Teacher’s dogs in classroom?

[Sunnyday14558]

Our son starts school in September. We had a meeting this evening with the new class teacher and fellow parents and the teacher dropped on that she has two sausage dogs. She said she brings one into class and is going to bring the second into class next week and ‘hopes he gets on with the kids’. All the fellow parents made a lot of ‘awww’ sounds but honestly I was a bit surprised.
is this normal in schools? She also said that if any parents were uncomfortable she’d try and work something out. I’m nervous around dogs but mostly because I have a four year old boy who doesn’t have experience being around them. I feel in an awkward situation where I don’t want to be ‘that’ parent if I say I’m not happy but equally, maybe it’s ok? So confused

Absolutely bizarre that a teacher is looking after her two dogs, alongside well teaching 30 4/5 year olds. Unless it's a one off learning opportunity, YANBU.

Definitely raise your concerns by email to the HT, further information below:

https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/advice/health-safety/dogs-on-school-sites.html

https://www.nationalschooldogalliance.co.uk/best-practice-guidelines/

Dachshunds are also notoriously stubborn dogs, difficult to toilet train so the infection risk surely also has to be taken into consideration? They can also be very territorial, is it possible the class teacher has stated she needs a support dog?

Great ... take it out to shit on the playground!

I think on the one hand this is a great opportunity for your child not to grow up being anxious around dogs like you are OP.

On the other hand Dachshund's can be yappy, snappy anxious little things themselves not least because there's a lot of poor breeding and puppy farming happening with the breed due to their popularity.

A school dog isn’t that unusual and can be very helpful for anxious kids etc. every school our kids went to had one to some degree.
if you’re scared of dogs will be a good way to make sure your fears aren’t past to your child.

@Sunnyday14558 the best thing for you to do is speak to the teacher about your concerns before the summer holidays.

I have a large breed easy going dog who loves the little grandchildren, but not in a million years would I expect to see an untrained dog in a primary school classroom, let alone two of them.

I’d be kicking up a huge stink about this as it’s reckless at best. How will they deal with it (minimise) when the dog inevitably bites a lively child? Is the Head happy to risk losing their job over it?

No, just no. Snappy dogs (dachshunds are notorious for barking and being nervous) and classroom full of small children is just wrong. If the owner cannot see that I would be concerned for the dogs.

This is insane and I say that as a dog lover. Any dogs in schools should be trained therapy dogs (or medical ones). Not just random pets chilling in a classroom. Sausage dogs are not even the most relaxed of breeds anyway! I would absolutely ask to see the risk assessment for this. And then I would take it further and say I’m not happy for my child to be in the same class as 2 untrained dogs, one who hasn’t even been around that many small children before. It’s a recipe for disaster and would really concern me that the school are extremely lax to just be letting it happen

Rather than being so negative and suspicious about this how about treating it as a great opportunity for your child? Anxiety is catching, taught even. Trust the teacher to have checked for allergies and keep her small dogs under supervision!. Learning to respect and care for animals both pets and wild is vital, I feel, for development.

My primary teacher regularly brought her huge, gorgeous golden retriever into our classroom where he would doze at her feet. Then enjoy us taking turn to help her take him for walks round the school field.

My son is at an infant school where one of the teachers has a Labrador that she beings into classes.

But-here’s the approach the school took

-emailed all parents before this happened introducing the dog and letting us know it was being trained as a therapy dog.

-shared all risk assessments and insurance documents and gave parents a countdown to when dog was coming in

-added a consent option online for parents to check off if they were happy for their children to interact with the dog and if there were allergies

-confirmed the dog wouldn’t be roaming the school nor in classrooms unless for specific teaching moments or as class rewards

-had a school assembly introducing the dog to the classes and what the purpose was of having the dog there

-shared days on school calendar of when the dog was in the school

I have a dog and I wouldn’t be happy with a teacher so casually dropping it into conversation-it sounds like she simply can’t be bothered to get a dog walker in.

You absolutely wouldn’t be ‘that parent’ for making some enquiries.

If done in the right way, it can be a great thing but this doesn’t sound like it’s being properly monitored

I agree with your concerns over this. Can you raise a general query to the HT about the practice and then specifically ask for your son to be transferred to one of the other classes?

