mosre doggy/minding questions (sleeping and eating )

[miss mopple]

sorry I will drop the subject of my new baby soon I promise :blush:

Ok, so the puppy is here and is settled :thumbsup: and all parents are happy with the situation.

The thing is, she is being crate trained and the best place I have to put a crate is in the kitchen as thats the only place a) I have space (ish!) and b) she is safe from the kids and the kids are safe from her as they arent allowed in there (its stairgated)

I have done my RA, and I am happy that I can comfortably manage having her in there with the children in the living/playroom while I work. A friend of mine on FB has said that she was slapped down by ofsted for having the dogs food and bed in the kitchen though. I have nowhere else to put her safely, and if she is fed in the crate and the crate has a cover (which it will as soon as pets at home get them in stock), and I am fastidious about cleaning etc I don't see the problem. I have stopped preparing food for mindees now as well. All have lunchboxes so they would go straight from fridge to table (which is in the lounge)

If you have dogs or cats and they sleep/eat in the kitchen have you had a problem with ofsted? If so how have you got around it?

I really want to make this work both for Kylah and our family, but also balancing it so it doesnt affect my business so I would be really interested to hear how others manage things.

[Hebs]

my 2 dogs sleep in the kitchen, ofsted were fine with it (its where most people keep their dogs anyway!!)

[sillysausage]

I think pets and kitchens are one of those dodgy areas where every ofsted inspector will have differing views (depending on whether they have pets themselves probably).
If you have risk assessed it and made provisions I don't see what else you can do. As the kitchen is the only part of my downstairs that isn't carpetted then I have no alternative but to feed my cat in the kitchen, she tends to knock some of her food out of the bowl and so the carpet would get filthy/smelly etc. The food bowl is only left out at certain times and she tends to wander outside and drink from the neighbours pond several times a day :o (she won't touch water in a bowl inside though I do give her a bit of milk at bedtime)

[haribo]

i crate trained my puppy , but keep the crate in the living room . i feed her in the kitchen and remove the bowl as soon as shes finished eating .. she goes in the crate to sleep or if i need her out the way for a bit but she is out if the kids are playing and im there to supervise . thinkthe kids would revolt if i kept her in the kitchen :rolleyes: i moved the cats bowl to the landing as she grazes through the day and didnt want the dog to eat her food . not had inspection with pup yet but she is a member of the family and has to eat - as long as you r.a and show you keep the kitchen clean etc you should be ok .

[cas2805]

My dog stays in the kitchen and eats in there, Ofsted were happy with that as my kitchen is stairgated too. I don't think that you have a problem

[aly]

I ws also told nono for our dog in kitchen.!!

[AliceK]

I understood it was a no no to have any animal bedding in the kitchen or to feed animals in the kitchen whilst minding. Mind you I think this is more to do with environmental health and if they inspect you.
My dog and cats have to either wait till mindess have gone home before having their dinner or if they are REALLY hassling me I will feed them outside.

I wish I knew what the actual "rules" were as this is something I am paranoid about.

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[balloon]

My dog's crate is in the living room/play room. The children have been taught to leave him alone when he's in his crate (that was quite a hard thing to do as they all love him!).

Environmental health told me no dogs/cats in the kitchen so I think keeping your dog in the kitchen would be a massive no-no as far as they are concerned but can only advise you give them a call to find out the rules and regs in your area.

[Shar]

My dog has always been in the kitchen with her bed, water bowl and it has never been a problem with Ofsted. I suppose another case of who inspects.

[AliceK]

My dog has always been in the kitchen with her bed, water bowl and it has never been a problem with Ofsted. I suppose another case of who inspects.

I'm pretty sure it's Environmental Health who would have a problem with it rather than Ofsted. That's why I don't do it, just in case they decide to knock on my door. I know they are inspecting CM's at the moment. I always antibac my surfaces before doing any food prep anyway as I'm sure you all do.
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[Daftbat]

I have a german shepherd dog so his bed is quite large but we only bring it out at night, its kept in the garage during the day. We originally crate trained him but i didn't have an Ofsted inspection during that time.

We only feed him when the children have all gone and although water is in the kitchen for him crawling children and toddlers are not allowed in the kitchen because of stair gates. If i feel there is any issue with the dog being in the kitchen i remove him to the garden and remove the water bowl until he comes back in - there is another one in the garden anyway.

At my last inspection the water bowl was in place and i talked to the inspector about what i do - she was more than happy. Most of the issue is about being aware of the possible problems and showing an inspector that you have assessed the risks and put plans in place. I have to bring my dog in from the garden when the children are playing out there since he just wants to play too and ends up bursting balls etc and generally getting in the way. Clever use of stairgates and conservatory doors helps to keep children and the dog separate when its needed.