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

Our head teacher at primary used to bring his golden retriever in on Fridays and secondary school had a resident cockerpoo. They both were great for calming autistic dc. It seemed to be the norm round here. My friend works at a private school and they all take their dogs in - all well behaved and school gets great results. Managed carefully it can be fab for dc and staff morale.

But why do they all take their dogs in? Would they like it if pupils started taking their dogs in? Obviously not as it would be unsafe which should occur to them now.

Dogs should not be in schools! Yes at the odd summer fayre outdoors or whatever on a lead but not as a normal everyday occurrence. Why are some teachers unable to look after their dogs responsibly and use day care or pay walkers?

This sounds quite unusual to me. Assuming the resident dog was a trained support dog? And when taking dogs in, were they in the classroom all day? Are the children aged 4-7? Also, in private schools, aren’t staff to student ratios much more favorable than 2 adults to to 30 kids? And, I expect the great results are down to the private education rather than the dogs

We have a 'school dog'. She belongs to a non-teaching member of staff, but she is also a fully trained PAT (Pets as Therapy) dog. She spends most of the school day in her owners office, which is in a quiet part of the school and she has her bed, toys and treats in there. Children can come to see the dog as a reward, or if they're upset and need some calm time. Some children who struggle with reading also prefer to read to the dog rather than an adult. TA's will often walk the dog around the grounds with a child who needs to talk about friendship issues/worries. But she very rarely goes into a classroom, and if she does it's for a specific purpose and only briefly, and she would be on a lead not wandering around freely going up to children. Part of the risk assessment is that she is never allowed off the lead in school unless she's in her designated office. Importantly, on admission parents are given a form explaining about the dog and asking about allergies and if they don't sign to give permission then their child will not interact with the dog at all. No child is ever forced to spend time with the dog, even if their parents have given permission.

The set up OP is describing on the other hand sounds bizarre and is wildly removed from my experience of 'school dogs'. I've never worked in a school where that would be allowed, and I've worked in a lot of schools. OP, I think it would be completely reasonable to email the Head Teacher her to clarify the purpose of the dogs being there, what measures have been taken to ensure safety, and what arrangements are in place for children who are scared/allergic. I imagine very little learning happens on days when two dogs are wandering around the classroom, it would be very distracting!

I’d assume the grades weren’t related to the dogs but the dogs haven’t hindered them and the staff are really happy to have the work life balance that other places might not offer. None are trained as specialist dogs just family pets the dc can also enjoy. This is ages nursery to a levels. On mn people freak out about dogs in schools but in rl it was normal when dd1 was at primary - she’s now 18. It’s not a new phenomenon and was happening pre covid.

My son is scared of dogs and it's bad enough trying to avoid them as much as possible as it is without one showing up at school too. I wouldn't be happy at all.

Your actual JOB as a parent is to help him to manage that fear? It is misplaced and unnecessary to avoid it, because the vast majority of dogs are fine. That fear will not help him as a child, or in adulthood, because, as so many MN state, dogs are everywhere now. Will you really just help him avoid everything he is fearful of, forever? How does that help him grow into an adult?

Why have so many people started to believe they need to take their dogs EVERYWHERE like they are babies or something?

No idea, I keep my dogs far away from most people. But, why do so many parent think they don’t need to teach their “babies” about dogs? Particularly since, according to MN, dogs are “everywhere” now?

Why indeed?

I’m not sure all parents would mention dog allergies in a school form? They’d be concentrating on things they’d expect their child to come across in a school environment.

Also parents may not be aware of a young child’s allergy if they don’t have pets themselves. Pet allergies also take time to develop. Babies very rarely have them. They often develop in childhood, sometimes even in adulthood.

Hypoallergenic dogs was just a genius marketing idea someone had.

www.aaaai.org/tools-for-the-public/conditions-library/allergies/dog-myths

It's also not just the child's allergies, but what dog hairs etc they might be bringing back to the home that might aggravate a family member's health.

Basically it is simply inappropriate to have a dog in the classroom. The teacher is there to do a professional job and concentrate on the children, not to be keeping her dog under control and keeping the children from pestering the dog.
Leave it at home. That is where it belongs.
It beggars belief that anyone would even think about doing this, let alone getting permission for it.
Truly mad.

Never occurred to me to put my daughter’s dog allergy on any of her school forms. Much less my own.

I would have pretty endless issues with a dog classroom. Safety, health, priorities. Etc. Therapy animals in specific settings are great. My daughter got a lot from a horse therapy session. But random pets hanging out all day - that’s just bizarre.

The world has gone flipping mad. It's a ridiculous expectation for a teacher to take her pet into the classroom. I can't believe there's 9 pages of debate.

Bichons have been known for decades as being the best dog for those with allergies.

My dog has been around people (adults) with severe allergies (at their request, to see whether they were affected) with no adverse reactions.

I shouldn’t have used the word hypoallergenic, perhaps, but he’s as near as dammit.

Poodle/Bichon crosses with other dogs are problematic when marketed as allergy friendly.

Same. The woman is a CF of the highest order. Get yourself doggy daycare FFS. 30 four year olds and a dog breed known for being reactive and nippy. What could possibly go wrong 🙄

The science doesn’t agree with you.

Individual dogs do vary a bit in how allergenic they are, and a person can react differently to different dogs too, but this has not been found to be associated with breed. Did you read the link in my post that you quoted?

Anyway, here’s another.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8724828/

I would have thought a teacher had enough to deal with during the school day, without having to look after two dogs as well.

I did read the link. I know from personal experience (not just my dog) that a reaction to a bichon is rare (I’ve never known of one) though, so on balance, and with no known allergies in the setting, they are probably the best dogs for a school ’job’.

Dachshunds, I don’t think are, plus a setting doesn’t need two dogs, if they’re being used for therapy.

This!

There are guidelines for dogs in schools. Have a look at this https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/advice/health-safety/dogs-on-school-sites.html
there needs to be a proper plan, risk assessments and everything clearly communicated in writing to parents.

Actually over 200,000 people need hospital treatment each year in this country for dog bites and children are more likely to be victims than adults. It’s our job as parents to keep our kids safe first.

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/bites-human-animal/background-information/prevalence/

So many dogs are poorly trained and poorly behaved that I've found avoidance when possible to be best. He was hurt by a dog which triggered his fear so telling him that most dogs are fine when he was hurt by one doesn't work.

Dogs are completely unnecessary in schools anyway.