Would this put you off a childminded? (Dog)

[newbieminder]

Would it put you off a childminder if they had a dog? My exact situation is that I have one dog, a king charles cavalier spaniel. He would be kept in the kitchen behind a stair gate when the mindees are in the front room (where they spend most of the time). When we are in the kitchen I wouldn't usually (with my own kids) think to shut him out as he is very chilled and just lies in his bed, comes over for an occasional stroke but I obviously could if this is what the parents want.

I have 2 kids myself and the dog is no trouble, he's a total softie but appreciate some parents might be put off? I'm hoping not all?

But it wasn’t a poor decision. The dog never bit anyone again in the next 15 years of its life. I knew and liked the dog. I understood the situation where the dog bit someone, you could even argue it was protecting the kids. My dog is as soft as anything but if a strange person came into the back garden and my dog bit them I wouldn’t be concerned about my dog 🤷‍♀️

You are also completely missing the point of my post……which was to reassure that some parents really won’t mind a childminder having a dog. You can agree or disagree with my decision/thoughts but that was not the point of my post.

I see you still haven’t addressed your very odd repeated stalking behaviour have you? 20 plus years I’ve been on this site and first time I’ve come across such odd and unpleasant behaviour. You really do have too much time on your hands, you should get a hobby. How many people do you sleuth on a day? Because I’m obviously not the first. Very very creepy.

As long as I had met the dog and seen your risk assessment I'd be completely fine with this, pleased even as I believe it's healthy for children to grow up around animals.

Why did you feel the need to do that?

How many other posters have you done it for?

I think regarding parents concern regarding dog poo in the garden - can you fence off a small area and train your dog to just go there? I know a number of people who have done this and you have a few months to sort it.

It’s your opinion. The truth is the dog didn’t bite anyone else. The truth is you don’t know about the situation.

The truth is it’s irrelevant to the point I was making which I’ve explained but you can’t understand.

The truth is your odd stalking behaviour is something you do to others as evidenced on a different thread only two days ago. Probably lots of others too but I really won’t bother looking at your previous posts to see

the truth is I knew you’d never hide this thread. Sad person. 🤣🤣

So why on earth would a post saying I’m not bothered about a childminder with a dog would make you think that?

it’s not like it’s a typical troll post with triplets in icu or something. 🤷🏻‍♀️

you really need a hobby. Anyway I’m off out enjoy your sad day trawling through peoples posting history. Get a life.

Yes it would bother me and I would look for a different childcare solution

I am a childminder with a dog.

i have two kids signed up whose parents have or have had dogs and are fine with it and one whose parent is scared of dogs and didn’t want to pass on the fear to their child.

my dog is big, barks but is an absolute softie with kids.

I would think that in today's climate where childminders are at a premium you will find enough business from people who are not bothered or put off by the presence of a dog. we are very much a dog family and I wouldn't have given the presence of a King Charles a second thought!

I have had friends without dogs who had childminders with dogs (one had 2 staffies).who viewed it as a positive as it meant their kids didn't develop a fear of dogs as she had as a child by not being near them.

Good Luck 🍀

It wouldn't put me off but I'd want to meet the dog first, and see how you handle him.
I have dogs myself, and my children have been taught how to be respectful of a dogs space.
Also the breed you have, as cavaliers are naturally very gentle, friendly dogs and aren't big enough to be knocking kids around with a waggy tail.
I'd base it on various factors but just having a pet wouldn't put me off a person caring for my children.

Speaking as an ex childminder with dogs it will put some people off, but on the other hand some people love it. Have a specific pet policy that you can show parents with every scenario you can think of and what you will do. Eg kids will always be supervised with the dog and will not under any circumstances be left alone with the dog and think about how you will manage that. Stair gates are good, you can ensure the dog/children are kept separate, think about what you will do when someone comes to the door, when you go to the toilet (I spent some time taking my puppy to the toilet with me as I had a mindee that would open the gate as soon as I was out of sight). I think as long as you have thought about it carefully it is fine.

You can train dogs to go in a certain place or on the lead walk unfortunately we don't seem to be able to train some dog walkers to pooh pic so out in parks is much more likely

Yes it would put me off.

Afraid so especially for my youngest. Dogs can get jealous/protective and I just wouldn't trust the situation.

Wouldn't bother me that you have children though. Personally I prefer it. My son would have to come on the school run if home with me so I don't see the issue having to go with a childminder.

Sorry, I have a dog and I'm a dog person but it would still put me off massively. I don't trust dogs with children, no matter how lovely they are.

Our childminder has 2 dogs and sometimes her daughters 2 dogs are there for the day too - the kids love them! They are friendly little dogs and very cute! My DD was quite unsure of dogs at first but she adores the childminders dogs now and is much more confident around dogs in general. It didn’t put us off at all.

It was a deal breaker for us when looking for a childminder. My dd was scared of dogs and tbh so was I! In the end though the only CM with availability at the short notice we needed it had 3 dogs. I was soooo worried about it. Well, my dd has been there a year now and has come to absolutely adore dogs. The littlest one is always sitting on her lap apparently. I have to keep a close eye on her at the park because she wants to pet every dog she meets. It turned out to be a real blessing in disguise.

I was a childminder for 13 years, graded good at initial inspection then outstanding on the next two occasions. As well as three cats and 12 chickens I had three big, big dogs. They were all exceptionally well trained and my children had grown up with the elder two.

I can say that I was always full to my capacity and ran a waiting list for spaces.

The parents that chose my setting did so because of the overall atmosphere in the house, the pets, me and the environment that I provided. I was open on my online profiles about the dogs and they were so loved by the children from babies to teens.

The dogs were never left alone with a child (they are animals and despite my confidence that they wouldn’t hurt a fly I wouldn’t take a chance) and had the space to be in a totally child free zone should they chose to be.

I had many stair gates over doorways to make things easier, but they were a big part of my practice, enjoying cuddles at story time, laying upside down in the middle of floor puzzles etc.

If the overarching principles are there and you can demonstrate that you can keep the children in your care safe you’ll attract parents that want their offspring to be comfortable around pets but may not have the time or inclination to have one themselves.

I would actively choose you over a CM with no dogs. Some people may not like it but there will be many others who will love that you have a dog.