Nope, I’d be getting on to the school 1st thing and insisting my child was moved to a different class. Not asking BTW.

id also made clear that I was unhappy this was only mentioned at this stage and not at any time when I was making choices about the school.

my biggest concern is that she’s planning on bringing a 2nd dog, the 1st might be older. Unbothered and used to the chaos that a reception class can be at times.
the 2nd one won’t be and by her own admission, she HOPES it’s ok.

the 2nd one may not adjust well and could then set the 1st one off.

plus who in their right mind thinks two dogs is ideal in a classrom
of 4 year olds.

Reception classes of up to 30 4 year olds can be feral! I don’t understand how the Teacher can suitably supervise not only one but 2 dogs with a class of foundation kids! 🤷‍♀️

Hell no. Completely inappropriate. Some frog spawn at a push as a biology lesson, but that’s the height of it. It’s a distraction, what about barking, toilet habits, wanting to play, restless, not to mention the barking, potential allergies, hygiene, or if dog gets wound up and irritable.

Yes I had a class hamster, two rabbits, the occasional dog - all sorts in the late eighties and nineties. I have a PAT dog myself and whilst she spends entire days with me in adult education classes and my adult students want her there when I’m teaching, she would not enjoy a day in day out experience with 30 young children who are very unpredictable. Has the teacher thought this through from the dog pov? Surely they should organise daycare or a nanny or a house sitter/dog walker for them?

My DS in Yr3 had the teacher's dog in class. It was a well-trained collie. I was pleased as we didn't have pets at the time so it was a good chance for positive dog interactions.

One child was nervous, but when it was her turn to be a helper to walk the dog around the school field and play fetch, she accepted the offer, had fun and lost her fear. (I volunteered with the class for various activities and worked in the school at lunchtimes, so saw it for myself.)

You are being that parent, you have no idea if they'll be running around the classroom or staying in a basket/crate, you've done vague daschund research, have a 30ye old anecdote about a dog wanting a stick.

You should talk to parents in the year above, you should wait and see and only complain if there is any of your imagined issues rather than with all the cobbled theory. You should ask questions about them "running around the room," rather than assume.

OP, are you sure that the dogs will be there every day, as opposed to an occasional visit?

Even if every day, I think you're allowing your anxieties to take over and are only seeing the negatives. I think classroom dogs could be very therapeutic for many children. It could also teach them empathy and how to be around animals, if they don't have any of their own. And talk about a great way to get children looking forward to school!

But if you're uncomfortable, the simple solution is for your son to swap classes with another child who would like the dogs and whose parent isn't opposed. I bet there are lots of kids who would be dying to swap. Suggest that to the school as a solution instead of ruining the dog experience for the whole class. (Because they might be obliged to stop it if one parent objects.)

And I expect the teacher has trained the dogs very well if they're suitable to bring in.

Lucky kids. Sausage dogs are adorable! And very small. I mean, we're hardly talking the Hound of the Baskervilles here, are we! 😂

My kids primary school has a “wellbeing dog” but she’s properly trained and doesn’t spend all day in a classroom with 30 4 year old. She belongs to the deputy head who is also the safeguarding and wellbeing lead, she stays in the teachers office and if children need to see her, they go to a particular room to decompress.

having 2 dogs in a class of 30 kids is absolutely not ok and shouldn’t be allowed - for the safety of the dogs, let alone the children.

if children are constantly touching the dogs and they don’t have a crate as their safe space, who is then to blame when the dogs respond by biting?

how can the teacher do her job properly in teaching 30 kids and supervising 2 dogs?
where to the dogs have their food and water, or even go to the toilet? Does she just pop out of lessons to take them for a walk?

this is utterly bizarre!

You know there are things called poo bags? And that wildlife also shits on the playgrounds your kids play on?

You may want to query with the school if they have insurance to cover dog bites or any accidents arising from the dogs being on school property. That should sort it.

Absolutely not ok.

For starters sausage dogs are usually snarly, snappy, unpredictable little things but even if the most placid dog going they should not be at work particularly in a classroom.

What kind of stupid teacher does this and what kind of stupid headteacher allows it?!

Complain op and ask that the teacher leaves the dogs at home or with doggy day care as everyone else does.

My daughters school have a golden retriever who comes in as a therapy dogs and the children take turns walking him etc, they all adore him! He isn’t there all the time though, I think it’s only once a week.
I personally wouldn’t have a problem with a well trained dog around my daughter as she knows to be respectful of animals, not pull them around etc. The one that hasn’t been around children before would concern me though! Will one of the dogs be there all the time or is it just every now and then?

Nope.

Complain now and tell the head to, I don't know, read up on health and safety for starters. They are being absolutely stupid to have young kids around dogs at school. Just makes me wonder on their intelligence and commonsense tbh.