Headteachers personal dog in playground whats your opinion

[Grk]

Just wondering what's your thoughts
Our headteacher will sometimes bring her dog to work with her some days and takes it from classroom to classroom and the lunch hall, she also brings it on the playground at morning drop off and afternoon pick up . This dog is a rescue personal pet, it is not a professional emotional/ support/ assistant dog (I know this as im within the school)
This really bothers me both as a parent and a colleague for many reasons
Health and safety, allergies, children are also scared of dogs, dog looks anxious and scared, hygiene issues - the children also play on the playground at playtime and lunch often sitting on the ground , and the main one being parents of the school are not allowed to bring their dogs onto the playground and this has been communicated numerous times it's not really setting an example.

Am I thinking too much into this or would this bother you also ?

It would depend on the dog…if it’s a calm lovely natured dog then this sounds like a lovely idea and I would be pro it. She doesn’t sound like she’s letting it wander about on its own (presumably it’s always supervised?) and so children who are afraid will have support, or not have to go near it. If my kids were scared of dogs I would welcome this as fear of dogs is actually a horrible thing to grow up with given they are all around us in public places, and so exposure to a calm friendly dog to help them get over this fear would be very helpful.

my kids nursery (ofsted outstanding and generally brilliant in every way) used to have the nursery managers dog in once a week. He was a very sweet teddy bear like cockapoo. The kids adored him and did dog theme activities / learning on the day he was in. It was my son’s fav day of the month and one of the only days the nursery staff would hear him speak when he talked to the dog and to the staff about the dog.

Re: the dog turning the playground unhygienic…lol! YABU here

So wouldn't it be great for them to be around a calm, well behaved dog that they can observe from a distance, build up their confidence around and learn that not all dogs are terribly behaved? Wouldn't it be great if they learnt how to be around dogs and not be very nervous? This dog is not going to be a threat, it's not going to be jumping all over them or knocking anyone over. I think this is exactly what children like yours need.

Me too. Lab or Golden Retriever no problem.

I would complain personally, I am cautious with dogs and my children when we are out.

Wouldn't appreciate a dog at school

When I was a child at Primary school we were doing a topic on 'people who help us in rhe community' Various groups visited including the police. This included a police dog. Said dog flipped and bit several children. I still have a scar on my hand.
It was terrifying. We were ushered into class. and the dog was sedated and put to sleep.

Absolutely not. Any dog can turn at any time. I would be contacting govenors.

At my daughter’s school one of the teacher brings her dog in. They have school sheep and geese that are in the playground and surrounding fields. She has a class lizard. We have actively chosen this sort of environment so I don’t see a problem with a dog at school.

They do have two dogs like that in their life as both sets of grandparents each have a very docile, dozy old dog (king charles and golden retriever respectively) and they couldn't be more loving and close with them. But that doesn't at all lessen their nerves with unknown dogs due to the sheer volume of bad experiences.

How can you be sure the dog isn't a threat? The OP says dog looks anxious and scared, and as it's a rescue dog there's a good chance the headteacher doesn't have a complete history of the dog and it's potential triggers.

I would hope the headteacher and school have done a thorough risk assessment, but even then it's irresponsible to say the dog poses no risk.

Our headteacher does this. She's calling it a "school dog" but it's not really, I think she just brings it when she doesn't have an alternative tbh.

hygiene issues - the children also play on the playground at playtime and lunch often sitting on the ground

I'm confused by this, are you saying dog makes the ground dirty? Or is the dog shitting everywhere?

so the children and the dog sit on the ground

You realise cats, foxes, rats, birds and a myriad of other wild animals will be on the playground every day?

Op says this dog is taken into classrooms so is not just in the playground? What about allergic children? She’s saving money on dog walkers.

I feel bringing dogs into public spaces is becoming normalised.

Thank you for your thoughts
Just to clear things up The dog is taken into the school building itself it spends the day in and out of areas the hall cloakroom classrooms office staff room ect

I've seen it wee on the playground hence I do think it's unhygenic as children sit on the floor often and play

It is a crossbreed but I'm not sure what

We actually do already have a therapy dog coming in that's a professional company so I'm not against dogs in general being a great thing for the kids

The headteacher is new and has been there a few months so has just started doing it

I don't know how comfortable I'd be taking this further as working within this school puts me in an awkward position

Quite a lot of staff at my school have dogs - it's lovely to see them and the kids love them. They are always on leads around the site.

i wouldnt do anything op

Do you really not think she will know if there are allergic children?
What does the op think she can 'do' about it anyway. It is the headteacher's job is to run the school, not yours!

Unhygienic and unprofessional. My youngest is absolutely terrified of dogs and would constantly be on edge. I would make a complaint to the school and I'm generally very relaxed. I'm absolutely sick of dogs and their lingering smell constantly being forced upon us all in cafes, pubs and shops, and us all being expected to accept it with a smile. Absolutely no reason for them to be in a school.

Can you look at this as an opportunity for them to start liking dogs?

Surely this will be a good thing?

Why do they have to like dogs? And why assume it's a changeable thing? Are you going to stop liking dogs? Nope, so no need to think people who don't like them are wrong and just waiting for blessed enlightenment to start liking them.

i agree
it is educational

it will limit their life by not liking dogs
it is unusual and restricting not to like dogs

Far from it. Lots of people like dogs. Lots of people don't. Weird not to see that. More of an educational need than liking dogs perhaps, to understand people don't all think like you,

Isn’t it better for the child to overcome their fear rather than for the fear to overcome them?