Dog in school

[Coffeeandcatsforlife]

The head teacher has a Rottweiler dog who is by nature a huge dog. He’s brought in to school a lot and the children get to play with him and look after him. Aibu feeling uneasy about this. It’s a primary school.

Children who are allergic or fearful of dogs won't be forced to interact with the dog

In some cases the dog has only had to have been in the room to elicit an allergic response. This was the case at my daughter's school. Thankfully the dog visits were curtailed. And everybody was much happier. Those people who like having dogs around can have one in their own personal space and not impose them on others.

Dogs do not belong in schools

Who made you the authority on what does or does not belong in schools? There is a wealth of evidence that therapy dogs are beneficial for children with Autism, ADHD, Anxiety, Trauma and other issues. Children who struggle with reading and lack confidence also benefit hugely from Reading Dogs being brought into schools. Children who are scared of the dogs do not have to interact with them.

I agree with the poster upthread, some people are just determined to find fault with anything positive that schools try to do for children.

I don't imagine for a minute that the dog is just left to roam unsupervised. Nor do i imagine that any child will be forced to be anywhere near the dog.
The dog will be on a lead closely supervised and being around a good nature dog in these circumstances could well go towards lessening the fear for some children. Particularly if the parents have passed on a fear and they're not usually around dogs

bizarre comparison.
there are no spiders in this country that can kill you. Dogs regularly kill children.

School should be a safe place for kids and many kids are anxious around dogs. I would not be happy with this.

However gentle the dog, many children are unpredictable around animals. I would worry a child could unintentionally hurt or distress the dog and that could end badly for everyone. It’s unfair on the dog to expect it to cope all day in that situation.

Dogs don’t automatically become therapy dogs the second they walk into a school, just because they’re cute and children like them. Both dog and owner need actual training to make sure everyone stays safe and happy.

OP if your head teacher wants a dog in class great, then tell them to contact an appropriate charity and make the appropriate donation to have one visit. Otherwise they are using their job for free doggy day care and to benefit themselves not the kids.

My DD is very afraid of dogs after some bad experiences and this would be a nightmare for her. She would be unable to relax, have fun or focus on learning if there was a dog in the same room as her. Dogs do not belong in schools.

I’m on the fence as can’t stand dogs
my youngest was bitten by a dog in hindsight it was just being territorial and our fault because just never gave it a 2nd thought due to having no knowledge of dogs and how they behave

if properly supervised it might be the only chance some kids have of interacting with a dog and learning how to treat and behave round a dog

Unless the dog is confined to certain spaces where allergic children never have to go, it poses a risk to those children. Allergies and asthma are on the rise - it's not a positive thing for these children to have a dog in school.

😂😂😂

We have a school dog, he's very well behave and much loved by everyone.

I'd love it!

How are you helping her to overcome her fear?

Surely if someone is that massively allergic to dog dander/hair/whatever that they would be at risk in a room a dog had previously occupied, then they would be at risk sitting next to any child or staff member who had a dog at home?

My nieces school has a school dog, and one of the students has a therapy dog. Schools will get to the point where they are dealing with competing “disabilities “ where one student’s requirement to have an assistance dog is pitted against another child’s allergy.

I have two colleagues who regularly bring dogs into the office. One very large, one very small. My manager complained because she doesn’t like dogs. She was told she doesn’t have to come in to the office if she doesn’t want to (her contractual workplace is home)

The only downside I suppose is that we all get far less work done when the dogs are in as most of us can’t resist them!!

Oh I would. You cannot trust a dog owner, they are blinded by the “love” they have for their animal.

Rottweilers are dangerous dogs and they do NOT belong near children and certainly not in a school. No dog does.

I think there is a huge difference between those PAT - pets as therapy - dogs which are selected for their temperament, trained, and which then go into hospitals, universities, schools, care homes and someone's pet which they don't want to pay a dog walker for.

In all the (many) schools I've worked in, or visited for work, that have dogs onsite they've been based in a certain room/office and children who benefit from interacting or reading with the dog are brought in to see them. Ocassionally the dog might be present for small group interventions, but obviously if a child in the group was allergic or fearful of dogs that wouldn't be the case. When outside they've been with their owner on a lead. I've never known a school where a dog has been roaming around, wandering in and out of classrooms. Most school dogs don't go into classrooms at all IME. If a child is so severely allergic that being in the same building or the same outside space as a dog poses a risk them then that's obviously quite an extreme situation, but it could be risk assessed and managed so they didn't come into contact, in which case the dog wouldn't have a negative impact on that child but others, often the most vulnerable children, would still benefit from being able to spend time with the dog.

I am not a dog person by the way! I don't particularly like dogs, definitely wouldn't want one myself, but I have seen first hand the benefits of animals in schools and there is a lot of evidence to support their involvement with kids with SEND and other vulnerabilities. It just needs to be properly risk assessed and managed.

I was on a train recently when a woman told a fellow passenger (with a terrier) they would have to leave the train because their son was allergic to dogs.

As you might expect, he told her she should get off, or move to another carriage. To be honest though, every time you get on a train or bus or even a plane, there will be traces of dogs or dogs present. They are in shops, cafes, pubs, everywhere. So it’s not helpful to have an expectation that the whole world is going to accommodate your allergy. Better to have adequate medication and avoid as much as you can.

What is the point of depriving kids that would really benefit from a school dog, when an allergic child has potentially spent their bus journey to school within two feet of a dog?

Nice victim-blaming.

It does need to be properly risk assessed and managed @neverbeenskiing which is why I'm really apprehensive that headteachers are seeing the trend and deciding to just bring their dog in and call it a school dog - because of course their dog is lovely and friendly and if it bites a child it's their fault for surprising it. Trained, assessed, managed dogs that are kept in agreed spaces - ok. But strong, powerful breeds give me pause. If a headteacher decides to bring in their XL bully, is everyone happy with that?

There are too many bad, naive, irresponsible dog owners out there for me to think this is ok. And too many people blithely insisting that dogs should be included everywhere and that if anyone gets hurt it's their own fault - never the dog's.

Completely agree.

https://news.sky.com/story/woman-who-was-bitten-by-two-rottweilers-dies-weeks-after-the-attack-12956593

It's something we're constantly working on, but it's difficult when progress is frequently undone by someone's untrained mutt running toward us and jumping up at her.
'Don't worry, he's friendly!'
😡

Mine is ‘never trust people who can’t be bothered to proofread’

And

https://metro.co.uk/2023/08/19/bognor-regis-dog-attack-rottweilers-shot-dead-after-mauling-man-19361680/

These are only very recent.

No dogs belong in schools

Because the allergic child has to attend school, has the right to attend school and will be spending six hours there as opposed to the duration of a short bus journey. Allergies limit a child's life in so many ways; please let's not add primary school to the long list. All children are legally entitled to an education; the rights of dogs to be everywhere is thankfully not yet enshrined in law.

I keep mine on a lead around kids simply because all he wants is fuss and play and if a child screams he will see that as a sign that they want to play! And if they run that's an even better game! If i sit him down and they want to stroke him that's fine. The calmer the child is the calmer the dog will be. I wish it worked with my fear of wasps!