Lockdown for children Is ending, Yippee! They will be going to school again and dogs will be left outside school gates across the country. We have provided some tips on how to improve their safety to help you prevent your dog being stolen / taken.
Dog owners who have young children know and understand the benefits of their children walking to school, the morning walk clears the mind for the start of the school day.
Schools actively encourage parents and guardians to leave their car at home. In fact, studies have shown the benefits of a walk to school to ; improve mental health; regular exercise; gives the child an awareness of outdoor spaces; a reduction in obesity; a reduction in pollution from exhaust fumes which reduces the negative impact on our environment, and much more.
With children spending so much time isolated with their iPads, walking to school creates time for children, parents and their pets to all bond and share some quality time together. It is also a great opportunity for the pet dog to have their daily walk, to and from school.
If you are to walk your dog o / from school drop-off, plan a route that allows your dog time off the lead, whilst remaining under your control.
No matter how safe and well-mannered we believe our dog is, we can all appreciate the reasons why schools adhere to a ‘No Dogs” on-premises policy (which includes the grounds). Their duty is to safeguard and protect the children in their care.
Schools do not allow dogs on their premises for Health & Safety reasons, a risk to pupils and others, fouling, dog biting or showing aggressive behaviour. Even a well-behaved dog can behave unpredictably when placed in an unfamiliar, busy, noisy environment.
This does leave a dilemma for dog owners who have little choice but to leave their pet on a lead at the school gate at drop off and pick-up. The worry their beloved pet will be easily taken or stolen.
Here are some tips to help improve the safety of your dog and stop it being stolen/taken:
Leave your Dog at home and take them for a walk at another time is the safest option, if you have time and it is practical to do this.
If you do not have time and can afford to pay £20-£30 a day and trust a dog walker with a key to your house or have a dog minder who looks after your dog while you work, is another safe option.
Agree with other dog owning parents to work to a rota, with one parent staying outside the school with the dogs and another picking up the children. This can get complicated and hard to manage with parents arriving at school at different times and notifying the school of who is authorised to pick up your child.
Leave your Dog at a parent’s home close to the school, this would be safe but very unlikely to happen daily.
If you are driving to school, you could leave your dog in the car, but that has its own problems. Never leave a dog unattended in a car on a warm day. read our other blog on how to improve the safety of your dog in your car.
Use a Dog Lock from DOGTIE and secure your dog safely to the school gate for a couple of minutes. The dog collar has a lock that is a visible deterrent to stop any opportunistic dog thief from taking your dog. The stainless-steel cable is enclosed in a rubber cover, so it is comfortable. It would require a dog thief to carry a large bolt cutter to cut the lock cable to take your dog.
Tip against clever dog thieves
We would like to share a very clever tactic used by dog thieves.
The dog thief will walk with a dog to the school gate, acting like another parent they tie their dog to the school gate very slowly, they then offer to keep an eye on your dog as their partner has taken their child into school. As soon as you, the dog owner is out of sight, they untie their dog and your dog and walk away without anyone noticing.
Make sure you know the person you are leaving your dog with.
The Dog Lock from DOGTIE helps in these situations with the dog thief overlooking your dog as its too much effort and takes time, they will simply move on to another that is just tied with a standard dog leash and collar which can be taken with a treat and little effort, especially if the dog is friendly.
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