Would you have said anything?

[puma86]

ok, so.......... Your child is looked after by a childminder while you are at work. They (childminder & family) have recently bought a puppy from family. During the day when the childminder has children other than her own at home, she keeps the puppy either in a crate or kept behind a baby gate in the kitchen.
What would you do/say if........your child (1yr old) crawled upto the baby gate and stood holding onto it and the puppy managed to scratch your childs face (from under the eye to just below mouth)??

Many Thanks

[rowanwitch]

I would ask her for an explanation as to what steps she was taking to ensure it wouldn't happen again... but would be very concerned that she wasn't very good at risk avoidance..any further incidence no matter how slight I'd consider reporting her to the local council department...

[craft1948]

My dog was a re-home from a girl who was registering as a childminder, as she apparently couldn't guarantee that the dog would not come into contact with the children, so would be refused registration.

[ganesh]

Don't agree,it's just an accident..I wouldn't report her.I might ask her to make sure it didn't happen again.I expect the child wanted to say hello to the puppy and it got excited that's all.

[EcclesCake]

Was there any understanding previously that the introduction of animals to her home would be notified to you? Aside from what happened (v horrible) from an environmental perspective there could be allergy implications to be considered.

[squarebear]

Has this happened or is it just a scenario?

[redcrx]

yes i would say something, and ask how the childminder was going to prevent the dog coming into contact with any of the children in the future.

[puma86]

Thanks Rowan,
I was only a tad peeved when it happened. But, and quite rightly i guess, my OH was not impressed at all (hit the roof really). I just thought it maybe as one of those things I spose, the dog being a new puppy, maybe she hadn't thought that could happen. But as you mentioned, its not very good risk assesment is it! hadn't thought of it that way.

I think it's probably too late to say anything now. It happened last Thursday (he is only in childcare tues-thurs). It did bleed apparently :o(

[ganesh]

O yes,and get her to cut the pups nails! Can't believe people get so worked up over nothing,are we talking about a gash on the childs face or a dog attack?

[squarebear]

In that case, I too would be furious. The dog needs to be in a separate room at least.

[LoftyLottie]

Difficult - it is the sort of thing that could easily happen to your own child in your own home. I doubt if the childminder would let it happen again. It is not as if the puppy wasn't kept apart from the children. I presume you have spoken with her about it. At this stage, I would do nothing further. You have to be realistic. Your child is in somebody's home and has the advantage of being in a family environment. Ask yourself if the same thing could have happened in your house if you had a puppy.

[LoftyLottie]

I am with ganesh on this, I'm afraid. I had dogs and cats around when I had a baby/toddler in the house. If it is an issue, then change childminders.

[ganesh]

exactly Lofty,my kids were always getting injured,and occasionally accidentally by my cats and dogs.

[puma86]

it did actually happen square :o(

The childminder didn't have the dog when my son started with her. It was a xmas present from her husbands mother who breeds the type they have. We (the parents) were asked if we objected to her having a dog. We were also told that it would be either in the garden or in a crate at all times the kiddies were there.

[ganesh]

If it were in a crate the kids might still go up to it and try stroking it.Better change childmilders if youre not happy with her having pets,but I wouldn't worry about a scratch.

[puma86]

ganesh/loftie

It's not a 'big issue' as you are making it out to sound like from me. we ourselves have a dog at home - hence why i didn't really see it as a big deal when i picked him up. But, as my OH stated, he is in the care of someone else who is looking after him - whom we pay a rather large amount of money to to do so, and we were advised that the dog would not come into contact with him. that was my reason for asking if anyone would say something, and if so what? myself and the OH had different views and i wanted to gauge the general opinion.

[puma86]

i dont mean to sound 'arsey' btw - just read that back and it sounded so :o)

[squarebear]

Doesn't sound arsey at all. This childminder doesnt seem very good at minding children.
Where do you draw the line? a scratch? a deep gash? a full blown attack?
The dog should be nowhere near the children.

[ganesh]

If you have a dog,then you can see why your child wanted to go see the puppy.I am just expressing an opinion too and I thought some of the other responses,like 'report her to the council' were a bit extreme,not what you were asking.I can't honestly see how the childminder can keep the dog locked away all the time she has children there so I just think that if you're worried,and obviously are,you should maybe look elsewhere.

[ganesh]

squarebear-that's a bit anti-dog isn't it? I don't think puma meant the dog in question was agressive,and I don't see why the dog should be kept away from the children anyway.

[squarebear]

"I don't see why the dog should be kept away from the children anyway. "

Because it scratched one of them from eye to mouth.