Dog Bit My Child This Morning In The Playground!

[Mummatothreecubs]

Hi, sorry if it’s in the wrong category.

This morning my child was bitten by a dog in the school playground by a parents dog. I didn’t see this happen although he was playing near the climbing frame when he dog jumped and clenched his jaw around his arm. Although his skin is not broken he’s been left with bit marks on his skin.

I raised my concerns to the deputy who was In the playground at the time and she said she would have a quiet word with the parent or may put this in our weekly newsletter.

Several parents bring their dogs to school for drop off/pick up, can anything be done about this? The school also has 2 small pet dogs which roam around on a lead.

I’m actually very concerned now and worried this could have again, he already isn’t great with dogs and now this has happened it’s going to take us a while to work on the whole safety around dogs again.

What is the rule around dogs in the playground? If there is one. Who do I speak to about this?

@Caravaggiouch

I'd presume there would be kickback from parents if the school was to ban all dogs from the playground while there are 2 small pet dogs wandering around, however I'm not sure it's a point we need to get caught up on.

I would be livid, OP!

the school seem to take their safeguarding responsibilities quite lightly. Ofsted would not be happy. they need a reality check.

the owners of this dog also need a reality check. Did the owner have it on a lead at the time? They are incredibly irresponsible and need reminding of their obligation to keep not only other people safe but also to keep the dog safe and unstressed (not in an overwhelming playground) so that it doesn’t risk being put to sleep if it bites again more seriously.

Dogs should not be in school playgrounds. My kids primary had signs up at the entrance saying dogs weren’t allowed in. The one time I saw a parent bring a dog into the site a teacher told her it wasn’t allowed, even if carried. She never did it again. I was very grateful the rule was enforced. DS2 is severely allergic to dogs. As a result, I really don’t like the idea of school dogs. I don’t want my son spending his time at school anxious because the animal he’s allergic to is walking about leaving allergen around the building.

So what if dogs use their mouths in a variety of ways. None of them are acceptable for them to do to random strangers. It’s not OTT to want your child to be safe at school.

Lions "use their mouth in various ways" but are not allowed on school playgrounds.

Why should the non-dog-owning population have to make allowances for dog owners? If you choose to have a dog then you have an absolute duty to make sure that it does not inconvenience or harm anyone - it is not up to the rest of the world to adapt to them. Your dog = your responsibility.

Write to the board of governors. Your child should be safe from being bitten by dogs in the school playground. There should be no dogs, certainly not off lead or unattended ones. I'm sure the principal will have a think about it and ask people to stop bringing their dogs but if this doesn't happen I'd ask the board.

Apologies I was sure that I read that it was a teacher's dog 😯

I'm a dog owner and would take my dogs everywhere if I could.

My children's school also has a school dog - a dog that belongs to headteacher but we had to sign consent forms at the beginning of every year. I'm quite happy with that.

I still would never dream of taking my dogs into a school playground. It's not the right place and it fair on the children or the dogs.

I would definitely be taking further action, going to the school governors and police. A school playground is somewhere where your child should be safe, and if there are unknown dogs running about, they're not safe. An excitable dog could easily nip just when playing, a more aggressive dog could have far worse consequences.

I hope your son is ok and it hasn't put him off dogs formlife.

Yes, that's what I thought too...

I'd be livid. What did the other parent say? I'm glad you're reporting it to the police, what a ridiculous response from the deputy and quite frankly, she is neglecting to safeguard the children in the playground.

Yes! This!

Your school is very unusual in its approach to dogs sounds lime an accident waiting to happen.
Hope your ds is okay tonight and the police respond soon - also consider contacting the local council dog warden

It is the school dog 😂 it's on the kids school council, is always on the school newsletter and there is always pictures of the dog being involved in things around the school. The head teacher owns it but all the children know the dog, children are allowed to walk it on breaks too

What an absolute over the top load of bollocks!
Much the rest of this hysterical thread and responses!

The child wasn’t bitten. There is no mark.
Dogs mouths are strong, it’s not possible for a dog to actually bite but leave no mark!

This! Your child should be safe in the school premises.

I wouldn't be surprised if this contravenes the school policies. They'll be in the school website.

Our school doesn't allow dogs on the school grounds

Oh stop.
And what's with the " clearly you can't be educated and admit you may be wrong". who says I'm wrong, you?

Dogs are as much part of the planet as humans or any other animal.. Educate yourself about them.

Also having worked with a number of private and state schools it's always state schools they're banned from. Make of that what you will.

This is exactly why dogs should not be there. It also explains why they are under reacting praying that you'll drop it. Don't.

All the trash seem to bring them to the school I’ve had several conversations with them about banning dogs from the playground or outside the gate I mean why do they need to bring them? Are the dogs going to school? They clearly don’t work so I guess they only bring the dog out twice a day

I’ve seen them straddle the dogs at the gate think staff type dogs and pitbulls which are level with small children and babies in buggies they seem to give more attention to the dog than their own children

This needs to be reported to the police, the school informed. A playground is for children, not (off lead)dogs and tbh is just a disaster waiting to happen. Kids running around and making a noise which just trigger one of these fur babies into 'biting' which the owner will either claim has never happened before or it was just a nip and the dog was playing. One day the nip will be a proper bite from a bigger dog and a child will be getting their face stitched back together. Many reported cases of this happening if you google it for those who think it is over reacting.

What happens if you don't sign the consent form? What exactly are you consenting to?

DC's school has a no dogs on the site policy. There are sometimes a couple of parents with dogs waiting by the gates and the teachers send their kids out. And occasionally a smaller dog will make it into the playground, usually being carried by the owner. I don't think unknown (ie family dogs) should be off lead in any playground. I don't think any "school" dogs should be off lead in a playground at drop off or pick up time - these are chaotic and busy and noisy times with schoolkids, parents, younger siblings all about.

More educated than being a co owner of a Spanish working dog rescue, who has personally rehabilitated and rehomed over 1400 dogs, and also volunteers as a home checker for multiple rescues, including the dogs trust? I’ve been bitten many times, and many of those didn’t leave a mark at all, my worst was having to have my face sewn back together, so some of these comments are wrong. The dog has bitten, the incident needs reporting, and the dog needs to be kept away from children and assessed and monitored for what has potentially triggered it, to avoid that situation happening again.

Not true and besides the point - the dog in questions bit the arm and left a bite mark, the child possibly had a jumper/coat on. If the dog decided to keep going children faces are much closer to the dog's which in itself makes them far more vulnerable. A playground for children is absolutely no place for a dog, especially off lead.

There are plenty of dog parks these days- that is where dogs should go and children stay out of.