New Rescue and Complaint From Parent

[Meeko]

Everyone seems to be concerned about the "aggression" of the dogs.

I think you should be more worried about the dad. Seems to me he fishing for something to "nail" you on...and that kind of aggression is far more dangerous.

[Brooksie]

Everyone seems to be concerned about the "aggression" of the dogs.

I think you should be more worried about the dad. Seems to me he fishing for something to "nail" you on...and that kind of aggression is far more dangerous.

THIS was what bothered my so much. THIS why I posted. And this is also why I am going to start gating the dogs in the kitchen. I still don't have concern about their behavior but I AM concerned about actions he may take on his accusation. If the dog looked so vicious why did he reach down and take the ball out of her mouth and play fetch with her? Why not bring it up to me in person? I still think he's full of it but no matter, I'm going to take action to further protect myself and my dogs from someone like that.

[Maria2013]

Our dogs go in the fenced portion while the kids go out to play.
.

I have it set up exactly the opposite, I fenced in the kids and left the dogs free in the rest of the yard ::

[Brooksie]

I have it set up exactly the opposite, I fenced in the kids and left the dogs free in the rest of the yard ::

Should have thought of that!!!

[daycarediva]

This is a common issue for providers who have or get a dog.

Some families will be okay with it and some won't. Nothing wrong with either choice.

IMHO, it really doesn't matter what you did or didn't witness at pick up. What matters is if the parents feel comfortable leaving their child in your care while your dog is present. If they aren't ok with it, that is their choice.

Just like it was YOUR choice to get a dog....kwim?

I have an X-large breed dog and have heard a myriad of comments and stereotypes relating to my dog's breed. I have cats that are an integral part of my family and understand a family's need to have/want pets. I get it.

However, as a parent I personally would never enroll my child in a daycare that had a dog. I just wouldn't.

OP~ I think you need to set some boundaries for the safety of ALL the children (and parents) enrolled about whether or not your dog will or won't be intermingled with your daycare kids or if it will be kenneled or crated during business hours.

I also think you should NEVER use the argument that this dog has never been aggressive or any argument similar as she IS still a dog and dogs should NEVER be blindly trusted to not be aggressive or display similar behaviors....especially around children....who can be equally as unpredictable. kwim?

Good luck and I hope you don't lose a family because of this but either way, I would prepare for it.

This, exactly.

Everyone seems to be concerned about the "aggression" of the dogs.

I think you should be more worried about the dad. Seems to me he fishing for something to "nail" you on...and that kind of aggression is far more dangerous.

I would call my licensar and tell them about the new addition and mention dcd's attitude/response since he MAY call anyway. C-Y-A.

If you have insurance, and you are getting clients I would just continue to do what you are doing. It works for you, it works for your families, I wouldn't be making major adjustments to my life/home/routine to suit ONE family. Some may leave, some may not enroll, but to each his own, kwim? As long as you are aware of the liability, there isn't much MORE you CAN do.

My dd was attacked by a pitbull, and I am crazy fearful of the breed or any dog that resembles the breed now. Can't help it, one almost killed my baby.

[Brooksie]

This, exactly.



I would call my licensar and tell them about the new addition and mention dcd's attitude/response since he MAY call anyway. C-Y-A.

If you have insurance, and you are getting clients I would just continue to do what you are doing. It works for you, it works for your families, I wouldn't be making major adjustments to my life/home/routine to suit ONE family. Some may leave, some may not enroll, but to each his own, kwim? As long as you are aware of the liability, there isn't much MORE you CAN do.

My dd was attacked by a pitbull, and I am crazy fearful of the breed or any dog that resembles the breed now. Can't help it, one almost killed my baby.

OMG that's so sad I'm sorry you guys had that experience. Also glad she's ok now.

[Leanna]

I see both sides here.

Personally I am terrified of dogs. I've been bitten a couple of times and my DS was bitten just walking down the street with a friend.

My sister, however, is very vocal about breed discrimination and has two pit bulls. Both of her dogs are big babies & are scared of their own shadows. Neither would ever hurt a fly.

I don't have any dogs, but if I did I would keep them very separate from the DCK's. First, because you just never know. Dogs have such keen instincts & behaviors that can cause even the sweetest dog to act aggressive on occasion.
Also, people have a lot of baggage around dogs that you may never know. One bad experience with a dog can color your opinion and emotions forever and I'd hate for you to loose clients just because the dogs barking or being in proximity scares them or makes them nervous.

[Blackcat31]

Brooksie~

I think you simply need to sit down and have a frank, open honest conversation with this family.

Talk to them and figure out what works for BOTH of you.

No matter what happens, you and the family are the ones who need to live with the choices you each make.

Talk with them about their concerns, the lengths you are and aren't willing to go in order to reassure them as well as your concerns too and if they can't live with what you are willing to do, they can always choose to find alternate child care.

That really is all there is too it.

What any of us say as far as opinions go doesn't really matter.

You need to work this out with the family in question.

Keep us posted.

