to behave around dogs - to be gentle with them, never bother them when they were eating etc. I can't imagine how this was allowed to happen by the childminder.

@Jugglingitall85please inform Ofsted and send them photos. It is for them to decide what to do but it could save this happening to another child.

A dog isn’t always put down when reported to the police - it depends on the extent on the damage, the circumstances and to a large extent who deals with the claim. If the police say your dog has to be PTS you can challenge it in court. Usually for something like this they would want something put in place to ensure it doesn’t happen again (like muzzling) or they may also look to rehome the dog if they feel it was the environment.

I grew up around animals and have had them all my life (dad’s a vet) - I have been accidentally caught by a dogs teeth when playing with toys or sticks but never really had it pierce skin. If the skin is pierced it’s usually an intentional bite - albeit it sounds relatively mild. The main thing I would be worried about is that it is an elderly dog that has never bitten before - some dogs when they go a little senile can get nervous and a nervous dog can be a dangerous dog. Dogs that are ill and in pain may bite as they have a lot of discomfort.

My aunt’s lovely docile lab had cataracts and went quite nervous in it’s old age - it bit a few people when they entered the room it was in or came up behind it so it had to be PTS. With a young dog you would consider training, muzzling etc… but with an elderly dog it can be part of a decline. If I was your child minder I would bring the dog to the vets for a check up to make sure it doesn’t have any underlying health issues.

Some dogs, like people, are also just grumpy and more likely to lash out, particularly if they are spoiled! Your child minder should not have left a dog and a child unsupervised.

Have just read the updates. Hope all goes well. I have been on both sides of the coin. Rescue dog who bit other people,guarded my DD. Peter from a puppy bit me one day, PTS. We've always had dogs since I was 13. These 2 were PTS, after several years of hard work training, not helping. My oldest DD actually told me some years ago, she used to hit the dog! I've witnessed awful dog attack damage in the ED. Recently had dgd 3 to stay, she's always known my dogs,was a bit nervous of one, I never ever left her in the room,thank god...at one point,she's sitting on the floor drawing,then jabbing the dogs face with the pencil!

OP, regardless of the circumstances your CM needs reporting to Ofsted. Leaving a child and a dog unsupervised is a major safeguarding fail. Your CM should be reporting this herself to Ofsted.

It's always risky to have small children with dogs.

Friends of ours had a very placid and friendly dog. An older dog that never bit anyone in their life. Not even a "fighting dog", a normal breed.

Until one day it bit their 5 year old son in the cheek.

I would definitely report this childminder and wouldn't send your daughter back.

I actually know of a nursery that had a puppy in the nursery with babies and toddlers because nursery owner couldn't leave it at home alone. That nursery got reported to Ofsted.

Give over.

It is a safeguarding matter. In my previous life I have investigated childminders where children have been injured in their care. It wouldn’t be acceptable if it happened in a nursery setting and a CM is held to the same standards. Please report it OP.