The school is getting a school dog

[Worriedaboutthedoggy]

The school had sent out a newsletter today that they are getting a school dog. The letter has all the positives mentioned - they are getting it from a reputable breeder and good bloodlines, it is a hypoallergenic breed (labradoodle), it will be staying in a family environment when off duty (presumably with a member of staff), it will teach the children about the importance of caring for someone - but I still am feeling a bit weird about it, can't put my finger on why exactly.

I am not sure about the impact on the dog - won't it be stressed by the usual playground ruckus? What if it turns out to be wrong temperament?

I am also ashamed to admit that one aspect that concerns me is financial. The average lifetime cost of keeping a dog in the UK (according to google) is around £18K, and I can't help feeling that there are better ways to spend these money (the school is currently fundraising for quite basic things).

Please do tell me I am BU and a total killjoy, and please do tell me your positive stories.

I am not sure how me asking questions qualifies as "mouth frothing" and "pearls clutching". I am really sorry if my post had triggered a bad emotional reaction in anyone

Nah it's just a MN dog thread. They always go the same way. To read one you'd think that keeping dogs was akin to keeping a dragon and that they are all just straining at the leash to attack a toddler. It's ridiculous levels of froth and anger that just isn't seen in real life.

my dd has sn, she is petrified of dogs, actually any animal really. She cannot relax if there's an animal in the room. If she thought a dog might appear at some point during the school day, she'd be so anxious and worried.

My DD too. I would not matter that the school would keep the dog away, in a separate room/annex whatever, if my DD knew there was a dog on the school premises she would not be able to control her anxiety. No matter how much the school would try to reassure her, there would always be the 'what if someone accidentally left the door open and it got out?' at the back of her mind. And that could very easily happen, so she is not being outrageously irrational. There are too many ways that a scared child could have their school time, which lets face it is compulsory, turned into a time of constant fear of the dog- and that is really not fair.

Humph, I know a headteacher who's made their dog the 'school dog'. Real reason is their partner worked nights so was home in the day when they first got it. They split, dog was destroying the house and barking so suddenly the dog was a 'school dog'.
It sounds like a ridiculous distraction to me and I wouldn't be happy if it was at my dc school

Literally five posts before yours is an account of a dog roaming the corridors.

Fine but it's still very unlikely (I even somewhat doubt whether that's story is true) by far the majority of school dogs don't work like that.

Not RTFT but have lots of experience and qualifications in dog behaviour/welfare. I would make sure that if the school are doing this they have a qualified behaviourist to advise on how to manage the pup. Too many people know not enough on dog body language and behaviour.
Also, I would be very sceptical of someone claiming to be a good breeder who breeds doodles. Even the guy who invented labradoodles regrets it because of the negative impact it has had on their welfare.
School dogs can have a huge positive impact on kids learning and emotional development but only if it is carefully planned out and the temperament of the pup/dog is suitable for the environment.

DD went to two special schools, which had a dog. The idea of walking the dog really motivated her!

Still, one had the dog on its farm, which was a 10 minute walk from the school on a 60 acre campus, so allergies and phobias would not have been a problem!

My DD too. I would not matter that the school would keep the dog away, in a separate room/annex whatever, if my DD knew there was a dog on the school premises she would not be able to control her anxiety. No matter how much the school would try to reassure her, there would always be the 'what if someone accidentally left the door open and it got out?'

My dd has autism and is terrified of insects. Even photos or models of them. She won't go into a room if one has been spotted there. She didn't go to my sisters house for two years because she'd spotted spiders webs and a daddy long legs up in a corner of the hall ceiling. Should the entire school not learn about mini beasts, not draw or model them or learn about their life cycles and should trips to the zoo or natural history museum be cancelled because of her phobia?

Obviously some people are scared of dogs but I do find it odd that so many children are. Are they scared because one of the parents is and so think there is a reason to be scared?

When I walk my dog I quite often see someone with a child cross the road even when the pavement is wide and my dog is by (say) my right hand side and the person would be walking on my left hand side. I also fairly often get people grabbing their young child and holding them up as though I have a tiger on a lead. My dog is just over labrador size so not some massive beast. He also totally ignores anyone we see unless they actually speak to him or ask to stroke him.

If seeing a dog around the school would help some of the scared children it surely would only be good? Dogs are everywhere so being scared of them must be a nightmare. I am terrified of spiders but luckily don't come across them that often.

DH often does work for a muslim customer. He always said he didn't like dogs and was a bit scared of them. The few times he has been to our house we have put our dogs in another room so he doesn't have to see them. He also said his children were scared of them. His eldest daughter has now left home and has a dog. He and his wife have fallen in love with it and are saying they regret never having one as they feel they have missed out.

Wow, massive respect for the staff member putting their new pet through on expenses

Avoidance is a really bad way to deal with anxiety though. I’m not trying to dismiss your DDs anxiety, I’m not a great fan of dogs and my DD was also very scared of dogs a few years back, but the way to overcome phobias is to be exposed to them in a controlled safe environment. Having a dog in the school has really helped with my DDs dog phobia. She still doesn’t like them as such but she doesn’t go hysterical so we have to cross the road when we see one now.

