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

What about the children who are scared or even terrified of dogs, @BankseyVest - is it fair to make them walk past a dog on their way in or out of school? Would you, as a parent, want your child going into school upset and scared every day, just so someone could socialise their dog?

Jumping at even one child is unacceptable. Get him in a sit, teach him 'Look at me', treat. He needs to ignore passers-by. Took me a while with two puppies, but now they are angels. Perhaps you need a figure of 8 on him? It gives you far more control than a fixed collar/lead.

I can believe the amount of parents who don't want a puppy to be on the school run. Do you insist that your children don't walk in an open space, in case you happen to walk your little soldier past a family pet, or maybe you don't take your dc to the park in case some inconsiderate person happens to be walking their dog.

All I did was suggest a sign on the lead stating 'do not pet', that way parents know not to let their children approach and everyone is happy. You do realise this is what guide dogs for the blind have on their leads when training puppies. It's not like the op is proposing she walks her pet tiger to school. She even said she'd not go onto school property.

How on Earth do some of you get your dc to school, if I'm getting slated for saying a sign on a puppy might help, how on Earth do you cope with crossing main roads, parked cars, or heaven forbid you see a squirrel or a cat. Jesus it's a puppy on a lead that's not on school property, not a man eating python

By three months he should have been taught good enough manners that you’re not struggling to control him with strength. He’ll only get bigger, so educate him properly.

It's good to get him used to busy pavements children and other dogs. Don't take him in the playground

I think your being too hard on yourself and the kids.
Teenagers can be complete dicks. I used to dread some weekends as teen mood dependent determined how much enjoyment we would all have!
They often appeared ungrateful.

However all now young adults and all super lovely. Really have grown into thoughtful, kind people.

It's a phase. Just keep reiterating what your expectations are of their behaviour. That and a good friend to offload to!

Ah wrong thread 🤦🏻‍♀️

@BankseyVest - I think the issue with a dog at the school gates is that even a severely dog phobic child has to go to school, whereas in other areas of life a parent can take the dog phobic child a different way or to a different place - a different part of the park, for example. But if the dog is right by the school gates, the phobic/scared child has to walk past them to get into school.

We have dogs, and I love dogs, but I wouldn’t dream of being as unpleasant about children who are scared of dogs as you!

Dogs at the school gate are a right pain in the arse.

@BankseyVest it's actually very restrictive when you have a dog phobic child. So yes parks are difficult, anywhere that's popular with dog walkers like woods are an absolute no no, certain beaches are a no no depending on time of year and so on. We are largely restricted to national trust properties if I'm honest as DD feels safe there.

But she has to go to school, we can't avoid that. Luckily she's started secondary now so there aren't loads of dogs around, but the walk to primary would cause her a lot of upset sometimes.

As for going on about squirrels and cats, why do you have to be so dismissive and nasty? You know full well that squirrels and cats aren't upsetting children on the school run.

And "little soldier"? No, mine is an autistic child with a debilitating phobia. Have some compassion.