Childminder with dog

[Wuffler]

Have found a lovely child minder for my 18m old DD. Everything is perfect but she has two labradors in the house along with the kids.

She keeps them separate. The dogs have their own inside and outside area separated from the kids using stair gates.

The kids can roam freely in several rooms and the garden so I doubt she can have eyes on all of them all the time.

Would it bother you? Especially if she seems perfect in every way?

Also, does anyone know if dogs make wheezing worse (in the absence of any known allergy).

Having said all that - my dogs were/are very well trained and I had/have every confidence in them. I trained my ds too - do not wake up a sleeping dog, do not poke the dog, do not stick things in its ears and most importantly, if the dog is tired, let it rest! I'm amazed how many parents don't teach their kids the basics of good doggy ownership.

The CM having a dog was a positive for me. It meant lots of walks and outdoor play

My DS had a childminder with an failed guide dog. The dog was separated from the children with child gates.
DS always insisted to say hallo/ goodbye.

However I think if you are uncomfortable with the dog look for another childminder.

I would be fine with this, no problem at all

Why risk it? There must be a CM about with no dog.

When I was looking for a childminder years ago, I visited one who had a dog. I could smell cigarette smoke in her house even though she had an extractor on ( and told me they didn't smoke). The combination of the dog and cigarettes made me run a mile.
A friend used this CM and after a while removed her child after finding out the CM gave her DC loads of sweets and wasn't changing nappies very frequently.

I'm in two minds about this. But in answer to @Secondtimesally I would certainly not use a childminder who let the children cuddle her dog.

We can't have a dog due to jobs, expense and my allergies so I would like a childminder to have a dog especially a friendly breed like a labrador. Learning about how to behave around and care for a dog is good for kids, it's also possibly good for preventing allergies. Our childminder takes my youngest to visit another childminder to play with their spaniel. My older daughter's childminder had small dogs who were mostly kept separate except some short and heavily supervised time with the children. Dog attacks on children are rare and I don't remember one ever bei g in the news involving a responsibly owned labrador.

I grew up with 4 dogs and I have had dogs all my life but no, I wouldn’t risk it. They’re not your dogs, they’re not used to your child, anything could happen. I just wouldn’t risk it at all. (I wouldn’t leave any child with a dog unattended anyway regardless).

There is absolutely no way on earth I would allow small children to be looked after by a childminder with a dog. It only takes a moment for a dog to turn/gain access to the room and for it not to be noticed until it's too late.

I was attacked by a dog (border collie) at a friend's house as a child and luckily escaped with just a bite on the leg. This dog was of course good with kids/a big softy/friendly etc... all the usual dog owner waffle... until he wasn't. I would never risk it.

Having your own family dog is one thing, but having a totally unfamiliar child in a dog's environment completely different.

Wouldn't bother me but we have dogs. My childminder has a cat. The kids love it. If she is a good childminder the children will grow up knowing their boundaries and learn to respect the animals more. Plus Labs are so well behaved they will be fine with a barrier if that is what they are used to.

My DD went to a CM who had 2 Great Danes. They towered over the kids but were kept separate at all times. I never saw much risk but my DD stank of dog every evening. I was quite fed up with it and changed to a nursery after 9 months. She never fell I'll during her time with that CM - she had excellent hygiene practices. But largely I wouldn't recommend it.

I would feel anxious about leaving my baby in a house with dogs I don't know. I wouldn't use childcare if I didn't feel relaxed about it.

I'd have no problem at all with it, I'd prefer the dog & kids to have some supervised interaction (supervised for the dogs sake as much as the childrens!)

What’s the problem?
Children are less likely to have allergies if they are around animals in childhood and labradors are a lovely peaceable breed

Yes but he's already got severe issues with breathlessness and wheezing so I'm worried that dog hair will make it worse.

It wouldn’t work for me and it sounds like, with your child’s issues, it wouldn’t work for you either. I think it’s a big leap of trust leaving your child with someone, and you have no idea what happens when you’re not there. There are so many childminders with no dogs, I would choose one of those and remove one risk immediately.

I love dogs but I would have mixed feelings about a childminder with unknown to me dogs. With your most recent post, I probably wouldn't do it. Or you could try and see if it does affect your son.

For me, it would depend how reassured I was the dogs were reliably separate from the children. A dog could be really beneficial for some children, but I would be cautious.

I think it’s so unhelpful to make wild generalisations like ‘labs are so well behaved.’ You have no clue if these particular dogs are well behaved, and even well behaved dogs must be constantly supervised when around small children.

Absolutely not. Toddlers can grab and pull at dogs through safety gates. If she she’s not in the room she can’t be 100% sure this won’t happen, or whether her dog will retaliate out of pain (not to mention that the dogs could be hurt).

Thanks so much everyone for the replies. I'm leaning towards no but gosh she's just perfect in every other way. I am sure the dogs pose a very small risk and I suspect the risk is probably smaller than getting an injury elsewhere. And then there's the wheezing to consider as well. I just don't know.

My Stepmum was a childminder. She has a golden retriever who still carries a muslin blanket now. He thinks he's a baby 😂

She sold her house and become a Nanny instead as she downsized and he pined over the children for a good year. He is now a therapy dog in the local hospital.

I personally wouldn't have an issue with it but I love dogs, grew up with rescues and have my own so it's unusual for me not to be around one.

I think I wasn't clear enough in my comment. The childminder isn't letting the dogs mix with the children. They are behind a barrier. Labs (among other breeds) will be quite fine with this. As a dog breed they are incredibly trainable (there is a reason they are used as gun dogs, guide dogs, hearing dogs, sniffer dogs, PAT dogs etc) and if they are used to this lifestyle of staying out of the way of the children then the chances of any issues with the children are minimal. It would not bother me at all.

Anyway the OP has made their mind up and has allergy reasons which might cause issues. And that is fine. Labs shed. A lot.

It is still unhelpful to say ‘labs are so well behaved.’ You have never seen these dogs. You have no idea if they’re well behaved.

Personally, I wouldn’t.