Is it a therapy dog - so specially trained? We have one at my hospital. He is owned by the head Occupational Therapist and comes in to work with her (not every day - I think she works from home some of the time). Once a week he does a visit to all the wards and on other days patients take him for walks or he might visit a particular patient.

My dd has autism and is terrified of insects. Even photos or models of them. She won't go into a room if one has been spotted there. She didn't go to my sisters house for two years because she'd spotted spiders webs and a daddy long legs up in a corner of the hall ceiling. Should the entire school not learn about mini beasts, not draw or model them or learn about their life cycles and should trips to the zoo or natural history museum be cancelled because of her phobia?

But insects are wild, that is not the same as choosing to bring a dog into the school.

@lynsey91 - my son became scared of dogs because someone let their dog come running up to him aggressively barking. I was a bit afraid of dogs running up to me for a while as a child as a dog ran up to me and bit me.

Avoidance is a really bad way to deal with anxiety though. I’m not trying to dismiss your DDs anxiety, I’m not a great fan of dogs and my DD was also very scared of dogs a few years back, but the way to overcome phobias is to be exposed to them in a controlled safe environment. Having a dog in the school has really helped with my DDs dog phobia. She still doesn’t like them as such but she doesn’t go hysterical so we have to cross the road when we see one now.

But that is something that should be worked on away from school, where the child and the parent can exercise some control over how much exposure and when to call time when it becomes too much. You can't do that if the school dog is always there. It is also difficult enough to get my DD into school in the first place, as her anxiety is crippling. It would just seems really unfair to make her have to face yet another source of fear and anxiety just to do the thing that she is obliged to do everyday and has no choice over. Children have to be in school- dogs don't.

But insects are wild, that is not the same as choosing to bring a dog into the school

Yes so there's no control over them as there would be with a dog, multiple insects come in uninvited and are regularly learned about as part of the NC. Should I try to prevent this because my child doesn't like it, ignoring the benefits it will bring to the majority of other students?

Aside from therapy dogs or in certain environments, what are the actual benefits of a teacher bringing their bred dog into a school, other than it means they don't have to pay for doggy day care?

Wendy- I think that wild insects -spiders etc straying into classrooms can be removed easily as they don't belong there. So if your child was having an anxiety attack over them being there they could be removed. It is harder with a dog, as if it is the school dog where do you remove it to? I also think that if a child is so anxious about something that they won't come to school if it is there- and it is easy and practicable to remove or not have that thing there in the first place, then yes, I think that thing should be kept out of school where possible. Other children can learn about dogs out of school, they don't have to have one on the premises to learn about them. Otherwise how would they learn about horses, elephants, jet engines etc?

I think that wild insects -spiders etc straying into classrooms can be removed easily as they don't belong there.

The spiders etc could just come back in. There could be loads. They could be al around the building

The dog shouldn't be all around the building and shouldnt just appear at anytime.

Dogs are good for the soul.

They don't judge you, they give love unconditionally, they frequently show pure in the moment joy, they have no ego, they don't care about your ego, so it disappears.

They bring so much that is now missing in schools and which children need.

Schools need more soul. Children need it, real connection which they know instinctively is authentic, the shared love and ownership of a dog is so bonding for a family, and the same for a school.

So much of this can't be measured.

All schools should have a dog . And other animals.
And a garden, with lots of trees and wild areas.
And communal singing every day.
And lots of music making.
And dancing , together, just for the joy of it.
And eating together, adults and children, at lunch times around a table, to chat, in family style groups.

I think the child mental health crisis would significantly decline if we did more of these.

School dogs can have a huge positive impact on kids learning and emotional development

And a massively negative impact on others (and make for an unpleasant working environment for the staff)

If it's felt that spending time with animals (not just dogs) would be beneficial for kids then take them to spend time with them. But don't impose them on everyone.

I know people think there's something wrong with you if you don't like dogs in particular, and animals in general. But I don't like being licked or jumped up at. Dogs are much more demanding than cats or house rabbits, for example.

My brother is highly allergic to dogs and has severe asthma attacks around them as a child this hospitalised him. It's the dander not the hair that caused this. When he moved in to a new house, he had to sleep in a tent in the garden until it had a very expensive deep clean. Obviously, no dog had to present to cause that allergic reaction, it was its past presence in the house that had caused it. My daughter's friend has just bought a cockapoo and as lovely as he is, I go away with my eyes swollen and streaming.

School's didn't have dogs for these reasons in the past though. My headmistress at my prep school had a small dog but it was for her convenience and it wasn't a school dog. I think children don't have hobbies anymore or passions like music and art, I think that's much more do with the feeding of the soul myself!

Lots of schools did have dogs in the past.

My son has a dog at his school and it's great, one of his friends has anxiety and when he feels bad he can go take the dog for a walk and it helps him, also my son is dyslexic and would read to the dog as he found it less embarrassing but had the comfort of the dog there. He is a teachers pet so the school doesn't cover costs

@Goldenbear - children tend to have too many hobbies these days if anything! Most of the DC at my DDs school go to 2 school clubs, some do a couple of other clubs too. My DD does piano, gymnastics, choir and Brownies.