Puppy at daycare

Well, now that my kids are both in school I was feeling a little lonely, despite having the dcks here. SOOOO...I got a puppy! She's 7 months old, so at least the potty training is done (well, mostly:p). BUT, she's still a puppy! Today was the first day and of course she was super excited and the kids were super excited and it was a little nutty at times.
At least the way my house and daycare are set up it's very easy to gate her off in areas. Around lunch everyone finally calmed down and if they leave her alone, she leaves them alone.
She even came and helped my tuck them all in for naps.
Anyone else have puppies or any words of advice. The parents were all pretty okay with it, which I knew ahead of time, but one seemed a little thrown off this morning. I just tried to make her feel confident about it and of course her little guy was the most nervous around the puppy! So he'd run away, and being a puppy she'd chase him and jump on him! :p But, like I said, with the gates it was all good. I figure if we got through this morning, it will only get better from here as everyone gets used to eachother...

Guh! Puppy!!!! Sooo cute I bet! I love animals and have always had them. At the moment I have a chihuahua and a beagle (both raised in the daycare). I've just relocated from a home in the country to one in the city and clients are totally different here. In the country, everyone was cool with the dogs. Many picked me BECAUSE of the dogs. Here in the city, they're not so keen and I have to keep my dogs in a separate room. It may be better for you, with the puppy being so excitable, to keep him away from the kids until a very quiet time, like watching a movie together....somethin g where the kids are all super relaxed, calm and otherwise a bit preoccupied. The problem with puppies is they tend to bite in play with those sharp, sharp teeth. Whether it's in play or not, a parent is likely to freak out if there's a puncture or if someone goes home and announces 'puppy bit me!". You could try, during one of those quiet times possibly holding puppy on a short leash so you can control his behaviour to some degree? And, for the kids, very firm rules need to be in place and strongly enforced. My dcks are never, ever allowed to approach the animals. They are only allowed to pet my dogs if the dog comes over to them. This will get the idea of chasing out of the way over time. And they are never ever allowed to disturb the dogs when they are on their dog bed or asleep. So far, it's worked for me. Hope this helps a bit :)

I think what you're doing is perfect. I have a 2 year old cocker spaniel and he's pretty much like a puppy. I make sure to teach the kids how to pet the puppy nice and for the ones that just won't leave him alone I always remind them that we don't chase the puppy and that growling means stop (when they are trying to play with his toys that he has and try to corner him - they sometimes are more interested in the dogs toys than their own. In this case I tell them that they are for those with 4 legs and explain that they have a bazillion toys and Angus only has 3). The only other thing is I would recommend to have a place where your pup can have their own time whether it's a crate or room. In my case I have the entrance way which has a baby gate up to keep the little ones out of the room and I have a bench that he likes to rest on. In most cases he just asks to go in there on his own or if I notice that the kids are driving him nuts and he's looking for a place to lay I call him to the room and he happily goes for his peace and quiet.

The other thing is if you notice that the dog is getting too excited from the kids running around and being excited themselves with the dog I ask them to calm down or just remove the dog. Sometimes with the running/or flailing around pups think that is an invite for them to run and jump too and sometimes they can get rough jumping up along side and trying to nip them (that's how dogs play in their packs).

My kids are all pretty good with him. I just have one who the dog and him are buddies but sometimes the boy gets my dog too wound up and then that's just an invite for someone to get hurt with all the excitement (same when kids play together. Someone is bound to get hurt when they start to get too crazy). So I just ask my DC kid to stop and most of the time he does and if his 'listening ears' have turned off and he keeps working up the dog then we get a timeout.

You'll find out your dogs temperament over the next few months and know when it's time to calm down or just give your pup a time for themselves.

Hope that helps :)

Congrats on your new addition

We have two dogs (had three but one moved to a big farm). We had the one dog (full sized Collie when I started the Daycare) everyone was fine with that, they loved him, he loved the kids. Then about 4 years ago we brought home one more puppy, they loved her and no one seemed concerned, about a month later the breeder of the new pup called and said they still had one my husband really liked and wondered of we'd also like to have him? well, of course we couldn't say no, (he was sooooo cute) so then we had 3 dogs, (I do remember feeling like a few parents had some concerned looks) not sure if it was me worrying or true concern...either way, anytime I choose to do something different or new in our family or with our home, I always have to remind myself "this is my home before a day care" what I choose to do in my life should not be changed by the opinion of others, if they don't like the changes that occur or the things that happen in our family there is nothing I can do about it.
You are definitely going to notice some days where you will want to slap yourself for making such a choice to put MORE on your shoulders, but for the most part, I find it quite nice to have the dogs around. It's also fun to watch the kids interact and grow with them. :)

Thanks. Some great advice to keep in mind as we all get adjusted. It's definitely more work for now, but I think I made the right choice. She replaces my own kids nicely and is great company. :)
I keep telling my husband...it could have been worse, I could have wanted another baby baby :woot:

ya! you can always "give away" a puppy....people look at you a little funny when you try to "give away" your kids!!!!! plus mine always end up coming back!!!:laugh::laugh ::laugh: