those of you with dogs

[mushpea]

how many of you walk them with the mindees
up till now we have fitted walking our lab around my job, my OH would take him out early in the morning and I woudl take him out when I finish, sometimes i will take the dog with us if we go to the park or woods but not as a proper regular walk but he now has a new job and I am going to have to walk charly with the mindees in the morning, only for a short walk but just wonded if those that walk dogs on a regular basis with mindees if they have any moans from parents at all especialy with all this 'lovley' wether we've been having

[littletreasures]

My mindees love taking my dogs for a walk.

I'm lucky in that I've got a huge park near me and also a smaller one.

I tend to walk the dogs in the morning when I've only got the little mindees and take them to the little park. This is a totally enclosed park with a path round the outside. Unfortunately, people don't pick always pick up the mess so i can't let the little ones on the grass. By doing 5 circuits round the path is about a mile. The little ones love walking round and my youngest dog loves them throwing the ball for him (even if it is only a couple of feet). He will get it and drop it at their feet for them to throw again.

Depending on which children I've got I let the kids choose which park we go to if we walk the dogs after school. They usually pick the big park and we are out for about an hour.

If it is raining though I do tend to take them when the kids have gone home.

The parents think it's great that we do things with the dogs and that the kids are involved with walking them and playing with them.

[Twinkles]

It's what we do most mornings. I have to say though we 'walk' the mindees and the dog comes with us rather than the other way round.

I provide splashsuits and wellies ( for the children not the dog ) and we climb logs, make dens, poke puddles with sticks , all the important stuff !

We find stones , talk to snails , have puddle splashing games. Hunt for bears , sing songs.......... I could go on.

I make it clear we are a very outdoorsy setting when parents sign up so they know what they are getting.

[nipper]

My mindees love my dog Beardsley and even my youngest mindee aged 11 months will crawl up to the stairgate between the kitchen and the utility where he has his basket to look at him or talk to him. He regularly stands on his hind legs to look over when we are having our lunch, especially if there is cheese involved. As for walks, yes all the time and it's got to the point where I don't even mention to the parents that we are going out. He's always kept on the lead when I have the little ones around (otherwise he'll cotton onto a new smell and do a runner). He's too busy sniffing half the time to bother the littlies.

I try and get up early just after six to give him a decent 20-30min walk before DH leaves for work. Sometimes he might come on the school run with us (I tie him to the school gate...the dog not DH) failing that it's a little walk mid-morning depending on which kids I have. Then when DH gets back, it's another big run across the fields chasing rabbits.

No moans from my parents, they love the fact that their children have access to a dog. I think it's a good learning experience (especially the picking up poo bit) which I hate with a vengeance but still do...well most of the time!

[primula]

I tend to walk my dog before the kids arrive in the morning, mainly because its easier for me! we do walk the dog when is good weather but I live in a town and most parks etc have seperate areas for dogs and kids and I wouldnt leave my dog tied up somewhere!

[Dragonfly]

I get up early and do two fields with the dog.During the day depending what children i have and mainly holiday time ( I do 3 runs a day to the school so cant expect children to walk the dog also) we will go exploring over the fields and take the dog.You have to do whats best for your setting.

[bezi123]

I was wondering the the same thing, do you have a permission form or just ask the parents if they mind? I'm not registered yet but its pending at the moment and I have done a permission slip for access to my very friendly, big, bouncy lab/collie cross who I have said will be locked in a different room if they dont give permission for supervised access. Mainly because I dont want parents to be put off from choosing me because of the dog, so I suppose if they dont give permission for access they wont want me walking him with mindees either does anyone else do apermission form for access?

[ziggy]

we go to our local park/lakeside most days and i take the dog with us.

I used to take dog to collect schoolies (children are brought out to us) but have stopped now. Sadly a 6yr old was badly bitten at home by her own dog and she required 9 stitches in her face. It made me realise you never know how a dog will react to a child. So now i keep my dog outside or in living room (children not allowed in there) just in case

I'm sure children will love to be out walking with your dog

[LittleLegsCM]

Poppy, our 5 year old lab, sometimes comes to the park with us when its nice but unfortunately she has a slight tendency of barking when sat outside the playground section while the kids play on the swings & slides etc so now I try & walk her either before or after work. The barking doesnt bother me that much tbh as I know she's just trying to get the kids attention while they run around (she loves all the kiddies cuddling her!) but other people don't like it so its less hassle to walk her seperately.

If we go for a walk during naptime (so the LOs are in the pushchair) I always take Poppy whether shes already been out or not so she can get some extra fresh air & I dont have to worry about playground stops etc x

[LittleLegsCM]

I was considering taking her on the school run but as the classes I drop off to are no where near the gate (so therefore she would be completely out of view) I wont.
Sadly this area has a high number of dogs being stolen so we never take her to the shops or anything like that unless my husband & I are both going or she will be in full site at all times! x

[Tazmin68]

Just rememeber to have a pet handling permission form amd policy to cover yourself. During holidays we do take Sugar for a walk and i walk her before and after children attend. I would not dream of taking her on school run as it would mean tieing her up which i would not do icase she was taken

[LittleLegsCM]

I haven't got a pet handling permission form!!

Anyone got one that I could possibly look at so I know exactly what it needs??

[toddlers896]

my mindee loves my little dog. She plays with him and looks for him as soon as she comes to me. Mum and dad are thinking about getting her one because she loves toby so much. We go on walks all the time to the local park, i wouldnt have it any other way as he is part of the family and I wont leave him out.

[kel1983]

We have a staffi who when on a lead likes to be the one in front and pulls. He also can get a little carried away when trying to get ball or stick off us so wouldnt really trust him with the children.

During the day Buddy is shut in the kitchen, in a bedroom or out in the garden. The children love to annoy him so this is for both their's and his safety.

[Dragonfly]

I haven't a pet handling form either.

[LittleLegsCM]

So glad I'm not the only one!

It didnt even cross my mind I already have my pet policy etc in place and all the parents love Poppy so I didnt even think to get them to sign an additional form!!

Can anyone help??

xx

[AliceK]

I don't have one either. I have a pet policy which details how I protect the children from my animals and my animals from the children but i don't have a handling permission form. It's never been mentioned to me by Ofsted or anyone and to be honest all parents know I have pets before they even come to visit me so if they didn't want their children to have any contact with my pets they are not the right family for me anyway. My pets are part of my family so avoidance with the mindees is impossible. Last summer I took my dog across the fields and woods with some of my mindees on a regular basis. We all had a lovely time.

xxxx

[Nikki125]

I have a 14 month old german shepherd who can still be a bit giddy and has a tendency to pull on the lead so i just couldnt physically manage her and 3 under 3's, which i have every day, but as the dog and the kids become a bit older im hoping we can all go up the field together. The dog isnt allowed in the play room, just for the reason that she chews all the toys, but the los love her and are always asking to say hello to her. In time i think we will all going out on outings together.