School have threatened to call the RSPCA.

[YappyYapster]

I've name changed for this as it's potentially quite identifying.

DC started school this term. The first few days we realised that lots of people walk their dogs to school and leave them outside the gate. I thought this was a great idea so we've been taking our dog for the past couple of weeks.

I soon realised she yaps the entire time she's left so have kept the time to a minimum, I literally wait until the door opens and then run in with DC and come back. Maybe three or four minutes at the very most. We only take her in the mornings.

Last week was lovely, I was so pleased at the great routine we were all in, DC loves walking with the dog so it makes the school run a pleasure, the dog gets a walk at the same time every day so is calm and relaxed at home the rest of the day.

Today was a disaster. I came back to find a lady with her dogs pursing her lips at me and saying 'that poor dog is so distressed'. I said, oh I know she's yappy but she's not distressed, but I am working on training her to be quieter'. She then gave me a bit of a lecture on separation anxiety and lots of (well meant I'm sure) advice on how to train her, much of which I'm already doing.

I decided then not to bring her for a while until I could train her to sit quietly. I was quite sad about it, but resigned.

Got home and a while later I had a phone call from the school. Apparently several parents have complained and if I bring her again school will call the RSPCA.

I explained that I had already decided it wasn't working to bring her and she kept speaking over me and saying it's not fair on the children or the other dogs (fair enough) and that it's cruel to let her bark and they will report me if I carry on.


I am MORTIFIED.

I spent the whole afternoon crying. Barely managed the school run this afternoon but did it by keeping my head down and not making eye contact with anyone.

I have MH difficulties so may be taking this more personally than it is. But I feel awful that people think I'm some awful abusive dog owner and I really don't want to ever go back there. Obviously I have to. It's a small village school and I think I've blotted my copybook with them forever.

Sorry for the length of this, if you've managed to get through it all I applaud you.

My AIBU is, was I unreasonable to take her in the first place? Would you consider a yappy little dog to be distressed enough to call the RSPCA?

[APlaceOnTheCouch]

Rhi our school has a rule that dogs aren't allowed on school premises (and we've already had two letters home this term to remind everyone!). If junior school parents walked with their dogs then they would need to tie them at the gate so they could bring their DCs in.

[LunaLoveg00d]

My child who is very scared of dogs used to hate running the gauntlet of yappy dogs and dogs not on the lead at the school gate. Parents saying things like "Oh she's really friendly, she won't touch you" really doesn't help.

School may have had a complaint about dogs in general from parents. I also agree that if a dog is prone to barking, it shouldn't be left tied up outside school. Having said that, parents do not go into our school with their children in the morning, they line up in the playground, parents stay outside behind the fence and the kids go in with a teacher.

[AlistairSim]

More importantly, can we see a picture of the hound in question? Be
cause it sounds adorable.

[Floggingmolly]

It's tied up outside a school, Navy. If any young children are scared of dogs they have no choice but to walk past it to enter/exit the school. Not really fair...

[YappyYapster]

Here's the vicious beastie.

[YorkieDorkie]

For what it's worth OP, you don't have to have MH issues for this to be upsetting. Please don't feel you need to justify being upset - I know I'd be exactly the same.

Hopefully it'll be water under the bridge before long .

[BummyMummy77]

Right Yorkie.

I'm usually pretty thick skinned but his would have upset and mortified me too.

[WeeMadArthur]

Could you get a dog bag? One of the mums at our school has one for her chihuahua. She walks it up to the gates and then picks it up and pops it in the bag. It's specially designed for dogs and nothing but the head sticks out.

[AlistairSim]

Aaaawwwww!
Give her a snuggle from me.

[Optimist3]

Total over reaction from staff member. Calling the RSPCA over a yapping dog my arse. Ridiculous! The RSPCA would do nothing.

But yes only calm well behaved dogs at drop off. It's quite horrid kids having to avoid noisy yapping dogs on their route in. Could be quite scary/upsetting for some kids even if the dog isn't distressed.

