School Dog - Advantages and Disadvantages?

[Diegomolly1]

Hi, does anyone have any pros and cons for a school dog please? Parents were not consulted and the children were informed first. Disappointed the communication from the Head was so late as it had been in the pipeline for a while. My other worry is that if the dog is not deemed suitable to attend in school there will be a lot of very disappointed children. But apart from this any experiences in other schools greatly appreciated. Many Thanks

Op "aibu?"
Nearly everyone "yabu"
Op "No I am not"

Instead of coming on here, asking a question, then calling people “barking mad” and questioning whether any of us have children, why not write down your concerns then phone the school tomorrow morning and ask to speak to the head?

Or speak to other parents at the school. There may have been a letter that never made it out of your child’s book bag.

Yes yiu did say you gad a dog. You dont seem to have liked it much.

Seriously its not unreasonable to have questions. Ask them to the school.

What is unreasonable is when told positive experiences about exactly the questions your asking calling everyone barking mad and asking if they even have children

There is a school dog at my DC's school. We weren't consulted as such but we did get a letter home explaining about the dog and asking about allergies etc. The kids love the dog even my dc who is terrified of most dogs. It's been great and I am really glad the school organised it.

My younger son’s school has two dogs living in the boarding houses, my eldest’s doesn’t allow any dogs on site whatsoever.

A seemingly minor thing, but it does seem to sum up a major difference in the whole school ethos and atmosphere. The former looks at what is best for the children and has the confidence to go off piste occasionally (‘we had science outside today’, ‘prep was cancelled as it was too hot so we went swimming’ etc), the latter sticks rigidly to ‘guidelines’ and seems a much dryer, less rich experience in general.

Posted too soon - as you can tell, I’m a huge fan of having any sort of animals at school. They enrich the chikdren’s lives massively.

Oh, and my eldest is changing schools next term, by the way.

Meh you seem a bit of a whittle bum. Just chill a bit!

I actually roll my eyes as my child hardly reads to the teacher in fact hasn't all term. Actually it has helped to hear they have certain places to toilet which may be fenced off, but again if all of this was communicated how it was going to work maybe i wouldn't be so negative. Its hard when you have very little facts and to go on and that's why I am asking and i am listening.

If you don’t have the facts you want, go in and speak to the school.

Remember to make reasonable suggestions that involve you doing your bit to improve communication - it’s a two-way process.

And if you feel that your child needs to be reading to an adult more than they are, make an appointment to see the class teacher.

You seem very hard to please tbh.

Schools are shite at communication. Even when they try in my experience they don't get it right / are not explicit enough.

Email your list of questions to the head.

I was absolutely petrified of dogs as a child. Dogs are a part of life and if I'm honest my crippling fear of them made my childhood pretty difficult at times.

When DS1 started showing the same level of fear, DH and I decided that a bit of tough love was in order....and we got our own Labrador. DS1 went from being afraid of dogs to absolutely adoring her, and therefore being confident around other dogs too. There are school dogs at both of my DSs' schools - both belong to teachers - and make such a positive difference to the children. I can't think of anything better than reading to a dog or having a suggle with it during the school day.

I would be concerned about allergies tbh

If your dc is afraid of dogs then a school dog will be an excellent way to start addressing that fear. Or do you want it to be a lifelong fear?
For someone who claims to have so much experience of dogs you have a very negative attitude towards them.

You asked for pros and cons but I think what you actually want is to don’t think you want any pros - you actually just want to have a big moan.

’If I was a head I would always be communicating with parents.’
If you were a head/teacher you’d realise that ‘consulting’ parents over every decision is impractical.

I want my dog to be a school dog. The head said no. Rotten sod.

Actually incorrect. This has given me some useful information that i didn't know. I am not asking for information on everything little thing at the school but this is quite a big thing wouldn't you say and there are ways of doing things? Wow so many negative replies.

I think your point about the order of communication is reasonable to be honest OP. Equally I agree with PP that parents should have been informed that it is going ahead rather than actively consulted.

I'd be surprised if you didn't get a letter or similar this week following up them announcing it to the children, which is clumsy timing on their part but the overall idea is likely to be a really positive thing.

I think it’s a brilliant idea. Did you know that dogs are actually (as long as you’re not allergic of course) healthy for you immune system : they increase the diversity of your microbiome (the microorganisms that you carry around with you and are an integral part of immune system). www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/health/dog-ownership-owners-live-longer-pets-cardiovascular-health-active-walking-research-study-finds-a8059976.html%3famp

Also I think if your child is frightened of dogs it’s quite dangerous for them. At the very least having minimal contact with a dog that’s sensible will allow the child to know a dog on an ongoing basis. It will be an opportunity to learn want the child wouldn’t otherwise learn if they don’t want a dog to play with them (I’ve had som many kids scream and run around if they’re frightened and often parents that don’t know dogs don’t know to show them how to stand still, turn around, not make eye contact and so in - and maybe parents themselves are also afraid) a child that doesn’t understand, have empathy for, or know when an animal is dangerous from its behaviour is much more at risk, no?

As for the calming and rewarding aspects of this. Hands down the best thing in our lives is the dog, and he’s quite calming In the face of my DS who has ADHD.

If you’re interested follow @archaeo_whippet on twitter- he’s a trained therapy dog with @petsastherapyuk and his owner is an archeology lecturer at UCL. He stays in her office and by all accounts is very useful as therapy and general happiness for students

Yes I just wanted to be informed that it was in the pipeline and this was how it was going to work so I had an understanding, but we have not had this. We currently have had a short statement with very little detail to date. The governors obviously passed it ages ago. Head teachers wouldn't upset me so much especially in our school if they were upfront with information. I don't think it's unreasonable to be made aware with the full facts. That is all. This also keeps happening at our school and we have consistently asked for better communication, but it never happens.

I am a parent of school children. TBH I would consult with parents as little as possible if I was a HT. The parents at our school seem to delight in taking offence, starting arguments and objecting to everything on principle. The school would sink into total inertia if parents had a day to day say in the school's running.
Fair enough, ask your questions about the practicalities of the scheme but don't expect to be consulted in advance.

Why would the governors be involved? It doesn't sound like a strategic decision to me.

Wow so many negative replies.

Many of which are yours, tbf OP.

One worry of mine would be that DCs who think dogs are fabulous and exciting would make DCs who are phobic, more upset.
I've experienced this with some DCs where one gets very excited around dogs, gets the dog wound up, and pushes the phobic DC to interact and/or backs them into a corner.

You are not reading my responses correctly. I said not consulted but I would like to be informed of developments not actively have an input. Just to be told is enough.