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.

And the way to deal with that is to gently introduce them to one. If they see the other children reacting well it will help calm their fears.

I used to be scared of dogs, then one bit me. I hated them after that.

My aunts all had them, so I was slowly introduced to them. Turns out my fears were entirely rational!

I am no longer scared of dogs, nor hate them.
But I totally have no time for them. I don't want your dog to leap up at me, put it's dirty paws on me, sniff me, breathe near me, nick my food out of my hand, shit on my garden. etc.

If I'm in the dog's house I will tolerate it, but tbh there's a lot of people I don't bother visiting any more because they have a dog now.

School is compulsory. The dog would be being forced on me. And as a pupil, I would have no say or right to complain about it.

And the way to deal with that is to gently introduce them to one

And a specifically expressed desire NOT to be introduced to one should be overlooked

No respect for personal choice or boundaries in a nutshell.

NO ONE wants to be introduced to a dog because that dogs owner has decided that them not wanting to makes the person and not the owner deficient in manners and personal skills.

So more than anything it’s cultural for you?
I am struggling to answer this for myself, but probably yes (I am not religious or consciously consider dogs impure or anything, must be just some echoes of my childhood). I lived with dogs before, one of my exes had dogs and I was ok with it. DC does not have allergies or phobias, and neither do I, so I can't claim it would affect us in any adverse way.

If someone is allergic to dogs, they don't need to be in their presence to experience symptoms, just be in a space the dog has been in. It's unlikely to be life threatening but could cause a lot of discomfort. If someone had severe hayfever, you wouldn't fill a school with flowers year round.

They aren't talking about filling the school with dogs though.
My old HT's dog used to live in his office, or be walked around the field. I didn't have any reason to go into the HT's office. He may well have had a vase of flowers in there. Wouldn't affect the overwhelming majority of dc as they don't go in there.

My DC went to boarding school for a few years. The school was full of dogs. Live in staff would bring thier digs into lessons. They'd just sit under the desk quietly.
Kids were involved in walking them on school grounds sometimes.
House staff had dogs too.
My kids loved the dogs. They were just like family pets but in and around school. Even during academic school hours.
Dogs came and went with thier staff member but no trauma caused by it. I recall some sadness when one if the HeadMasters dogs was put to sleep at a grand old age, but that's part of life.
My kids are all grown up now and speak very fondly still of these dogs.

As long as the animal is under the care of a staff member I don't see the problem.

We’ve got chickens at school and they’re fab. They live in a large run and children get picked to collect the eggs and generally help out. When my son started school and was tearful at drop off his teacher would take his hand and ask him to come and collect the eggs and say hello to the chickens, and the promise of this every morning helped him through those first few tricky days.

After a few days he would see another upset child and say “I think X needs the chickens more than me today”

They will even sit on a child’s lap (if they want) and this has helped a friend’s boy who was behind with his reading as he loves reading to the chickens.

So a school pet in general can be a lovely idea but I’m not mad keen on dogs as they are so much more work.

And they don’t lay eggs.

Our primary school didn,t have a school dog as such, but there was the care takers dog Sam. He was a lovely good natured retriever. He sat in doorways a lot and wasn,t allowed in class rooms. He was in good con and well looked after. My chilrrens school had the care takers cat. He wasn,t allowed in the school but like to sit in the entrance getting attention. He left with the last care taker.

Whilst I would have loved it if there had been a dog at my school, I think it's an impractical idea, for the reasons already listed.

Some practices in schools nowadays seem to ride roughshod over safeguards and rights that have to be observed in the workplace. Posters are saying that having a school dog is now fashionable, notwithstanding genuine safety and health concerns. Similarly, schools' draconian stance towards attendance, with censure for absence without a dr's note, and 100% attendance awards that deny treats to the genuinely ill and disabled, all seem to be straight out of the 1970s.

The RSPCA don't approve according to one of their education officers

This is awful.
Labradoodles aren't automatically hypoallergenic.
I know a few, they're all nutcases, one has bitten a few adults and they've all forgiven it because the owners are 'lovely'.
It's bad enough when schools have hamsters passed around to a different family each weekend but to do it with a dog is utter lunacy.

Why not just ask the school? I don’t understand why people are so quick to jump on the old keyboard to ask if they are unreasonable with no actual facts. Find the facts out, you would not be unreasonable to ask. Eg how will the school fund this? What will happen to the pup after school, weekends and holidays. Once you have these details then ask if you’re unreasonable.

If my daughter goes near any dog she has an asthma flare up, last time it lasted a week so her attendance would drop dramatically. She can't go in any room that has a dog in or has had one in it.

Agreed.

My DM would have probably been taken to court in this era over my number of absences due to health, but they were legitimate. Additionally she recognised there were days, due to levels of bullying, were my mental health couldn't take much more and I needed time out.

I find this new system were parents are cross examined like criminals for letting their child have as little as 2 days off in a row, really bizarre and actually imposing upon and prohibiting responsible good parenting.

Sorry that post was to @Fozzleyplum

they're all nutcases

No. Ours was lovely and I know quite a few others that are similar. All dogs have their own personalities.

@eeyore228 you are right, I will definitely ask the school about the details. I was asking for positive stories on here, as I wanted to manage my own initial negative reaction.
I can't see it costing not a penny to school, as many people upthread said. There will be at least an impact on the public liability insurance cost and increased admin cost due to new health and safety issues to be managed, no?

Wow I didn’t know this was a thing now. I work in a school and there isn’t any around that do this. There was a rabbit in one of the Primary schools years ago. It was open plan and bunny hopped around nursery and reception. He was lovely I worked there for three weeks and my BFs children went there.

We’ve had the Police sniffer dog and the Mountain Rescue dog visiting.

My dd’s first school had a dog. It was specially trained, similar to how a seeing eye dog is trained. It wore a special vest to identify it as a working dog. It was trained to not react. I watched that dog get petted by 400 very not quiet kids in a row every morning and it never even flinched. When my daughter was having trouble and needed the counselor, she was willing to go because it meant she got to cuddle the dog while she talked.

My only concern would be if one of the children had bad allergies.

My son’s school has two school dogs and a school rabbit. The dogs are both fully trained and certified therapy dogs, the rabbit is just a chill dude with a penchant for fresh veg and hopping about his quad.

The animals are invaluable to the children, and have done wonders for my boy who was previously petrified of dogs.

When I went to school the headteacher's labradors used to plod around everyday, they basically had free reign to go anywhere and were incredibly doted on by all the pupils, I often had a cry then found one of her labs to stroke and cheer me up!
But genuinely surprised their allowed in schools now with allergies etc.

We had a school cat, it belonged to the headteacher and was given free rein of the school with a bed and a quiet place in the headteacher's office.
We loved it, can't recall any problems at all.

Older kids are day pupils at a boarding school - lots of dogs - they love it as we can’t have one.

They are very therapeutic for all kinds of kids/issues.

@SpruceTree. Perhaps we could all just stop breathing. Would that please you?!

Our school has a visiting dog that the kids read to, while any unknown dogs make me nervous the kids seem to love it and it seems bro be a real positive. As long as she is safely and well socialised I a m sure it will all be fine.

Some of the responses are really sad. The only thing I would not like is that they are not getting a rescue. Greyhounds are better with allergies, as they have no dander, plus they are calm and very gentle. This school has school dogs, started with one and now there are 3, having a roster for different days. Their introduction has had unmeasurable benefits, both being calming, boosting the confidence of kids reading to them, etc.

It would great if they could re-home a dog and teach the children about the problems of neglected and abandoned dogs rather than go for a trendy and expensive mongrel.