Dogs

[Karenb]

Hi Guys

I have only just started the process of becoming registered but was wondering about pets, I have a Jack Russell who is fine my two year old twins just grumps when the girls are been too rough or pestering her as kids do, but overall a really friendly dog.

Are you allowed dogs when childminding ? ? ?

Thanks

Karen

[carlen222]

oh im sure many people must mind with animals in the house, im sure as long as you had a gate to keep it penned in at times??

[mumof1]

Yes this is allowed, we have a 11 month old labrador and when my visit was done, she didnt even seem bothered that there was a pet. But we did get an enclosed part of the garden built for our dog, not cos we were told to, but for my peace of mind when children r here. Even tho r dog is gr8 with our dd and other children, i never trust any dog completely.

Hope all goes well with your visit :thumbsup:

[tulip0803]

I have always had a dog whilst minding. You need to show that you can protect the children in your care when there are pets in the house by regular worming, cleaning up poos, making sure that the children are never left alone with the dog, making sure that the children cannot eat/play with food & water bowls, washing hands after petting etc.

I have an area of the garden for the children to play on but the dog does not have access to. I did not have this at my last house and they were happy that I pooper-scooped:) . He is not shut away from the children and he can access the whole house but the children are not allowed upstairs so if it gets too much he can retreat up there for quiet. His food is stored in a cupboard with door locks and I do leave his bowls down at all times as he needs access to water they were happy that the children are supervised & did not eat or play in his bowls:rolleyes: they are not in the playroom. I keep a log of dates of worming for him & the cats.

Pets can be a wonderful learning tool for children:thumbsup: . I have had parents that are scared of dogs bring their children to me because they do not want their children to grow up scared. However I always tell people on the phone that I have pets as I know not everyone likes animals and I would rather be up front & not waste their and my time IYSWIM.

[naomiesian]

I have a staffy, and was worried sick that Mrs Ofsted would say no but she didn`t. She just said that I had to make sure that my dog was covered in a risk assessment and was up to date with jabs,worming, I do have stairgates and when my certificate finally arrives and I have children in the house,my dog will be put in the kitchen/utility room but only when the children are playing on the floor, this is because she likes nothing more than to give anyone and everyone a good wash from head to toe! Mrs Ofsted met her and thought she was lovely, she is great with everyone but of course I would never leave her alone with any of the children, not because of her breed but because she`s an animal...
I would never keep her penned up at all times as I feel this would make her feel pushed out of her own home, My dog has not been a problem with parents as I have already managed to fill my spaces for when my certificate arrives, only one parent who enquired had a problem and that was because of her breed, they wanted me to lock my dog in the garden whilst their child was in my care, they wouldn`t come to meet her as they themselves had a fear of dogs although they strongly pointed out that they didn`t want their fears to be passed on to the child. I did understand their point of view as staffy`s get alot of bad press but she is a family pet,has been with my family since she was a puppy, has never been used as a guard dog and at 8 years old has never shown any signs of aggression. In the end I just wished them good luck in their search for childcare as I was not prepared to do what they wanted.
Good luck with everything Naomiesian xx

[Vyx]

Hi Karen

That was the first thing I asked when I joined this forum :thumbsup: It really worried me too.

I got LOADS of replies from established childminders who also have dogs and as naomiesian, tulip0803 and mumof1 have already said, as long as you can ensure the safety of the children (both in terms of prevention of accidents and health) then I believe dogs are not a problem.

I have an alsation and a "your guess is as good as mine" :clapping: and was really worried that this was going to be my one stumbling block. Like naomiesian, I refuse to keep them locked up all of the time, and I have written that in my pets policy. I have a safety gate that blocks off the utility room which is where they are fed and where I can keep them secure during 'high energy' times, such as arrivals and departures and when the kids get excited during physical play. The biggy in my opinion is to never ever ever leave the dogs and kids together unsupervised, no matter the breed or how much you trust them or that they have never done anything nasty before. As a dog owner Karen that's prolly a bit teaching you to suck eggs :blush: but it's something you need to make Mrs Ofsted understand that you are very aware of.

I sound very confident (I hope) but I haven't had my pre reg inspection yet, it's on 1st feb *gulp* I will let you know if anything specificall dog related comes up.

xx

[Karenb]

Hi Guys

Thanks ever so much, I thought it would be best to ask before I got any further, she is a lovely little dog my little fur baby lol.

Thanks

Karen x

[whisper_1981]

when i had my visit from ofsted they were very happy with my dog she is a 7yr old german shepard x irish wolf hound, i think alot of ppl think that when they hear the irish wolf hound part of her they automaticly think she is this gient dog then suprised when she is a bit bigger then a normal shepard lol..... they were also happy with my 4 chinchillas and 3 cats. with the cats having a inclosed litter tray with a flap they are happier with

here is Shiner :laughing:
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f389/phoenix_chinchillas/shiner.jpg

[Dare4Distance]

I have a 4 year old Chihuahua and Mrs Ofsted was fine about her at my pre-reg meeting. I have a pet policy and so long as you make sure children wash their hands and are safe then it's fine.
Mrs Ofsted spend about half the time she was here chatting to my dog and petting her haha.

She's great with kids and I'd never shut her away all the time. She has a crate bed in the hallway that she can hide in if she wants quiet time and I can close her in there if she needs to be out of the way for a while. I also have a stairgate on the playroom so she can't go in there.

This is Roxy with my nephew

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3370/3626385324_2c3acd4830.jpg

[chel]

im glad i found this thread, but what about those with more than one dog?
we are in the process of having a garage conversion into a dog room, where my dogs can go when they are wet, or when i have to go out etc as they will have an enclosed garden area aswell, im not registered yet so im thinking this would be fine if i had children ( or more likely parents) who object to being near dogs? i have a non-doggy family really so they have to be put away when anyone comes around really anyway, so they are used to it... what do you think?:) :huh:
my dogs think kids are great and will play endlessly ( they are mainly collies) and my son, my neices and friends are all quite happy around them...

on the flip side, i have had a friends child visit once, who BIT one of my dogs! so these things do happen, i would prefer for my kids..and my dogs safety and peace of mind for them to both have their own spaces
http://www.harrjak.co.uk/webmegpups2last%20158.jpg

[Vyx]

I've got 2 Chel, as per my post above and I had my inspection yesterday and it was no problem at all xx