I remember when, aged 12 I first went to boarding school, the heartache of leaving home and my parents was made even worse by having to leave our labrador Shandy behind too. After all, I thought, if you could take gerbils and guinea pigs to school, why not dogs? Somewhat bigger and in need of more exercise, but what better way to share a special friend while making new friends and therefore feeling less homesick? Well of course, head nun would never have entertained the idea...

I was delighted to read in the papers that an enlightened school head has seen the advantages of allowing a dog into the classroom...not to win favour with the children, although he must have scored huge brownie points, but actually with the idea that the nine month old puppy spaniel would help teach the youngsters about responsibility and encourage them to communicate better with their peers!

Apparently this scheme, the first of its kind in Britain, has been well received by child development experts and praised as 'an excellent idea'. According to the headmaster of Rough Hay Primary school, Mark Kleot, rather than distracting the pupils, Betty the spaniel helps them calm down and learn more!

The Headmaster goes on to say 'Betty sits in nine different classes and you can always tell which one she's in because the children are so calm. As teachers, we try to be there for all the children, but inevitably it can get very busy and sometimes a child feels they can't talk to someone. It's at these times that they can talk to Betty and feel she is listening to them and paying them attention. We have four autistic children at the school and she's especially helpful to them. They find it easier sometimes to deal with teachers through Betty.'

It is no secret that children benefit enormously from having pets around. At times a pet is easier to relate to and even confide in! Pets will love them unconditionally without judging or telling tales! They learn that this friendship comes without trade-offs, but with real responsibility!

The upside for the teachers? A happy and concentrated classroom!

Toffee, my 3 year old golden labrador hasn't lost any of her puppy-like social skills, be it with humans or other four legged friends. It is a joy to see her take on any size of dog in the park, in search of a good chase or rough and tumble challenge. Of course this can get her into trouble, as not all dogs (or their parents) are looking for social interaction! Dog speak for "Do you want to play" seems to do the trick most of the time, and to be fair, Toffee takes rejection pretty well.

At home with the kids she is docile, playfull, and endlessly patient and of course competes for attention! This is why I was taken completely by surprise in the park the other day when a seemingly friendly canine encounter with a Jack Russel turned into something resembling dog-rage! Clearly insults were exchanged, Toffee's hackles went up and the next thing I knew, JR went for a full on bite of Toffee's ear! Toffee growled and beared her teeth looking more like a wolf than a soppy labrador...for a moment I thought she would throttle JR...meanwhile the owner started screaming hysterically which didn't really help matters, and luckily I managed to separate them (the dogs that is!) At that point the woman turned her attention to me (not her dog) and delivered a deluge of verbal abuse until a witness came forward and intervened saying her dog had started the fight and mine had naturally defended herself...I decided not to persue the no-win situation and instead get Toffee to the vet for an ear inspection...All was thankfully ok.

I am now aware that even my docile family labrador can turn aggressive, all be it deffensively, and perhaps it is just as well that Toffee now seems to think twice about taking on the park's less sociable dogs! Judging by the reaction I got from JR's owner I should probably follow suit!

Toffee's Woof Blog:

Yes it's true, my hackles do go up at times...it makes me look bigger and I can impress my friends in the park..! By the way I just wanted to let you know that Mummy (i use that name because I am her fourth child you see) should not judge a book by its cover or a dog by its breed!

I know I got into a scrap with a rude Jack Russel the other day, but yesterday I had just the best time with two JRs who even volunteered to share their stick, log actually, with a brilliant tug of war game! Of course you know I didn't want to intimidate them too much, they being so much smaller than me, so I let them win a couple of times and suggested they stick to twigs next time and leave the logs for us big dogs!

So happy you've joined me on Paws Connect and I look forward to getting to know you!

Toffee