Page 20 | AIBU to think school staff should make care provision for their dogs?

LoveTheirDogs · 2021-10-07T11:02:23+00:00

Our headteacher and business manager have both got dogs in the last six months. Now they're bringing those dogs into school. They're saying that the dogs are 'school dogs' which seems to mean that they're dogs that mostly hang around in school. They've also scheduled a number of 'enrichment activities' for the kids so that they can 'learn how to interact with different species' ie their dogs. AIBU to think this is taking the piss and they should just make provision for their dogs same as any other working person rather than having the whole school have to go to these (non-accredited) 'courses' that clearly cost a fortune and are only being put on so that BM and HT can tick a box that says everything is ok with them bringing their pets to work?

HikingforScenery · 09/10/2021 08:45

@ Stompythedinosaur “dogs coming” from
Staff’s homes?

starlight13 · 09/10/2021 09:00

People shouldn't have dogs unless one adult can take care of them during the day. It's incredibly unkind to the animal.

wildchild554 · 09/10/2021 09:03

YABU. Our school has a school dog, chosen with allergies and breeds temperament taken into consideration, very well trained, they have sent out a consent form and information request to find out who are scared of dogs, who's allergic and wants their children to have access to dogs. Very beneficial to a lot of children and helps a lot. My sons were both terrified of dogs after one tried to attack me, I just simply tried to get them to interact with dogs regularly and took about 2-3 years to get them to realise that not all dogs are the same. Took a long time but was well worth it. The dogs are there to help with children's mental health.

wildchild554 · 09/10/2021 09:06

@1ittlegreen I'm allergic to dogs there are hypoallergenic dogs, my specialist even gave me a list for when I get my son a dog.

ModerateOven · 09/10/2021 09:10

Lots of people don't like dogs and they certainly shouldn't have them fousted on them
This. Dogs have no place in a school.

lawofdistraction · 09/10/2021 09:14

I'm surprised you're not attributing the PhD to the dog

ilovechocolate07 · 09/10/2021 09:16

You say school staff as though it's all school staff. I'll bet the lower ranks ate just as pee'd off as you.

purplesequins · 09/10/2021 09:17

[quote wildchild554]@1ittlegreen I'm allergic to dogs there are hypoallergenic dogs, my specialist even gave me a list for when I get my son a dog.[/quote]
I am severely allergic to dogs. I react to dog's saliva as well. a dog licking me can land me in hospital.

it's the dog's dander (skin cells and dried up saliva) that flies through the air that many people react to.
non-shedding coats don't help with that.

and even if people don't react directly to the dog, some dog breeds have oily hair that pollen sticks to.

fulanigirl · 09/10/2021 09:19

@PesosBandage

Dammit. I left my teaching job to stay at home with my toddler, as I didn't want to put him into nursery just yet. Kicking myself for not pitching the idea to the school of a "school toddler".

I was thinking the same thing

wildchild554 · 09/10/2021 09:28

@purplesequins I doubt they would have given a list of options if the information they had given me was untrue as am severely allergic to a lot as it is and constantly at risk of ending up in hospital.

Xenia · 09/10/2021 09:31

At the very least poll every parent and all the staff anonymous before imposing these awful dogs on people. Also ensure the owner of the dog agrees they will pay all their assets including their house to the victim if a child is damaged.

Blossomtoes · 09/10/2021 10:15

@Xenia

At the very least poll every parent and all the staff anonymous before imposing these awful dogs on people. Also ensure the owner of the dog agrees they will pay all their assets including their house to the victim if a child is damaged.

That’s what insurance is for @Xenia. And why courts exist to determine damages.

supperlover · 09/10/2021 10:33

@lawofdistraction

I'm surprised you're not attributing the PhD to the dog

Come to think of it the dog may have played a big part! An apology for your 'rural backwater ' comment would have been nice though. It was frankly insulting as small rural schools provide just as good an educational experience as town or city schools. No problem with you disagreeing about dogs in the classroom but beyond me why you had to be rude about time and location. Is this a generational thing? I notice far less of a tendency to be rude and hurtful on gransnet which I also dip into sometimes. No doubt you'll tell me to stay there. Think I will from now on. Haven't posted on mumsnet very often but don't think I will again if an innocent post of an experience means an insulting response

Completelydonechick · 09/10/2021 10:40

I am a teacher at an SEMH school and will occasionally take my dog in to school, usually at the children's request. They absolutely adore her and you really see these kids open up and see a really beautiful side to them. However, work production is significantly reduced as trying to teach literacy with a tennis ball being looped round the classroom is somewhat distracting! I try to take her in on days when I have PPA or classes that can be distracted without too much impact! And my poor girl is exhausted at the end of the day. If I took her in everyday, I think I would considerably shorten her life expectancy!! So I do agree that they shouldn't be there every day but dogs are a huge benefit to children in schools!

