School is getting a dog

[SchoolDogBadIdea]

I've named changed for this as there is information that would identify my DS's school. I am a long time poster.

So this week my DS's school (primary) announced that the school is getting an 8week old labrador PUPPY! It will have its own office and will supposedly be a "therapy" dog. They have stated it's gifted by X breeder and put links to the puppy farm breeder in their email to parents. Apparently he's the perfect puppy for the school because he's a Labrador.

I'm actually really pissed off. It's a disaster in the making. They have plainly failed to consider:

1. that Labrador puppies are very mouthy, strong and jumpy and that they need to get to two years old to calm down enough.
2. The risks of overwhelming the puppy with the shear number of different children and extra noisy environment thus risking creating fear.
3. what happens when this all goes wrong - are they going to get rid of the puppy for being too much trouble? (Thus teaching the children, when an animal is a problem get rid) or are they going to spend a fortune on a behaviourist?
4. what happens if puppy gets ill or worse dies?

To make it even worse:

1. the "breeder" is 100% puppy farm - who school have now advertised as a good breeder. Also means puppy is more likely to have health problems.

2. The parents are working type and the "breeder" themselves has described them as hot headed. This puppy is from the wrong type of lines to be the calm therapy dog school believe he will be.

3. This dog will have huge exercise requirements that will not be met by being taken around classrooms.

There's loads of other issues too but there's too many to think of at once.

The school told the children about the dog before anything was said about it to parents. So the children are all looking forward to having a cute puppy in school.

It's just so irresponsible!

My kids have a school dog. It’s been amazing and has made a huge difference to children who struggle for one reason or another.

My dogs are the 'school dogs' at my school. Most days I take one of mine in with me. It is hugely beneficial to many of the students.

BUT, I have trained dogs for over 20 years, and have competed in competitive dog sports for that long. My dogs are all trained to a very high standard, and I only take the ones that I know can handle the work. The over the top boy doesn't get to come because he is big and bouncy and doesn't know how much of a boofhead he is. My dogs are either in a crate in my office or next to me, they don't wander around unattended. I trust my dogs, I do not trust children to not accidently be too rough or hurt them, so the dog stays with me or in a safe place when I can't be constantly watching. I will occasionally take a young dog that I'm training, but they spend most of the day in their crate and come out for short bursts of training and socialisation. It works really well, but it's a massive commitment and you have to be on alert at all times.

This sounds like a disaster, and hasn't been properly thought through. Everyone loves the mental image of a big old lab lumbering around a school and getting treats and pats, but an eight week old puppy is not that dog, and will take at least 7 years to reach that level of maturity. The ones I usually take to school are in the 7-12 year old age group.

I went to a care home once and they had this exact thing. I couldn't believe it. A 'house' dog. The dog barked all day, had no idea where it was supposed to be and no real sense of where it belonged. It was very sad. I think arrangements were being made for one of the members of staff to take it home permanently because it clearly wasn't working. BUT, people actually made this decision in the first place. Not everyone has a clue about animals and not everyone really understands that they have behaviours and needs that cannot be manipulated to whatever ends are desired.
Op, it could be that this seemed like a good idea and there was nobody to point out that it wasn't. I'd make an appointment to meet the head personally and explain the many, many faults with this plan. If however there is a sensible explanation then you'll have the chance to hear it first hand.

This is just absolutely ridiculous. A SERVICE dog that lives with a teacher - fantastic idea. A puppy? I’m sorry, no.

Allergies? Phobias? Socialisation? Training? Welfare? Financial responsibility?

Just a couple of issues the school must consider and must liaise with the parents on.

That poor little puppy - he’s not a play thing! He’s not trained, he’s not bonded. Has he had all of his jabs? Most dogs can’t be let out of the he until they have received all necessary jabs for fear of distemper along with other issues. They could kill him.

Also, who is paying for this? I would be most unhappy at the prospect of possibly hundreds of pounds being taken from school funds a year for a pet when they could be going to the children, as they are intended.

OP, absolutely call the RSPCA, not just the educational officer. There is severe risk of breach of safeguarding both for the children and dog. Call OFSTED, call the governors. Find out who the hell has sanctioned this.

