Whats your thoughts on taking a puppy on the school run

[Lichensclerosus]

I've been taking my 3month pup with me on the school run in the mornings. I don't take him into the playground or school grounds. I stand outside the gate and watch my 2 kids go in and try to keep out of the way of people as much as possible nor let him jump up and if he does then of course I apologise and address him to sit ect.

Im just interested to know your thoughts would you take a puppy on the school run? Not going to lie I have found it a bit stressful the last few times his quite a large puppy already(golden retriever mix) so does take a lot of strength to control him but then at the same time its great to socialise him with other children and get him use to the morning traffic /noises ect

It’s really unfair on the children who are scared of dogs. And by the way children who are scared of dogs start off fearless, they become scared because of badly-trained dogs leaping up at them.

@Unseelie I completely agree with you. My dd became terrified of dogs after a woman invited her to pat her dog on a lead when she was 2.5 years old. The dog jumped on her and snapped at her face. I picked up dd and the dog still continued to jump and snap at her as I walked away with my terrified toddler. The woman was laughing. Not once did she pull her dog back. Before that incident my dd loved dogs and I trusted that people would only invite a child to pat their dog if it was safe and they knew how to handle their dog.

If someone was standing at the school gate with a dog she would have been too scared to go through the gate. It would cause her a great deal of distress.

Knowing that some children are terrified of dogs I think it is awful, selfish at best and outright nasty at worst (deliberately intimidating children who are scared of dogs) to be standing near the school gate with a dog especially one that jumps up on people and is difficult to control.

As long as I got a quick stroke i wouldn’t mind at all!

Really no need for the language is there!

I have a dog and don't take him on the school run. It's really not fair to children who are scared of dogs. I take him out for a walk afterwards and socialise him then. It's overwhelming for a pup to be surrounded by the chaos of school run as well.

If you don't like the language behave more responsibly, because that's definitely what some parents and more responsible dog owners are saying behind your back

As a more moderated, less sweary viewpoint

If he's on a tight leash and not jumping up then going by a quiet gate and keeping him out of the way is fine. It's called a public highway

If you can't do these things at the moment due to training, age, size etc then nope wouldn't at the moment

My 7 month old black lab comes on the school run, but we stand well clear of the gates and the queue, he's kept on a short lead and because of my snack bag he sits with full attention on me. He gets a lot of attention from children and other dogs which he ignores as I have the snacks and he's being taught to ignore distraction. I'm training him to get used to buggies, people, other dogs and noise levels, it's a public footpath so I have every right to be there, however I wouldn't take him at that time of day if he pulled and jumped up, neither would I leave him tied to the gates. We have a number of dogs that do the school run and sadly some of them are dreadfully behaved and should not be there, suffice to say the owners attitude to their dogs behaviour is as bad as the dogs behaviour....

My 3.5 year old on stony beach couple of metres from me. Knocked over and hit head. Cautious about dogs since, even when we had a dog.

I’ve been forced to climb into a field twice by dogs threatening to bite. I’ve been bitten once when out running. I also have been scratched numerous times by dogs jumping up, once I was physically pushed by huge dog into a hedge and sprained my ankle.

Went for a walk with then 7, 5, 3 and baby in buggy. Dog off lead jumped up and pushed over 2 of the 3 children, one was against wall and so couldn’t fall. I couldn’t help them as had baby in arms out of buggy as dog jumped in there too. I was frantically shouting for owner. I was terrified, the children all crying and took months to undo their fear of dogs. Dog owner turned up and predictably said “he’s just being friendly”.

To all the people who think having their dogs jump up on people is ok, fuck off.

"We took our puppies up to the gate, but not in school grounds, too. It's very good socialisation and lots of the kids love it!"

And lots don't. Also don't care about your dogs socialisation. So entitled

But you have no idea where I stand, how many children are in the very small school, you don't know the lay out of the school so being called scum is definitely not needed.
I have control of him he doesn't just jump at every kid. When people come up to him with their hands up high being high pitched tones is when he will jump and thats when I re address him back into a sit and apologise

SWARE LANGUAGE OR BEING CALLED NAMES IS NOT NEEDED, views and opinions i will take on bored but absolutely no need for the rudeness

I used to take mine but didn’t enter the school premises and made sure I stood somewhere that meant nobody needed to walk past us if they didn’t want to

You said you can't control him when he jumps up. What else does anyone need to know?

You can do that in many other places.
At a school the priority is the children. Not dog training.

Nope I didn't say that at all I said it takes a lot of strength to control him didn't say anything that I cant do it

I have always taken mine to school.
I always have them sat quietly.
I think as long as you ensure he isn’t able to behave in a way that’s going to unsettle people ie rushing/lunging at people, jumping at people etc, I think it’s fine.

I have control of him he doesn't just jump at every kid.

What a funny wording.
If your dog jumps at one kid, it is one kid too much
Children waving there hands and making high pitched tones doesn't make any difference, the school gate is a place designated for children and if your dog isn't calm enough for it, it just doesn't belong there

We used to have a strict no dogs in the playground policy, one parent with a snappy yappy constantly flouted it and when challenged said “ but I always carry him”. It was pointed out to her that carrying snappy yappy put him at the face level of most of the children….. she used to leave him in the car after that.

I’ve got 2 dogs and one is a 6 month old cockapoo.

i hate jumpy dogs myself and I’m working very hard to train her not too. I don’t put her in situations with children where she can because I’m well aware of the fear that jumpy dogs can cause.

op you said that you apologise if your pup jump up and pull him back. That means he’s still jumping up! And he’s a big dog! Honestly there are more appropriate ways and places to socialise and train your dog and near school gates isn’t it

It's one of the most normal things to do to bring your dog on the school run, certainly preferable to all the cars.

However, make sure your dog sones't jump, you don't block the entrance to school, pick up poo and have your dog on a lead.

My kids and I absolutely love it when people bring puppies on the school run so it wouldn't bother any of us at all. But you could always ask in your class whatsapp group if you have one? There's a lot of dog haters on MN which doesn't feel reflective of my real life at all, so this probably isn't the best place to ask.

I think it’s great. The more puppies I see, the better!

At my school, LOADS of parents take their dogs on the school run. No one seems to care, but the dogs seem fairly well trained. I personally don't take my dog, because he gets excited about other dogs and can bark a lot. But, taking pup from a young age makes sense, he'll become used to it and it's a good opportunity to train him. Take treats with you as a distraction if he goes to jump up at people.

I have found the opposite.

I have a child with a severe dog phobia, and talking to other people about it in real life has opened my eyes to just how many people don't like dogs.