Childminder is getting an American bulldog - should I be worried?

[glitterndirt]

Just that really. My dd is 3 & goes 2 days a week to her childminder who is a family friend of ours. She hasn't said anything to me personally but has announced on fb today they are getting an American bulldog puppy.

They have never owned a dog before so their inexperience & the breed has me worrying.

Should I be worried about this type of breed around my daughter? Are their any owners or people that know this breed well that can tell me their own experiences with them?

Nope I wouldn’t be happy with this.

I have a dog but would not feel comfortable with this

I would not be happy with this. Find an alternative cm.

Find a new childminder.

I wouldn’t be comfortable with this. I wonder if she has thought through the impact this could have on her business?

I'd be unhappy with any inexperienced dog owner I employed to look after my child having a dog.

Unless the CM has had training in dog body language and appropriate dog-child interactions there's a risk of a bite and because of their height/behaviour bites directed at children often result in facial injuries.

Additionally whilst that breed isn't any more likely to be aggressive than any other breed, it is an incredibly strong breed and so any bite that occurs is more likely to result in significant injuries.

Surely if you trust her to mind your dc you should trust she can have a ddog suitably trained to be around dc? We had a Rottweiler.. She never savaged any of my dc
.. Or anyone at all. My dil was happy her dc was here 2 nights a week. Never questioned it.

I have 2 American bulldogs. I wouldn’t send my dc to a childminder who had one of these but had no experience with dogs.

Presumably she is registered and therefore will need to complete a risk assessment. I would ask to see this to see what measures she is putting in place for the safety of the children and the dog. If you are not happy with this assessment, move your child. The risks of a large breed dog being brought up by inexperienced novices, in the unpredictable world of childcare cannot be underestimated. Children are loud and fast and unpredictable - the puppy will be large and over excited, that is a recipe for disaster.

An American bulldog is different from an American pitbull. Any dog can be dangerous, and even small dogs can do damage to a young child. Introducing a puppy to children is a good way to socialise them and therefore reduce likelihood of any problems. There'd be very few dogs in the country if everyone with children and grandchildren didn't have a dog.

But obviously your child is precious and if you're not comfortable, you should definitely place your child elsewhere.

Oh no, I wouldn't like that at all.

Not a chance in hell

Sorry, when I said precious, I meant that sincerely, in that our children are all important, I wasn't being sarcastic.

Regardless of the dog breed, and even if they were extremely experienced in looking after dogs- no I would not be at all happy and wouldn’t send my child any longer! I would also be annoyed that I found out on Facebook rather than them notifying me.
I’m sure they will say they will keep them separate etc and they will think your being unreasonable but it’s a risk I just would never be comfortable with

I’d speak to her about it first. It may be she’s done a full risk assessment and is going to be incredibly cautious. I think you’ll get a good sense from her reaction to you how careful she’ll be about the risk.

The fact she hasn't even told you is concerning and suggests she is not very responsible. My old childminder had a dog, she made it clear to us straight away when we approached her and explained the steps she took to make sure all involved were safe. The dog was a lovely, small, placid thing!

No definitely not. Our neighbours had two and one of the dogs did actually bite their young grandchild . They loved the breed more than their grandchildren or so it seemed.

And by the way I absolutely love dogs! However when you leave your child with someone you want to know that they will be safe and well-cared for, and having a large puppy around who may bite (as toddlers/children can often unintentionally antagonise puppies/dogs) is a risk I wouldn’t want to take whilst I wasn’t there to supervise.

The issue isn't the breed it's the lack of experience with dogs.

I would want to know what her plan is for keeping puppy and minded children apart in the house and garden.

What training she will be doing with the puppy.

I don't think it's an absolute no but the childminder needs to be really on it and have a bloody good plan in place.

I’d be looking for a new childminder

I’m only happy with DC being around dogs I know owned by experienced dog owners I trust

Definitely would not be happy about this and I own multiple dogs.

No chance I would use that childminder again. Apart from all the obvious reasons, the fact that she has chosen that breed when she has zero experience of dogs would make me think she lacks common sense, and would make me feel that her judgement is poor.

@30degreesandmeltinghere

Surely if you trust her to mind your dc you should trust she can have a ddog suitably trained to be around dc? We had a Rottweiler.. She never savaged any of my dc .. Or anyone at all. My dil was happy her dc was here 2 nights a week. Never questioned it.

Trained CM First dog

Not sure why you’d assume the trust would transfer there!

I wouldn’t be happy and would try and find a new childminder.

Not a chance.

3 dogs here and my Dc wouldn't be going back plus how unprofessional to announce on fb!