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?

Grrr

...that your tiny DG has been tied up well away from the gate, not bothering anyone. Tell her that THREATS to call the RSPCA are over the top & unwarranted.

This is all about you, and not about the distress that its causing visitors to the school and also the dog.

The school is right, you can train the dog elsewhere the child cannot go to school elsewhere.

I'm so glad dogs are banned from our school, due to a child's allergies.

The op child is at school.

Presumably she can walk the dog either earlier in the morning, or later during the day? She is clearly at home as she knows the dog is relaxed the rest of the day.

No need to take it on the school walk since she's not able to control the dog and has to tie it up which it finds distressing.

The other soliton will be that once her child is older, the child can run into school themselves and she can wait with the dog and watch them go in.

Dogs weren't allowed in the playground at my dc primary school.

don't agree with " leave it at home and walk it another time " some times it might be the only time that dog gets the chance for a walk.

Not really anyone else's problem. I'm sure many horse owners don't get much time to ride when they have kids. You don't see them all rocking up on their nags.

I walk my dog in the morning. Then I pay a dog walker to take him out in the daytime and my kids walk him in the afternoon. He gets a run round the block just beforehand

Maybe I should just take him to work because that's the only time I have that isn't inconvenient? What a load of nonsense. There's always another time you can walk the dog. If you can't walk it, don't have it. Or pay someone to walk it for you.

*before bedtime

Much as I hate yappy dogs I doubt the RSPCA would even respond.

She wouldn't know the dog was calm all day if she wasn't in the house she or someone else must be, else they wouldn't know.

The RSPCA (from my experience) often aren't interested in genuine cases of cruelty so I think they would just laugh if someone rang them over a yapping dog! As pp's have said though I wouldn't leave my dof tied up anywhere even for a minute. There are so many reports/appeals on facebook etc of dogs going missing.

My next door neighbour thought their dog was calm all day when the went out and left it. Until me and loads of others complained about the constant barking

Much like with kids. If you're not there you don't know.

The only way the op will know the dog is so calm and relaxed at home after the walk as she says in her first post is if she or someone is around the dog.

I could be reading what she said wrong but it seemed to me that she or someone was with the dog in the day.

But it's little odds because she's not taking the dog again 🙂

How weird. There are lots of yappy dogs at our gates. Nobody cares.

I'm feeling a bit stronger about the whole thing today. I'm going to her into a routine of walking when I get back from school, the extra walk will do me good anyway.

I'm going to hold my head up high in the playground and not let it worry me.

Apologies OP I haven't RTFT (have a school run to do myself), but I wanted to address the "several people have complained" aspect. Knowing playground politics, it is probably 1 or 2 parents and their friends. It doesn't necessarily represent the views of the majority!

Happy dogs and school run don't mix. You made a mistake.

You have no idea if there have really been several complaints, may not be true, more likely one or two.

School secretaries have a habit of speaking to mature grown women as though they are 7 or 8.

95% of the playground won't have made the connection between you and the dog - those who did will have other petty issues on teir minds y Thursday.

Shoulders back, head up, smile, greet and move on.

Yes hold your head high. It's nothing worth dwelling on

Everyone misjudges situations sometimes.

I know it is hard to see when you have anxiety but this really isn't a biggy.

You had a problem, you sorted a solution, now there is no problem.

All good.

They overreacted but I can't believe you thought this was a good idea in the first place. I hate seeing dogs tied up. Our school has big signs up saying no dogs and that includes leaving them at the gate.

The only reason I even considered it was because we saw lots of dogs tied up, I thought it was a good idea. I hadn't factored in how much she'd yap.

We ended up being ten minutes late this morning because DS had a HUGE tantrum so I am really making a great impression. Oh well. It's only the playground, it's not real life.