To believe a bitey puppy in a children's group is not an emotional support animal

[Thegreengreenleavesofmay]

Someone has brought a bitey puppy to a children's group and said that because they are training it to be an emotional support animal for a SEN child, they cannot legally be asked to keep it at home.

İs this true?

Depending on the age of the BC, overexercise can be very bad for puppies - and the amount of exercise they require is often very misunderstood. Don't get me wrong - the woman described by the OP is an idiot. But an adult (not elderly) BC needs two things:
(a) about 2-3 hours of exercise per day BUT this includes mental exercise (they really don't do boredom well). Think about it - my assistance dog gets about 5-6 miles in the morning (before anyone asks - mobility scooter!), he is then working all day, which is huge mental stimulation. Even when he goes to a meeting with me (for example), he may look like he is snoozing under the table, but he is half alert for the slightest thing about me. He also has more toys and games than the average child - 600+ and counting - and he knows each of them by name (that sounds clever until you see this

It is also actually possible to over-exercise even a fit healthy BC - they do not spend all day herding sheep (or whatever)! Herding is often a short, sharp exercise - there is some running involved, but not over miles and miles, with lots of stopping, thinking, and slower movement. There's a reason farmers often move their dogs on tractors and bikes. Even as fit and healthy adults, care needs to be taken with their joints, and there are other things associated with over exercise too - they can become over stimulated by too much exercise to the point where they cannot relax, don't sleep well and can't relax. There is also a condition called Border Collie Collapse which is caused by over exercise. Think about it - just because humans can and do exercise incessantly doesn't mean it is good for us, and it's the same for dogs.

(b) Training - exercise isn't enough. BC's need rules and boundaries. I very seldom see well trained BC's. A BC who doesn't realise that you are in charge will very rapidly step up to fill the "leadership vacancy" and in extreme cases (which I have seen a couple of times) they can become extremely dangerous.

This whole situation sounds really stressful. It’s wild how often people confuse emotional support animals with assistance dogs — the rules and rights are totally different. In the US, for example, ESAs have clearer guidelines, and there are services like HelpfulPets.com that help people get letters properly through licensed professionals — but even then, the animal needs to be well-behaved or it can legally be removed. It’s definitely not a free pass to bring an untrained puppy into any space. Sounds like the group organizer really should’ve stepped in earlier here.

You don't think it's a case of the child and parent struggling and the pa re ent trying anything to find a solution

Puppies under a year old can only be exercises for around half an hour at a time due to joint growth