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.

When I got my Labradoodle pup the school I worked in asked if I would like to bring the pup in which I was all for. However, she is a bit older now and still excitable and bouncy and not appropriate for school so I never took them up in this offer

....and I'm dog mad, I love dogs but she just wasn't right for a school environment imo

@frostedviolets if ita a trained service dog, the temperament is right. Or it wouldnt be a trained service dog.

It would be a dog that was tried to be trained as a service dog, but didnt complete the training as it wasnt possible for that dog.

By being a trained service dog, everything you said applies before its classed as a trained service dog.

Lots of schools have dogs. It does seem to be increasing, and schools are not in the habit of taking on extra activity if not helpful, so I assume there have been many benefits for all involved. Parents who dislike dogs do tend not to allow their children to develop a different attitude toward dependent animals. They are often completely focused on their own preference or comfort whether that be due to fear or allergy or even just a personal aversion.
However a lack of empathy toward other living creatures introduced into our environment, and a low level of focus on respecting other creatures needs before our own, is part of the reason we have environmental problems, so I do think that this is a good thing overall if it improves the awareness of young people.
I do wonder how schools deal with allergies as some people have very severe allergies to dogs. Perhaps there are restrictions on where the dog goes.

I've known two schools with dogs and their presence has bought nothing but benefits. Well behaved children get to spend time with them and the smile on my autistic dd's face when she came out of school after she was allowed to sit with and read a story to the school dog was a sight to behold.

Strange how on every other thread schools and teachers know best and don't challenge them lest you be THAT parent but in relation to school dogs according to this thread they haven't got a clue. The presence of animals has repeatedly been shown to have therapeutic benefits and a child being bitten is not a scenario anyone wants to deal with. I am sure that it's all been planned to the last detail.

My sons primary school have a school dog. They have sessions for children to do reading with the dog and also have a lunchtime club for older children to be able to walk the dog She's been a lovely addition to the school and doesn't wanter freely around the school or the playground she stays with the head teacher.

Every school should have a dog or another pet to reduce stress in the classroom, says Sir Anthony Seldon.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-47655600

If children are scared of dogs, it’s because parents have pushed their fears on them. It’s pathetic

No, my children were scared of dogs because my arsehole brother wouldn't keep his stupid great wolfhound away from them no matter how many people pointed out a dog that size bounding up to a toddler is like having a horse gallop up to an adult.

Their fear was, as is the case for everyone I've ever met who is afraid of dogs, entirely down to selfish dog owners.

Thankfully their school banned dogs from the premises.

I'd only find a 'school dog' acceptable if it were kept away from all children who didn't want to interact with it at all times with clear rules for staff and pupils alike preventing any pressure being put on anyone to take anything to do with it.

I think they've picked the wrong "breed" (Labradoodles are after all just mongrels) and should have picked an older dog for temperament. But think that an experienced visiting dog would have been better. In one of the schools I work with a school governor brings his dog in regularly, a kind and gentle dog that also visits old folks' homes.

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?

Go on, OP, use that as the basis for your objection. Not that you actually care about that aspect at all, but it will do as an excuse because you just want to put a spanner in the works to what sounds like a great idea.

DS2's school has a dog. it belongs to a member of staff so lives with that person and comes in and out when they do. The dog is impeccably behaved, sits calmly wherever it goes and has made such a difference to some of the more reluctant readers. I honestly believe it's such an important scheme.

We have two dogs at home and they've played such a big part in our DC's childhoods. I can't imagine anyone growing up without the kind of love that dogs offer.

I went to a school where the class teacher brought her dog in and it stayed in our classroom except for break and lunch when we’d take turns to be on dog duty. I wasn’t a dog person but I loved it. My ds is lucky to go to a school where a lot of the staff have dogs around, and I think the benefit to the children and staff is huge. The dogs need to have the right temperament, but generally it’s really positive.

It seems to me that mainly those who have had experience of a dog at school think it's a positive thing, I would definitely ask the school lots of questions and keep an open mind. Personally I wouldn't be keen if it was a puppy, but I can see big benefits in a well trained older dog in a school.

