As you may have guessed, the response of many service dog handlers to my friend and her dog being in the news has my feathers exceedingly ruffled. So I shall make an addendum to my last post.
There are some in the service dog community who think they are the self-appointed Service Dog Police™. Service Dog Police™ members know how many patches are okay on a dog's vest or harness. More than that makes you a faker. They know which tasks are legitimate and exactly how those tasks should be performed. If you do it wrong, you're a faker. They also have a very short list of tools that are appropriate for a service dog to wear. If your dog wears something that is not on their list, you're a faker.
I could go on, but you get the idea.
I think we can all agree that service dogs should conform to certain standards. Like not biting, or lunging, or acting aggressively without reason. They shouldn't bark and make a nuisance of themselves in public without reason. They should be housebroken. (These are all reasons a service dog can legally be asked to leave a public place.) Beyond that, every team is different. Different standards apply to different teams. That's why the laws are so broad.
Just because a service dog team uses a tool you don't use, or a tool you personally do not like, does not mean the team is not legitimate.
Some teams work in a flat collar. Some teams use a slip chain (this includes pretty much all program-trained guide dogs). Some, like my dogs, work in prongs. Others work in head collars or harnesses of various types. The only things that matter are: 1) Is the tool/combination of tools working for that dog and handler? and 2) Is the dog generally happy working in that tool? Training tools, and when to use and not to use them, are not up to the Service Dog Police™. They are up to each individual team. There is a reason why laws regarding service dogs don't require any specific gear.
Just because a service dog team uses a task you don't use, or a task you personally deem “unprofessional,” does not mean the team is not legitimate.
For certain service dogs, climbing into the handler's lap and beginning to lick his or her face in public might be a sign of misbehavior. A dog trained only to guide its blind handler would have no reason to do such a thing. However, a service dog trained to interrupt dissociation might do this as a task. Licking the handler's face is not inherently wrong, in some way, though the Service Dog Police™ would have you believe it is. Some even think that a dog being in the handler's lap to perform deep pressure therapy is wrong!
Some dogs never need to be off-leash to perform all their tasks. Some dogs, however, do—if they need to run and get help, or circle their handler in order to keep enough space around them, for instance. There are reasons for service dogs to be off-leash. The lack of a leash is not inherently wrong, as long as the dog is under voice control of the handler.
Service dogs sometimes need to be on laps. Sometimes they need to lick. Sometimes they seem to be pulling their handler along, when in fact they are leading that person to an exit, a safe place, or another person who can help them. Sometimes they seem to be sniffing needlessly, when in fact they are searching for their handler's human partner. Sometimes they need to be off leash. Sometimes, if they're small, they need to be carried in certain situations. Sometimes they wear blinged out vests which are extremely colorful or have lots of patches.
Sometimes, service dogs just don't conform to what some may think are unwritten service dog “rules.”
That does not give anyone the right to scream “faker” at another team.
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
07 August 2012
My dogs are MINE: A Rant
Yes, this rant has been written before. But I just wanted to add my voice.
Regardless of whether my dogs are vested or not, they are not public property. Even when they're not covered in 2,349,763,498 patches telling you not to touch or distract them, you still don't get to randomly grope them whenever you feel the urge. If I wanted to bring them out to enrich the lives of random strangers, I would train them as therapy dogs, vest them appropriately to that task, and take them to an appropriate place (hospital, nursing home, etc.). They and I would choose to engage in that kind of activity, if we wanted to, and there would be rules.
In just the past couple days, I have had a grown man squat down in front of my approaching pack of five dogs, arms spread, and try to hug them. (No, as far as I could tell he was not impaired in any way ... except by general stupidity.) I have had children run at the outside dogs to touch them. I've had people sitting at tables reach for the heads of my outside dogs. I've had a woman try to distract my working service dog and service dog in training, simply because she couldn't actually touch them.
How many times do we—service dog handlers, dog walkers, your average dog owners—have to say it? Never pet a dog you don't know without asking the owner/handler first. How do you know the dog is friendly? Not all dogs are, for various reasons. How do you know that dog is okay with you reaching at their head from above them? Many dogs find this threatening. When Jett the Swissie leaps back from an outstretched hand, people ask if he's shy or mean. He's neither—you scared him by threatening him in dog language. If you had asked to pet him, I would have politely told you to scratch him under the chin or rub his chest, and you'd have made a friend for life.
There are blind dogs, old dogs, dogs who have been abused, sick dogs, dogs in pain, dogs with stress-related seizure disorders, shy dogs, dogs who simply prefer not to associate with strangers. It is unfair to force yourself on such dogs, which is exactly what these people are doing when they just swoop in for a pet. Hearing, "It's okay, I'm a dog person," as an excuse makes me want to lash out violently. Maybe this dog isn't a people dog!
And maybe—gasp!—the owner is on her way somewhere and doesn't want to chat with you for fifteen minutes while you manhandle her dog and tell her about how you had a dog just like hers ... only a different color, size, personality, etc.