The fact a meeting or a letter has not been drafted and sent to parents is appalling. Telling the children who the dog will be living with and hoping that will assuage everyone is nothing short of bullshit.

This is an utter shambles and as someone who has owned dogs my whole life, there is so much that can go wrong here it’s actually terrifying.

You can’t risk assess a puppy! Whoever has orchestrated this and whoever supports this should be ashamed of themselves.

I can't believe anyone thinks this is a good idea...I adore dogs, I like to see dogs everywhere and dogs with jobs are incredible.

But an 8 week old Lab puppy in a school? Seriously? My boy was about that age when he bit me...I held onto a toy for a fraction too long when I was playing with him and he caught my thumb...good grief it was so painful and that was an accident not a real snap.

As a pp said you can't risk assess a puppy. This is waiting to go wrong.

Take it from me...schools can be staffed by complete idiots.

This is my only criticism...

The "breeder" is 100% puppy farm - who school have now advertised as a good breeder.

If they had got the puppy from the pound, I would not have a problem with it at all. I think a school dog is a lovely idea.

Ds school has a lovely dog who was a puppy when he first arrived, he belongs to a member of staff who lives on site (private school). He was well trained and there have never been any issues.
I also have a friend who works in a special school, and her dog is a therapy dog and first joined the school as a puppy whilst being trained.
I think dogs in school are a really positive thing.

I believe dogs are a great asset to schools.

Everybody who has cited a great school dog however has also mentioned training. Which doesnt take five minutes or cost zero pounds.

If the school have organised training then brilliant but they have given no indication of this which is awful.

I may have missed the link to the puppy farm. If so can you post it again please OP? Different people have different views about what a puppy farm is... most mumsnetters seem to think all dog breeders run puppy mills 🙄

My DS has grown up with dogs including an elderly nervous one he knows to be careful around. He understands about dog body language, stress signals, behaviour better than many adults but when my parents got a (rescue) puppy, all sense went out the window whenever he saw her.
I've done numerous talks with schools and kids lose it when they see a stuffed dog!
Adult, trained, socialised dogs that understand what they are they for is different to a puppy. I had a dog that qualified for Pets as Therapy, there's a lot of hoops we had to jump through!

And if someone is breeding lots of different breeds, including crossbreeds, and always has puppies available then it's a puppy farm...

Have you spoken to other parents to see how they feel about it? If others aren't happy you could write a letter of complaint as a group or contact the schools board. Also if a known puppy farm for certain notify RSPCA to help the dogs.

Did you speak to the RSPCA and/or the school with your concerns?

We live in a world where despite the mantra 'nation of dog lovers' record numbers of animals are abandoned every year. Many for reasons to do with lack of understanding of dogs' needs, dog behaviour or the huge amount of work that goes into training a dog. Just read reports by shelters such as Dogs' Trust. Also media representations of dogs encourage unrealistic ideas; dogs are either frothing Cujos or miraculous saints. Stray dogs seem to walk to heel without collars, and behave perfectly without training and a great deal of people believe that's the truth. I've witnessed people buy a puppy and put it down in a busy car park, and then shout at it for running away. They thought dogs come with built-in training because that's what many films about dogs suggest. Similarly there is a great deal of real/imagined worry about dog attacks, because people cannot read dog 'signals'. Schemes that work to correct those problems and cut down abandonment are surely positive.

Similarly dogs from 'reputable' breeders can also develop issues if not well-trained. Yes puppy farms are bad, but many listed breeders not much better. So raise the issue about the puppy farm and ask for reassurance. If it's licenced the RSPCA will not get involved.

I also would not imagine that any school would set up a scheme of this sort without frameworks in place, permission of governors etc...There are insurance issues, liability issues and animal welfare issues that would need to be organised. As well as issues around diversity as children from some backgrounds may have strictures on contact with dogs. Anyone in education can affirm that you can barely sneeze in a classroom without it being part of a framework of reporting of some sort. If you think your child's school is so badly run that this is not the case raise it with the governors and ask for clarity.

Since you were worried about being singled out if you raised the issue, then ask the rep from board of governors/steering committee/parents' association you raise it with to keep your name private. They should be able to respect that as you are raising a general issue, not taking action against a specific member of staff.