Labradoodle is an unwise choice as temperament is unpredictable because of the poodle in them.
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/sep/26/labradoodle-inventor-lifes-regret-frankenstein-monster

Personally I'm with the OP, it's a fad and not one I approve of.

If someone had put a dog in school when I was a kid, they would have had me in tears and scared and on edge all day.
No more learning, I would have been too worried about making sure the dog was nowhere near me.

This would be my DD- she s terrified of dogs. She suffers from terrible anxiety and the thought of a dog somewhere on the premises would b one more reason not to want to go to school. Dogs are not good for everybody!

What a terrible idea.

There will be at least one child at that school who will no longer be able to play outside at playtimes due to paralysing fear of dogs. No amount of “look how cute he is” will help their phobia.

Also-labradoodle would be waaay down my list of appropriate dogs for being surrounded by grabby squealy children. In fact it wouldn’t even be on the list.

Dog ownership is very bad for the environment. We are in a climate emergency - no one should be buying dogs except for service dogs. Dogs are a nice luxury but one we should do without for the sake of the planet.

Oh fuck OFF!

I would hate this as a child, as would my own DC. I had a terrifying encounter with a large Alsatian belonging to my parents friends that took me years to get over. Would my rational fears be dismissed as pathetic? In any reasonably sized school there’ll be a child with such an experience, and potentially with no one to advocate for them, so yes, it’s a big thumbs down from me, with the added concerns about adequate training, allergies and etc. If parents want to train their child to not be afraid of dogs, let them do it at home.

Every school should have a dog or another pet to reduce stress in the classroom, says Sir Anthony

We had stick insects. Loved them. Can talk to them for hours. No sneezing.

There was a dog at my dd's school, he was s doodle of some kind, and he basically just stayed in the Heads office, and the Head would take him to the park at lunch. It was incredibly low key, and more of a way for Head to get a dog, and to take it to work with her than anything else.
If the kids wanted to, they could go to the park with them at lunch in very small groups, and they would get a certificate.

My children's old school had a school dog. You could request if you didn't want your child involved with him.
Absolutely lovely idea and fantastic for the children.

I am very allergic to dogs (as pp have pointed out, no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog) and was as a child.

Having a dog sharing my environment (not even necessarily in the same room at the same time) causes me problems even now. The trend towards “dog friendly” public buildings means I have to leave, say, the pub or take a risk that I can move fast enough if I feel the beginnings of an asthma attack.

As an adult, I am happy to risk assess and take the responsibility of making the right decision in time. My worry is that children in school may not be able to/confident enough to do this. By the time they have got the attention of teacher/lunchtime supervisor etc. (and been taken seriously - sometimes another issue ☹️) the situation could be very serious. Asthma can kill, and HCPs know that children very often appear well and then suddenly deteriorate when they have a medical problem. Not a risk that should be taken in my opinion.

I was frightened of dogs as a child but (like babies) when you have your own or have got to know one well it's a different matter, I understand dogs better now in general.

The dog will effectively be "working" as a therapeutic /educational pet and the benefits are likely to far outweigh the effort of managing the risks and practicalities.

The following practicalities make this a stupid idea:

• labradoodle is not a breed, is a designer fashion stupidity for which people pay a lot of money. Already this shows that whoever came up with this idea knows little about dogs.
• labradoodles attract puppy farmers (see above) who breed indiscriminately, with no health screening and bring up puppies in an awful early environment. All of this increases the risks of a dog with physical and behavioral problems.
• labradoodles are not a hypoallergenic breed, they are a mix of two breeds - basically they are a surprise, you might get anything.
• puppies are a lot of hard work, who will train and socialize this puppy?
• puppies are unknowns, this puppy may turn out to have a temperament incompatible with being around children, what will happen to the dog then?
• even if suitable, working dogs have a short working lifespan, what happens to the dog when it is too old to live in the school?
• what happens to the dog if it is injured or physically unable to live at the school?
• what happens to the dog if children who are allergic or phobic join the school?
• who will be responsible for all child-dog interactions?

I am not a dog lover. If my workplace decided to get a dog I would be looking for a new job pronto. Get some fish or a hamster instead.