Even the best trained, best socialized dog may not take kindly to being surprised by contact with a stranger. Do these people enjoy being hugged out of nowhere by complete strangers? I highly doubt it. I trained Juno, and am training Kaline, to at least tolerate being touched anywhere at any time, because of these idiots and because even more shit happens to service dogs than regular dogs. But here's a newsflash: Not everyone trains their dog that way, and they shouldn't have to. They shouldn't have to teach their dog it's okay for humans to pull their tail, or step on their paws, or stick fingers up their nose.
And parents! Keep an eye on your unruly children, and teach them how to meet a dog properly! When my dogs get charged by kids, the parent is inevitably feet away, watching and doing nothing. Oh, how I love parents who tell their children, "Do you want to pet the doggie? You need to ask first." There are just not enough of them.
Kids lead with their faces (sometimes adults do too). Again, dogs can find this very threatening—ask the reporter who was bitten in the face by a dog who'd just saved his owner from drowning. If you invade an on-leash dog's space, he has exactly one option if he feels threatened: FIGHT. And when you invade his space with your face, that's what's going to get bitten. Very simple.
People don't respect dogs' individual space. When owners object, they're often ignored. And when dogs object to that blatant disrespect in limited ways available to them—often using their teeth—who gets blamed? The dog, and the dog's owner. How is this fair?!
Keep your hands off my dogs. All of them. If you want to touch, ask. Maybe I'll let you, maybe I won't. They're my dogs, and it's my decision. Be an adult, and just deal with it.
Regardless of whether my dogs are vested or not, they are not public property. Even when they're not covered in 2,349,763,498 patches telling you not to touch or distract them, you still don't get to randomly grope them whenever you feel the urge. If I wanted to bring them out to enrich the lives of random strangers, I would train them as therapy dogs, vest them appropriately to that task, and take them to an appropriate place (hospital, nursing home, etc.). They and I would choose to engage in that kind of activity, if we wanted to, and there would be rules.
In just the past couple days, I have had a grown man squat down in front of my approaching pack of five dogs, arms spread, and try to hug them. (No, as far as I could tell he was not impaired in any way ... except by general stupidity.) I have had children run at the outside dogs to touch them. I've had people sitting at tables reach for the heads of my outside dogs. I've had a woman try to distract my working service dog and service dog in training, simply because she couldn't actually touch them.
How many times do we—service dog handlers, dog walkers, your average dog owners—have to say it? Never pet a dog you don't know without asking the owner/handler first. How do you know the dog is friendly? Not all dogs are, for various reasons. How do you know that dog is okay with you reaching at their head from above them? Many dogs find this threatening. When Jett the Swissie leaps back from an outstretched hand, people ask if he's shy or mean. He's neither—you scared him by threatening him in dog language. If you had asked to pet him, I would have politely told you to scratch him under the chin or rub his chest, and you'd have made a friend for life.
There are blind dogs, old dogs, dogs who have been abused, sick dogs, dogs in pain, dogs with stress-related seizure disorders, shy dogs, dogs who simply prefer not to associate with strangers. It is unfair to force yourself on such dogs, which is exactly what these people are doing when they just swoop in for a pet. Hearing, "It's okay, I'm a dog person," as an excuse makes me want to lash out violently. Maybe this dog isn't a people dog!
And maybe—gasp!—the owner is on her way somewhere and doesn't want to chat with you for fifteen minutes while you manhandle her dog and tell her about how you had a dog just like hers ... only a different color, size, personality, etc.
Even the best trained, best socialized dog may not take kindly to being surprised by contact with a stranger. Do these people enjoy being hugged out of nowhere by complete strangers? I highly doubt it. I trained Juno, and am training Kaline, to at least tolerate being touched anywhere at any time, because of these idiots and because even more shit happens to service dogs than regular dogs. But here's a newsflash: Not everyone trains their dog that way, and they shouldn't have to. They shouldn't have to teach their dog it's okay for humans to pull their tail, or step on their paws, or stick fingers up their nose.
And parents! Keep an eye on your unruly children, and teach them how to meet a dog properly! When my dogs get charged by kids, the parent is inevitably feet away, watching and doing nothing. Oh, how I love parents who tell their children, "Do you want to pet the doggie? You need to ask first." There are just not enough of them.
Kids lead with their faces (sometimes adults do too). Again, dogs can find this very threatening—ask the reporter who was bitten in the face by a dog who'd just saved his owner from drowning. If you invade an on-leash dog's space, he has exactly one option if he feels threatened: FIGHT. And when you invade his space with your face, that's what's going to get bitten. Very simple.
People don't respect dogs' individual space. When owners object, they're often ignored. And when dogs object to that blatant disrespect in limited ways available to them—often using their teeth—who gets blamed? The dog, and the dog's owner. How is this fair?!
Keep your hands off my dogs. All of them. If you want to touch, ask. Maybe I'll let you, maybe I won't. They're my dogs, and it's my decision. Be an adult, and just deal with it.
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