To not want to shut my dog away?

[NotthespecialONE]

Bit of background - DD has had a bit of a rough time at school lately, one girl has gone out of her way to exclude my daughter from the group of girls she's friends with - generally making my dds life very unpleasant at school.
Also she has found it very hard when a new sibling came along a few months ago, she was very jealous and frustrated and her behaviour deteriorated at home.

On the recommendation of her school we involved SS to get her some help, they put in place a wishes and feelings programme for my dd where they allocated her a worker to see her twice a week, one visit at home and one outside of the home environment - first week of visits started this past week.
Lady called me to arrange a day and time for first home visit and asked if I have a dog, I said yes I do and she said the dog would have to be out of the way while she was round as she got bitten by a dog when she was a child and is petrified of them, while I don't doubt that must of been absolutely horrific for her I'm now in a dilemma cos I have no idea how I'm supposed to shut my dog away and to be honest I don't want to have to shut my dog away.
On the first visit I put my dog with my ds in his bedroom but at times I could hear my dog scratching and whining at the door to get out! He's never been shut away anywhere so it must of been very confusing for him! Second home visit is arranged for this Tuesday, ds has a football match after school so won't be home to have the dog in his bedroom, I don't want to shut my dog away in any room on his own.
I want my dd to continue on the programme as she has really enjoyed the first week and hopefully it's going to really beneficial for her but what am I going to do with my dog on her visits?

I'm real Maryz

Someone taking my dog out is a good idea and it could be possible for at least some of the visits but deciding to crate train my dog would be more beneficial in the long run especially if a situation like this ever arises again then I know I can put my dog away without causing anyone any stress (including my lovely dog)

If there's a few subjects that send MN'etters bonkers, it is breast v bottle, WOHM v SAHM, MIL's & dogs. Guaranteed bonker-dom.

If one could not be provided I would want to know what reasonable adjustments SS had made for their support worker's phobia which would make it possible for her to work with my DD.

Coffee, I suspect their answer would be that their reasonable adjustment is to expect service users to follow normal practice in shutting their dogs well away.

You've had a pretty shitty couple of months OP, well done you for wethering this thread with good humour and restraint

(When DD was a still a baby we moved back to UK and shortly afterwards a Health Visitor turned up unannounced. She was on the sofa for about 10 minutes before our JRT Mutt came out from under the table and sauntered into the kitchen for a drink. From the reaction of the HV you would have thought the dog was a 3 headed Rottweiler intent on eating her for lunch! She couldn't get to the door fast enough, and told me that "next time the dog has to be locked outside". I just calmly said "oh well, we won't be seeing you again then, sorry you've had a wasted visit" - She wasn't impressed and I found out later that she'd written me down as "one to watch, obstructive". Cheeky cow.)

I fell out with a good because of something similar. I have two small kids and she a huge dog. Whenever we visited my kids would chase the dog around, touch him and generally be a nuisance. No matter how much I explained or tried to teach them, their excitement for this animal was just too much. Mostly the dog was ok, but a few times he growled and our visits would consist of me constantly chasing my kids around. One day I asked politely if it was if the dog could be kept in the garden/other room/behind gate. My friend and her husband were hugely offended and basically said if you don't like it don't come round. I took their advise and busted again. This also meant I didn't have to feed and water them on their many visits to my house.

This woman is not very well, not nasty or unpleasant but too ill to work in other people's homes

A dog phobia (or any phobia) isn't an 'illness'!
Imagine if she had a phobia of snakes and asked you to put your pet python away when she visited. 'Oh no he always has the run of the house, he'll just curl up there in the corner and won't bother you'

Don't be silly. A python would inhabit a viv, and be let out from time to time. It would be no problem putting a python back in a viv, if someone was visiting, as that's their habitual home, where their bed, food etc is. It's completely different from a dog, whose bed is normally on the sofa, is usually included in all the home's activities, and able to wander about wherever, seeking company or avoiding it according to its own whim.

I've ever met a snake owner who, no matter how free-range their snake usually is, doesn't have a warm and comfy viv for the snake to live in.

Jux you're being obtuse. Support workers dealing with troubled families probably have to go into dirty houses where they might see a big (non pet) spider scuttle under the sofa and spider webs in all the corners - would a phobia of spiders make her unfit for her job? People also have phobias of birds, and some people have parrots and budgies they won't put away.

If the SW has a phobia it is just as valid or otherwise as a fear of wasps or spiders or birds in confined spaces... In fact a phobia of dogs after being bitten as a child is rather more logical than most phobias of things that are actually totally and utterly harmless in the UK...

As long as she doesn't have a phobia of children and teens, an animal phobia does not make her unsuitable for a job supporting children and teens.

I really don't like dogs though it's not a phobia.

I would have politely asked you to make sure the dog wasn't in the room I was in. That's it.

It all sounds very ott.

I was attacked by a dog as a child.

I would not have an issue with going to a house with a dog now, but did for many years. If you have been asked in advance then shutting the dog away or having someone walk the dog is a reasonable thing to do. Meeting elsewhere if an option is an alternative.