Animals and Childminding

[kirstywrey]

Hi There

I am not a childminder yet but am thinking about it carefully. My aunt is a childminder and she said that ofsted are funny about dogs and children. I can understand that some dogs are not suitable to be kept around children but unfortuantely for me i cant keep my dog outside all the time. Does anyone else have the same problem is there a problem with a dog being inside the house whilst children are in the house as well. I need all the info i can get if i am to seriously think about doing this.

Ta

[deeb66]

Hello and welcome.

I personally don't have a dog but I do know that a lot of minders do have them.

I think that as long as you can demonstrate that the children will be safe there shouldn't be a problem but as you say some breeds of dogs are generally frowned upon around children.

I am sure someone who has a dog will spot the thread soon and give you a more detailed answer

[Teresa]

i have a dog only a little shih tzu, you just have to show ofsted that all the dogs food and toys are out of the reach of the children, that you can remove the dog from the area if needs be like i do when mine wont leave the children alone because he wants them to play with him lol, also have a pet policy too. i can help you with this if you like.

[susi513]

I used to have 2 dogs and Ofsted weren't funny about it at all. They wanted to know dogs were wormed regularly, see where I stored the food, and where the food/water dishes were (need to be accessible to pets but not to mindees)

I had more problems with parents - some didn't even want to visit me once they knew I had dogs. Although some parents appreciated what the children can learn - being gentle, hygiene etc.

I kept the lounge a "dog-free zone". Ofsted and parents liked that - they don't like the idea of babies crawling about over dog/in a pile of dog hair etc.

A pet policy is a good idea - put in it that children are NEVER left unattended with pets and the measures you take to ensure safety & hygiene. I also have a pet form where parents sign if their child has any allergies or fears of animals and that parent has no objections to pets being in the property or children handling animals if we go out to farms/pet shop/zoo etc.

[Jinx]

I have a large german shepherd cross and haven't had a problem with Ofsted.

All the dogs documentation has to be available, ie worming, vacination records etc.

We trained our dog not to 'use' the garden at all when he was about 2/3. This was because we had 4 young children and were fed up with the mess in the garden and the smell in the summer! It went down very well with Ofsted, but it's not an easy thing to train!

A pet policy is a very good idea.

If parents don't like you having a dog then they can go elsewhere, all my parents see it as a positive thing!

Good luck

Jinx x

[wendywu]

Ofsted dont mind cats, or the inspectors i have had dont. Mind you my two do not walk on the kitchen work tops or cupboards. I also dont have litter trays at all.

[tulip0803]

When I minded in England OFSTED never had a problem with any of my animals, 1 dog, 2 rabbits, 4 guinea pigs, 2 rats.

As said before as long as you can assure that you can keep the mindees safe, show vacs, worming etc they are happy. ensure that you never leave mindees alone check garden for mines etc.

Again as said before some parents have a problem but others think it is wonderful. even the 2 rats got me one child as they kept them at home

[sarah32]

Ive just recently had my inspection and she didnt have a problem with any of our no of pets including 2 very large dogs, 2 rabbits and 2 rats.

She just wanted to know what my policy was and where they were during the day.

[miffy]

I did once have an under eights officer (pre Ofsted) who wanted to know why my glass fish tank didn't have a lock on - this was despite the fact that it was in my son's bedroom out of mindees way and it was actually impossible to put a lock on it.

Other than that no probs - good luck

miffy xx