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 seems everyone is supposed to love the puppy and not care that it jumps up at people or is hard to control.

puppy has more rights than the children wanting to go into school without fear or muddy footprints it seems

It is not appropriate to take any dog on the school run, especially a large lively puppy.

So dumb!

It's really annoying. Leads trailing near the dog and them barking as they are excited. Can't stand it. Our school doesn't let you in the playground, You need to wait on the pavement outside. And there's always a row of people crammed in with dogs even though the school have asked you don't bring them. I think some dog owners assume people are always pleased to see dogs where ever you turn

Don't do it! There are 3 puppies in our school run atm. 2 large breeds and a spaniel. They are a massive pita.

They sniff, sniff, sniff up the pavement on the way home, holding up everyone behind them.

They pee/poo frequently. Which involves everyone behind stopping and waiting whille it's picked up or walking round onto a busy road.

1 looks permanently terrified and miserable. The other 2 are like 'hi wanna be my friend' and trying to jump up and fuss everyone.

The kids all wanna fuss the puppies. Mine included. Which involves me explaining why he can't fuss a muddy puppy just before school.

Take your pup for a walk after the school run.

Why not? As long as he's vaccinated and the walk isn't too long seems fine to me.

I always took mine but kids were older and one of the school entrances is actually within a park
He also never jumped up as I had him on a short leash and he learnt no jumping quite quickly
I also stood back in park area and any parent who used that gate was likely to walk past many dogs , the other entrance is on a road

Anyone that doesn't find puppies cute must be a right odd ball.

I'd end up getting on your nerves because I'd just be cooing at him. 😃

I think puppies are cute. I love dogs. But I can still see why outside a school gate isn’t a sensible place for one!

it’s also not fair on the dog in a lot of cases.

Picture of a puppy, cute perhaps. Puppy jumping up and terrifying a small child? Not fucking cute. And anybody who can't understand that is the odd ball.

For what it's worth, my 5 pence worth.

At our school it's rammed both side of the road with parents and kids, scooters prams bikes etc. then you add dogs into the mix. Not everyone loves dogs. Not everyone loves your dog. The amount of times leads get wrapped round legs, dogs weeing and pooing, dogs not liking other dogs so a bark off starts (at best).

I can see the school run and a dog walk is two birds on stone but personally I'd say please don't.

It’s not children’s job to socialise your puppy. Keep it away.

Really bloody annoying.

The number of dogs at my grandchildren’s school drop off and collection has increased considerably .
The loitering by the gate is a PITA, the dogs are in everyone’s way, the crap is a nightmare to avoid as no bugger seems to pick it up. There are half a dozen dogs tied up to the railings that you have to give a wide berth to avoid the lunging, and the whining and barking is relentless.
A major annoyance are the owners who carry their dogs into the playground and seem to think it’s ok as it’s “just a tiny dog/ puppy “so the No Dogs rule doesn’t apply to them.

I would only do it when I had close, which you should be able to get by now. But I don't know how you'd keep connection and parent. The concern would be he learns he's adored, learns it's fine to ignore you when people are squealing about him and is awful as he grows bigger and people are less keen. At this age it's quite easy to establish heel/close with no lead with a golden retriever. I think I'd be working on that in a different environment. He didn't strike me as a breed that needs to learn to love children.

I was thinking about this today because there is a lady at my dd school who takes her sausage dog on the school run and all teachers fuss it because it's tiny and cute. I have a retriever who is the laidback softest and calmer dog ever. She's well trained and loves children. I wouldn't take her on the school run but just to see what the reply would be, I asked a teacher on the yard if I could take in my retriever one day and her reply was "no dogs are allowed, the pup is tiny and can't do much in the owners grasp". What if a child spooked the dog by jumping over to stroke it and it nipped them, or a child being scared of dogs no matter what the size, or even allergies. So that reply seemed to mean small dogs are allowed but no others. There was a lady at the gate last week who was taking her dog to the groomers and stopped at the gate, not on school grounds to wave her child off before hand. A teacher asked her to move further away incase children became scared all whilst just having been stroking the tiny pup the lady had....no dog policy should mean no dogs. Not little dogs welcome other dogs sod off! It really annoys me when I see dog owners waving off their children outside the gate and this women strolls in everyday with her sausage dog.

I don't think it is fair on the dog or the children.

My year 2 child is PETRIFIED of dogs. She will run away if a dog is anywhere near her and walks along always on the lookout of dogs.

Her fear has been made worse by owners who have allowed their dog to go up to her (on extended leads). Telling someone who is scared that the dog is 'friendly' really does nothing to help the anxiety.

A few parents have taken to tying up their dog at the school gates and it's so hard to get her into school because she gets so upset/scared to walk past the dog.

Please leave your dog at home.

I wouldn’t have posted it here, there’s a lot of very hysterical mumsnetters.

The puppies at my daughter’s school literally get mobbed, whether it’s because it’s a small rural town there doesn’t seem to be this huge fear you read about on here. Very good socialisation if you don’t have a nervous dog because they will get a lot of attention.

👏🏻👏🏻

You shouldn’t need strength to control him if he’s being trained properly. Words will work rather than him straining or pulling on the lead. We’ve got a large breed dog. We got him as an adult and we’ve trained him to walk well but you have to keep going with the training otherwise they kind of regress.

I think school run is a really good idea to train him how to walk and wait calmly and how to behave around people. Use it as a training exercise.

Dogs are not appropriate on a school run.

or most places like shopping centres, restaurants and the local climbing wall. They are animals not toys.

I think you are doing the right thing taking him. X

And if the dog upsets a child who is terrified of dogs, @allboysherebutme? Is it OK that they have to go into school unhappy/scared because someone has brought their pup to the school gates?

No. People do and it’s inappropriate.