To find this a bit concerning

[Lucozade12]

My Dsons school has a therapy dog come in to see the children. He’s going to be coming one every week. I went to pick him my Dson early today and the dog was in the reception after having been with the children. I witnessed it bark at a male member of staff as he approached. And then another male member of stadd came through the reception and petted him on his way. The dog was fine for a while but then growled and barked again. The staff were saying it seems to be men he’s barking at. My Dson was one of the children who got to see the dog and apparently he enjoyed it, but this has concerned me seeing this from the dog. What would you think?

Dogs do bark.
A therapy dog has had lots of training and has been monitored for the training.
I don’t think I’d be concerned.

maybe speak to school if you want some reassurance.

Is it an actual therapy dog or is it a TA who brought their pet to work? If it’s the former then YABU.

If it’s a project we therapy dog that has gone through training I wouldn’t have a problem, but would hope the teacher would speak to the place the dog comes from about the barking and growling. If it’s a pretend therapy dog then i really wouldn’t like this and would be asking to see the risk assessments and dog training. I’d escalate to the school governors.

Can't blame the dog really

I too would bark at men if i could 😒

Is it a fully trained therapy dog?
Or has someone at the school got a dog and is bringing it in to work so it's labelled a therapy dog to stop complaints?
You'd be surprised how many times it's the latter.

Does their insurance cover any incident involving the dog.

I would question the school, in writing, expecting a detailed answer with evidence it's not un unreasonable request IMO

I would seriously question if this is a fully trained therapy dog.

Barking is one thing, but growling??

I know a therapy dog (a proper PaT dog) who does not like children at all, so she is not taken to places with kids. She goes to MH wards and care homes mainly.

The schools I know with dogs are because the Head or one of the staff want to bring their pet in. Loads of people are potty over dogs so they get away with it but I have issues with children being coerced into being around a random animal - and its dander/fur etc - irrespective of whether they have allergies or anxieties. Saying it’s a ‘therapy dog’ is usual happy-school bullshit I can imagine in most cases.

Barking and growling are very different dog behaviours and I’d be concerned about the growling, the dog is stressed and not happy in the situation and is letting people know that.

I don’t think this is a trained therapy dog, I’d put something in writing to the school because this isn’t ok for the children, staff or the dog which will get blamed if something goes wrong.

I bet this is a dog belonging to a member of staff and they just want to bring it into the school.

Dogs bark.

Cats miaou.

Hens cluck.

Cows moo.

Sheep bleat.

Horses neigh.

Ducks quack.

People talk.

Guinea pigs squeak.

Apes oo.

Geese honk.

Donkeys bray.

For some reason dogs are the only ones that ever seem to get criticised for making the noise that they naturally make. A dog barking doesn't automatically mean it's going to bite. If the idea of this dog being in school is for children to have a chance to get to know one, then getting used to the fact that they sometimes bark is probably quite a useful part of the lesson.

One SEN school i looked around had a "school therapy dog" its not its the headteacher dog the staff have to walk it and pick up its poop it rarely interacts with the children because it can be nippy 🙄

Ds school has a school dog its bought in occasionally to interact with a small group of children who are reliable in keeping calm and not lashing out it doesn't bark (because children can find that scary) and there is always two staff supporting the dog in case he gets stressed and needs to leave some children are supported walking the dog which is seen to be a treat he is well trained

There is a huge difference

If there were dogs (or even a dog) at my children’s school they would be staying at home (the children not the dogs).

Are “therapy dogs” in schools just the latest manifestation of the post covid dog population explosion?

I would have a problem with a dog in classrooms generally due to impact on kids with allergies.

There was a 'therapy ' dog at my son's Secondary school. Son is now 29 so it's not entirely new.

So it’s a dog and their owner. The owner is a volunteer. I think perhaps the dog gets over whelmed. Someone said the dog came in last term and also barked at some staff

It was the growling that was most concerning I would say. Apparently they also take the dog into care homes

Dogs bark. Its the noise they make. It doesn't mean they are going to bite.

As for :

"If there were dogs (or even a dog) at my children’s school they would be staying at home (the children not the dogs)."

What if it were a guide dog?

the growling though whilst being stroked do you think is concerning?

The dogs never barked at the female staff. It was only when he saw a man

Or stroked by a man.