Childminder's four legged baby!

[Jac1978]

I have got to go back to work in January and am finding the thought of leaving my baby very difficult. However I met a lovely woman in the park recently who is the only registered childminder in our village and she was wonderful with children and I felt like she could possibly be a preferable option to leaving DD in a nursery. However at a recent village event I saw her again she was talking to someone with a dog and showed them a picture on her phone of her "baby" - a Staffordshire bull terrier. My heart sank. I have always felt that there's no such thing as a dangerous dog - it's the owner that makes them dangerous but despite this I feel anxious about the possibility of DD being near a dog that might harm her. There have been lots of horrible stories in the news recently about children being mauled and I can see how an otherwise placid dog might attack if a child inadvertently did something to scare it. Would I be able to insist that the dog is kept away from the children? Would feel awful trying to dictate how a family pet is treated but at the same time I would feel worse if something happened and I has knowingly left her with a potentially dangerous dog. Any advice?

I'd never expect a child to be left unsupervised with a dog at a childminders. I imagine the child minder has a care plan to ensure both the safety of the dog and her mindees. It might be worth a chat to see what's already in place.

I found a lovely childminder with two lovely staffies. They were encouraged to mix freely with the children. She had been childminding in this way for years without incident - we found her because she used to mind a friend of my DH!

So we signed up. I then spent every single night for a week lying awake in bed picturing my pfb revolving slowly in the jars of one of these dogs. We had to go with someone else, losing our deposit as my mental health couldn't take it. So my advice is although it will almost certainly be fine think very carefully about if you can handle the additional worry and stress!

Jaws. Obviously.

Btw staffies have a reputation as being very good with kids. But at the end of the day they are dogs.

Staffies are actually pretty good with children (the bad rep tends to come from their behaviour towards other dogs) but yes, agree dogs should be seperated from minded children. Why not ask her how she manages? She probably has something in place.

I couldn't do it but that's my fear not a realistic risk assessment. you have to decide what you want to do.

urgh NO. even if the dog is kept outside when your daughter is there she will be learning to crawl on a floor covered with dog hairs and touching furniture that a dog has licked/rubbed it's bum against.
just NO.

Aren't staffies known as the nanny dog?

I had a cm who had a dog. The dog was never allowed unsupervised with the children, and had his own space to get away from them. Mine were a little older and loved the idea of a pet at the cms, since we don't have any at home.

Find out what the rules are before panicking.

the cm was also very good at teaching the children how to respect the dog and not annoy it.

My cm has a little terrier who is my DDs absolute best friend in the world. I know she thought long & hard before getting the dog and I inagine that yes some people will have been put off by it but tbh I see it as a plus point. We are a very animal friendly family but due to circumstance can't have a dog of our own, this way DD still gets the benefit of learning to play and socialise safely with animals (cm also has cats but the dog is definitely the favourite!) as I do know children who haven't interacted with dogs from an early age who then grow up nervous of them.

If the CM is responsible she will have a care plan to ensure the children and the dog interact safely and of course always supervised. She may even already keep the dog separate if she doesn't think it will happily mix with the children. You'd be best to talk your concern over with her before ruling anything out as you may find once you've discussed it and heard her approach that you feel better about the situation.

I don't agree with the comments along the lines of 'no way, think of the mess', many many households have pets but that doesn't make them hovels. As long as you can see the floors and surfaces are kept clean and the dogs food isn't out within reach of your DD then where's the problem.

Above all you need to be totally happy, so if after considering everything you still aren't comfortable then you have to find another child carer who does fit your bill. Good luck with whatever you decide :)

How about asking the CM what she does with regards to the dog before going in to full scale panic mode?

Agree it's worth finding out exactly what she does. I'm afraid I have no time for the 'oh how unhygienic brigade and it can be very beneficial for children to spend time with animals.

It's important you feel completely comfortable with who and the place you leave you child, I have a staffie and he is good as gold with kids as he's grew up around them and often just goes to bed for peace when there's a full house but I would never leave a dog and children alone together even though I know how much of a softie my dog is its just irresponsible and I'm sure your CM has methods in place and if the dog was nasty in sure she wouldn't have it around

Isn't being around animals actually good for children as it helps to develop their immune systems? I'm sure there would be no issue wrt hygiene as long as the cm keeps the house fairly clean.

Thanks guys the issue isn't hygiene halcyon it's the fact that Staffies are known as dangerous dogs and Chilean have been seriously attacked by them

Sorry children not Chilean

That's a fairly sweeping generalisation - all dogs will bite - there's not one particular breed that specifically bites children. I would have thought that more people are bitten by collies than are bitten by staffies. A survey of dog bites in Britain showed that Golden Retrievers were actually the most common attackers.

www.saferpets.co.uk/safedogbreedsforchildren.html says...

"there are certain breeds with child-friendly reputations, so here are a few firm family favourites:

Shih-Tzu - full of infectious, extrovert enthusiasm, these intelligent little dogs are fun companions although they can be independent and wilful too!

Pug - friendly, affectionate character which may suffer in humidity and heat, due to their short faces. Despite their small size, they are not snappy or nervous like many toy breeds and are low maintenance (minimal grooming and exercise)

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - energetic playmate with loving nature who will adapt to any lifestyle but needs regular exercise and grooming of its long, silky coat. Heart disease is a problem in this breed.

Border Terrier - a compact, robust, short-coated dog that's great for families with active children. Good watchdogs although terrier-characteristics have to be kept in check, such as digging!

Beagle - happy, sociable, ideal family dogs although not the easiest to train as, being a scent hound, they become obsessed once they pick up a scent trail and will ignore all commands.

<strong>Staffordshire Bull Terrier - a powerful, muscular dog which is nevertheless tolerant and affectionate with children and devoted to its family. Highly intelligent and fearless, it can be slightly combative with other dogs if not well-socialised from young.</strong>

Cocker Spaniel - sensitive, affectionate and intelligent little dog which requires some grooming and a fair amount of exercise. They have keen hunting instincts and can be strong-willed.

Labrador/Golden Retriever - good-natured and eager to please, the Lab's love of water can be a nuisance as it will find any puddle available; they both also enjoy retrieving and carrying things around. Labs are energetic and require a lot of exercise but also adore food. The Golden has a longer coat which needs more grooming."

But when push comes to shove, your child, do what you feel best