Probably best walk her, then do the school run separately. You can practice leaving the dog tied up in your garden first. Then at the park.

In the big scheme of things it doesn't matter that you've done this. Lots of new parents will be adjusting to new rules and will do the wrong thing. Hardly anyone will know what was said and even if they do, it will be forgotten. It's not like you've killed someone or committed a horrendous crime! It's such a minor thing.

I think the schools phone call puts the school in quite a bad light though. They used a sledge hammer to crack a nut - totally over the top and rather stupid of them. I would keep an eye out for more sledge hammer behaviour.

But actually when you said the school rung, was it the lowly secretary over excited at wielding some power. Or the head taking a power trip with new parents. Either way it looks bad

[babybythesea]

Further to my previous post, we've had dogs taken in for show and tell. And a lamb once.
I don't take my dog on the school run and have had to answer questions about why on earth not, when I took her to the school fete. How come they've never seen her before?
And the school fete featured two ponies and nearly everyone took their dog. Life is clearly very different when you are very rural!

[Caipira]

She's gorgeous. Little dogs are yappers. We have a miniture pinscher. She is a real yapper.

Seperation anxiety . Dogs don't like being left alone. Seperation anxiety is a serious condition in dogs which usually ends up with them seriously injuring themselves and others. You would not be able to leave her at home to do the school run if she had seperation anxiety. She would break windows or doors in order to escape. A lead tied to a railing would chewed to bits and she would be running amock in the playground. It's not just yapping because they are frustrated at being left alone.
People who have no clue have pilfered the word from child psychology because they think it is the same for dogs and childen. These are usually people who like to anthropomorphize dogs. As a psychologist and a farmers wife this is the one of my biggest hates.

It sounds like a bunch of people came down on you heavily, I would be upset as well.

Unless she really actually does have seperation anxiety in which case the RSPCA would be as much use as a fart in a windsock anyway and you will need a vet.

But it sounds like the school and the dog lady totally over reacted.

[harshbuttrue1980]

You were unreasonable to leave the dog tied up alone, as that would be distressing for it. However, the RSPCA - how ridiculous, and what a mountain out of a molehill. I'm a vegetarian, and very concerned about animal welfare, and even I wouldn't think the RSPCA shoudl bother about this. There are dogs being beaten, starved, and locked into houses for 10 hours a day without access to the toilet. That is abuse. You weren't abusive, just a bit silly.

[PurpleTango]

Like Baby (above) I also live in a rural area. Most people in my village take their dogs on the school run. However, we drop our children at the school gates and they have to line up in the school yard. When the bell goes their teachers escort them into their classrooms.

Personally, I wouldn't leave a dog tied up outside a school - or anywhere. But be reassured the RSCPCA will not be interested in a dog yapping outside a school, for a few minutes.

[MewlingQuim]

You've done nothing wrong. You tried it, it didn't work out, you decided to stop. No big deal.

I would love to take my dog with me for pick up but I know that if I tied her up outside people would try to touch her (she is a 'cute' dog and always attracts attention) and she would get freaked out by that. Those people would then decide it is my fault she is distressed, rather than theirs for touching someone else's dog

I'll leave her at home until DD is old enough to come out to the gate.

[SandyY2K]

They need a blanket rule. Dogs or no dogs. Even the ones that don't yap shouldn't be allowed.

I don't think this would concern the RSPCA in the slightest. Lots more serious cases of neglect going on.

[Ausernotanumber]

The can ban them being tied to the school railings, surely ?

I'm not at all a fan of dogs tied up at a school - it's mayhem at primary pick up and the chance of the dog nipping someone if it's left alone is too high a risk, surely?

[Griphook]

My ds is quite scared of dogs, he'd find it really hard to walk past a yapping dog, probably spend the whole morning crying, yadbu and quite selfish