flippertyop · 09/10/2021 10:46

I think this is a brilliant idea. One of my friends kids is scared of dogs and I think regular interaction with one would help. Wish I had had it at school I was scared if dogs for years

wildchild554 · 09/10/2021 11:07

@flippertyop it does help took 2-3 years for my kids after they witnessed a dog trying to attack me but definitely helps.

lawofdistraction · 09/10/2021 11:23

@supperlover I passed no comment whatsoever on the educational standards of your DC's school. I'm sure from that perspective it was great, small classes no doubt and they all did well.

But my comment stands. What happened in the 80s is not relevant today. The primary school I went to in the 80s is the same school DD attends now and my god, the differences. Attitudes towards health and safety, SEN, safeguarding, teaching itself...worlds apart.

The rural thing is also relevant. Animals were most likely a bigger part of kids' lives rurally and coupled with my point about the 80s, it would have never occurred to the school that bringing a dog in was potentially problematic to a child with allergies or a phobia.

So all in all, what your school did 40 years ago is completely irrelevant to this thread. When we know better we do better.

Barbie222 · 09/10/2021 11:36

[quote wildchild554]@1ittlegreen I'm allergic to dogs there are hypoallergenic dogs, my specialist even gave me a list for when I get my son a dog.[/quote]
Unless there are dogs without saliva, there are no hypoallergenic dogs. There are just dogs people's immune systems are tolerating to a greater or lesser extent. You don't realise how much tolerating your system is doing half the time and how it results in so much low level health related stuff.

Beastieboys · 09/10/2021 11:38

Cherrymaple........... Can't be any worse than wfh when there's kids, animals, visitors and chores to distract the worker!

supperlover · 09/10/2021 11:48

[quote lawofdistraction]@supperlover I passed no comment whatsoever on the educational standards of your DC's school. I'm sure from that perspective it was great, small classes no doubt and they all did well.

But my comment stands. What happened in the 80s is not relevant today. The primary school I went to in the 80s is the same school DD attends now and my god, the differences. Attitudes towards health and safety, SEN, safeguarding, teaching itself...worlds apart.

The rural thing is also relevant. Animals were most likely a bigger part of kids' lives rurally and coupled with my point about the 80s, it would have never occurred to the school that bringing a dog in was potentially problematic to a child with allergies or a phobia.

So all in all, what your school did 40 years ago is completely irrelevant to this thread. When we know better we do better. [/quote]
You're missing the point. I'm upset, not that you disagree with me about dogs in classroom, it being in the 80s or a rural school. I just found you referring to a small school in Devon as a ' rural backwater '. I still think that's rude and insulting to people who live in rural areas.

lawofdistraction · 09/10/2021 12:01

@supperlover other than my uni years I have lived in Devon my whole life. Not rurally, but I'm familiar enough with it here to know that it's not the most progressive place, even in 2021. I'd go as far as to say downright insular and behind the times. So looking back to the 80s, a rural school as lovely as I'm sure it was, is not a benchmark for whether dogs are appropriate in schools today.

Bookloverjay · 09/10/2021 12:05

What age are the children in the school?

I'm kinda in two minds, where I think it'd be nice to see a dog ambling around school looking for a pet and a bit of attention to thinking that a dog could react badly, depending on age of children, to noise, voices and even smells.

supperlover · 09/10/2021 12:45

[quote lawofdistraction]@supperlover other than my uni years I have lived in Devon my whole life. Not rurally, but I'm familiar enough with it here to know that it's not the most progressive place, even in 2021. I'd go as far as to say downright insular and behind the times. So looking back to the 80s, a rural school as lovely as I'm sure it was, is not a benchmark for whether dogs are appropriate in schools today. [/quote]
Not my experience of North Devon and I was a ' blow in. I grew up on a farm in another rural area so have something to compare it with. We seemed to have a lot cultural events going on. I still find 'rural backwater ' offensive. All your other points may be valid but that was how you described a rural area and you still won't address that so I give up.

lawofdistraction · 09/10/2021 13:12

@supperlover what exactly about rural North Devon do you find progressive? I'm genuinely interested because perhaps there's something I've missed.

In4mation · 09/10/2021 13:30

We have therapy dogs come in from a charity. Parents have to sign a permission form for their kids to meet them.