[Familycare71]

THIS was what bothered my so much. THIS why I posted. And this is also why I am going to start gating the dogs in the kitchen. I still don't have concern about their behavior but I AM concerned about actions he may take on his accusation. If the dog looked so vicious why did he reach down and take the ball out of her mouth and play fetch with her? Why not bring it up to me in person? I still think he's full of it but no matter, I'm going to take action to further protect myself and my dogs from someone like that.

Yes- the above is why I would keep your dogs separate- to protect them and you!
It's all about liability-

[Scout]

A dog is a dog and I do not even let my kids around my parent's dogs without supervision. My mom's dog was the sweetest Irish Setter but, still my mom or I would not let the kids "bother" her in any way. Because she was a dog and a dog has natural instincts to protect itself by biting, which is it's only line of defense. I would not want my child around a dog in a dc situation to begin with because providers get busy and there is no way you can constantly be watching the dog and everything else going on at once. Little kids will be kids and will tease and taunt. I don't mean they do this on purpose, most times they don't know any better. My point is-that dog doesn't know any better either. When that dog feels threatened by that pull of the tail or ear you may not be able to stop it in time and will be in for a whole set of stresses you don't want! Protect everyone and find a solution that works for you. You would be more sorry if the unthinkable happened and you were faced with the decision AFTER the dog hurt a child. I got bit by a German Shepard and I was about the 5th kid to cross his path. I did nothing different than the others, he just decided to lunge at my face and I ended up with 8 stiches above my eye-He went for my face! I would not want this to happen to you. Discretion is always the best policy, imo. Good luck!!

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

I would keep your dogs away from the kids at all times. It only takes one time...you may say it's impossible now but you never know. One time is all it will take for you to lose all of your kids and I wouldn't want to take that risk.

I agree.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

NOTHING is impossible, and ANY dog of ANY breed could bite a child. Nearly all dog bites in children are provoked by the child (often inadvertently). My dogs have no contact with my daycare kids (other than walking past them on their way outdoors). They're great with kids, but I would not be able to monitor every kid's interaction with each dog, and unless there is DIRECT supervision, I don't feel preschoolers are safe around any dog.

It's entirely possible that what the father claimed is true. Just like with human children, dogs go through phases of fear, testing boundaries, etc. A dog in a new home, especially, may have been a little spooked by a large stranger approaching.

Breed doesn't matter here at all. I would separate the kids and dogs.

I agree.

I have a small weiner dog/terrier mix who has never bitten anyone but he is NEVER around the children. Ever.
I, too, consider my dog a part of my family and love him dearly. lovethis

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

Everyone seems to be concerned about the "aggression" of the dogs.

I think you should be more worried about the dad. Seems to me he fishing for something to "nail" you on...and that kind of aggression is far more dangerous.

The fact that he lied would need to be addressed immediately and I actually would consider terming them. Ain't nobody got time for dat.

[Cradle2crayons]

Our two small dogs stay out with the daycare kids but with that said, interaction ismonitored closely. As a matter of fact, I don't even allow the dck to mess with them at all. Of course the dogs really want to go give them loves but I don't allow it.

Our cats free range between inside and outside and they daycare kids aren't allowed to mess with them either.

[MarinaVanessa]

If I were in this position I would talk to DCD directly, whether in person (preferred) or on the phone. I would start the conversation, say what I needed to say and then give him the floor to respond. It would go something along the lines of ...

"Hi Tim. Susan mentioned something to me about how the new puppy growled and bared his teeth at you when you came to pick up Suzie the other day and I have to say that I'm a little confused so I wanted to talk to you and address it. When you came by I kept an eye on him and I did not see any of that behavior at all, in fact he was very friendly. I'm wondering if you are hesitant to the type of dog he is because he looks like he is a pit bull? Let me assure you that he is not, he is an American bulldog/Dalmatian mix. Or maybe you are concerned simply because we got a new dog? In either case I wanted to talk to you about it because of our partnership. I was thinking about a solution here and I thinking that maybe you can come a few more times to get to know our puppy better and I'll give you more background information about him from the rescue and his previous foster home to see if we can settle some of your fears. Really the only other workable option I have is to put the gates back up in the daycare space however since I removed them in order to create a wheelchair accessible space for little Suzie putting them back up will only block her access so that is not really an option. I was a little caught off guard since I didn't expect this reaction from anyone and none of the other families have a problem with the new puppy so I'm really hoping that we can think of a solution that we are both happy with. What are you thinking? What will make you happy?" ....

From there let him respond to get a feel for whether or not he was nervous about the new puppy because of his breed or just general fear period or whether maybe he really does have legitimate concerns.

One thing that I would keep in mind would be that when the original contract was signed there was only one dog that they got to meet before signing, now there is a different dog added which might have changed the original idea of what DCD thought he was getting. Another thought for me would be that this is my home and I would not let a client's opinion of something that I did change my decision. If I really wanted to get a new dog and I had a client that wasn't okay with the idea (and separating the dogs from the children wasn't an option) then they'd have one of two choices 1) live with it OR 2) move on.