About a childminder with Staffordshire terriers

[chilled7up]

I thought I found the perfect childminder for my son until I realised that she has 2 staffs at home. They were friendly but now I'm worried and confused. What would you do?

i wouldnt use a cm with any dogs unless she keeps them in a pen whilst children are there. theres also the issue of pooh (not the bear). if you do use her she has to check her garden regularly but make sure you talk to dc about not touching it incase.

Cherie I agree with that, it is very true that you just don't how a dog will react to a new child. And I do also think it is very different when the dog is a family pet, I have to say I don't know if I would be comfortable myself leaving my baby with a childminder who has dogs ( of any breed though, tha is what i am trying to say) that I didn't know. But at the moment, staffs seem to be the breed to vilify, a few years back it was alsations, then Rottweilers. It'll be another breed in the future I'm sure.

Yes they are stronger, I see that too. But I am just speaking from my experience where people seem to judge a staff or another strong type of animal and be really wary, then neglect the risk that another breed or animal could pose, because they aren't stereotyped as 'dangerous'. After all cats have been (obviously very rarely) known to have suffocated babies. I have more worries in a way about certain family member's cat being left around my baby when she is born, because they will dismiss the risk. Whereas with our staff, we will all be more aware to start with.

y'see there are 2 different elements to the risks when singling out a breed

1. the LIKELINESS of a bite
2. the potential EXTENT of the damage from a bite should one happen

I do not argue that re no1, staffies may be less likely to bite in the first instance then other 'nippy' breeds
HOWEVER they ARE IMO a higher risk breed because of no2

I've had little bites from nippy sheep dog type breeds, I'ld rather 10 of them then one staffie bites! so IMO a staffie is a more significant risk even if the frequency of bites are less

suffice to say none of the sheep dog bites even required medical treatment, even though one was in the face!

id just like to say i have 2staffys and 2children 1is 3and the other is a year old my staffys r fine its not the dogs its the owners if they have a lovin home they really are lovin dogs its only wen there owners beat em and make em nasty they turn nasty i had a staffy attack my staffy in the street my staffy diddnt do anythin and is now scared of other dogs it really is the owners who r the problem.

no faithsmummy you can NEVER 100% mitigate the unpredictiblily of dogs

yes a beaten dog is more likely to be aggressive
but NO! a well cared for and well managed dog is not a 100% guarentee that it'll never bite ever!

y'know which owners I think are the biggest risk? the ones who don't accept that there is a risk!

unfortunately I live in an area with quite a big underground dog fighting scene faithsmummy but they are actually not the owners that worry me when out and about as they are always on a lead for a start

its the owners who are all "oh he/she is great with kids don't worry" - well actually Mr/Mrs, you dog hasn't met MY kid before, so no you do NOT know how your dog is with MY kid - you don't, so please restrain it until they have been introduced properly IF I agree to it!

Neither situation is particularly good though is it? I agree, it's more serious for the bite to cause serious harm, but if someone is worried about the risk of something happening at all it's best not to have any dog or be around dogs at all isn't it? With regards to the childminding issue, if someone is uncomfortable with the childminder having dogs, then don't use them, as of course you have to do what feels right and whats best for your kids.

I used to be scared of dogs, that is until my brother got his staff! :-)

its the owners who are all "oh he/she is great with kids don't worry" - well actually Mr/Mrs, you dog hasn't met MY kid before, so no you do NOT know how your dog is with MY kid - you don't, so please restrain it until they have been introduced properly IF I agree to it!

Cherie I agree with that totally as well, that again shows people are not aware of the risks their dog could pose. I actually hate seeing any breed of dog off the lead when I'm out and about. As a kid it used to terrify me when dogs would run up to me in the park etc. I think dogs should be on a lead when I public, as I do worry for people who are frightened of them or are worried about their kids. I think it's what made me scared of dogs when I was younger too. My brother always has his dog on a lead, on loads of occasions he has had kids come running up to him and try to stroke he dog. He immediately tells them off and asks them 'how do you know that it's ok to do that?'. The dog just loves it as he loves the fuss but my bro tries to teach the kids to be careful and tells them to ask the owner first etc, and to ask their parent.

How on earth does a CM with 2 staffies get registered?
Just googling there are pages and pages of results about tots being mauled by these dogs.

'How on earth does a CM with 2 staffies get registered?' because, fortunately, in rl, people have what is called 'common sense' wrt dogs.

Something most mnetters seem to lack. I wonder if you can buy it?

Fgs stop with this staffy hating nonsense and use some common sense!!
ALL dogs have the potential to be dangerous if left alone with children-supervision is key with ALL dogs not just SBT!!!!-there are much larger breeds than staffs too remember.
I think aslong as the children are NEVER left alone with the dogs there is no problem

No point in trying to tell this to people who have no common sense though is there?

Just remember all of us who have and know staffs know they are beautiful. That's all that matters.

I would not use a childminder with dogs, regardless of the breed.

"How on earth does a CM with 2 staffies get registered?
Just googling there are pages and pages of results about tots being mauled by these dogs."

Really? how odd, when I google SBT I just get factual information about the breed

The problems with dogs in the house are not just biting. Their hair / fur gets everywhere. Many people are allergic to them. I always find myself rather revolted by dogs in the kitchen, licking plates, hair and slobber everywhere. And, if the dog was kept locked up and out of the house then I would feel very sorry for the dog. Now, before you shout at me, I really don't like any animals as they all make me, and one of my children, sneeze and wheeze and I have had some unpleasant experiences with my mother's dog.

I would say dogs would be a no for me and I am rather surprised that they are allowed without extreme restrictions, which would be bad for the dog, where the children are.

Unless, of course, the house is enormous!

Hairylemon you need to Google "Staffy Daily Mail"

My dog doesn't like tots, they're too sticky and stick to the roof of his mouth, the kids love 'em though, they buy bags full every pocket money day.

Have you spoken with the CM about your concerns? Are the dogs mixing freely with the children? Maybe they are in a separate part of the house?

We had a CM with a dog previously when my youngest was little. Dog was lovely, CM less so!

I think you should have a chat with the CM. Shame to lose a good CM if it's something which can be resolved.

ahh thats where I went wrong D0oin, although would that be Staffy or, that lesser known breed, Staffy Type?

I always find myself rather revolted by dogs in the kitchen, licking plates, hair and slobber everywhere.

Really Roseformeplease? See we actually use our staff to lick all our plates and cutlery clean so we don't need a dishwasher, how about that! And he slobbers so much we can actually use all the drool to mop the floor with.

FFS. Ive seen plenty of humans whose hygiene isn't as good as a dogs.

hmm.. I've nothing against dogs in private home kitchens (cats WALKING ACROSS THE FOOD PREP AREA ON THE WORK TOPS WHICH HAS FOOD ON IT however..). My dog was always allowed in our kitchen, she never learnt to beg or jump up as we never fed her from the table and we used Fairy not SlobberGleam...

but if the home is also used as a place of work where food is prepared, so BnB or CM, it doesn't seem so appropriate somehow!

Lol @ slobbergleam!

I'm going to start another thread- AIBU to sterilise my babies bottles by getting my staffy to lick them clean?!

Surely it's just common sense? As you say, no begging, no jumping up. Actually cleaning once in a while!

I didn't say it was revolting. I was careful to say,"I find myself revolted". It was expressed as an opinion, not as a fact. However, I do know of one local restaurant that was nearly closed down for having dogs in the kitchen so environmental health must have an opinion similar to mine.

Wouldn't worry me in the slightest.