[nagdu] Get control of that dog

[Jenine Stanley]

Hi Michelle, 

This can be a tough one. When people try to give the dog commands, I usually
say something like: "He is trained to only listen to me and giving him
commands confuses him." 

This usually works with the average public but when it's someone you
encounter regularly who gives you rides, you do have to be a little more,
uhm, assertive. Assertive doesn't mean rude or aggressive either, just
matter-of-fact but firmly stating what you want to happen. 

"I need to talk to you about something. I have a lot of trouble with my dog
when other people try to give him commands. He gets confused and then won't
pay attention to me. He's been trained to listen only to me so please let me
give the commands." 

If the person continues, I've had to use the authority figure lines because
at that point I have no standing with the person. I always try to start
though assuming that they do at least respect my position. 

"You know, I had to call the trainer about my dog's behavior because he's
not paying attention to me. The trainer said that when other people
interfere, the dog doesn't know who to listen to and it will eventually ruin
him. The trainer told me to tell you to stop giving the dog commands." 

This tact actually worked in one very uncomfortable situation. 

Then again, if you've said these things and the person is still giving
commands, you do have to get more forceful. Yes, maybe even rude, but think
of it as raising your assertiveness to the other person's resistance level.
<grin> 

Touching the harness or leash though is a whole different matter for me.
That's a part of my personal space, as well as touching the dog. I can
almost understand the dog being petted, not that I condone it if I've said
no petting, but do not ever grab the leash or harness. 

I've grabbed someone's purse once when she insisted on grabbing the leash.
Unfortunately she thought I was losing my balance and we both ended up on
the ground. We laughed about it and once I explained what I was doing, she
got it. 

One overly zealous person decided to give me directions by grabbing the
harness and hauling forward. Since it was clear he wasn't going to listen to
me at all, I said that grabbing someone's dog like that is a good way to get
bitten as the dog sees that kind of move as a threat. Given the way he was
doing it, this was a distinct possibility. You can bet he let go at that
point. Molly promptly licked him once and went right into follow mode
nicely. 

If someone grabs the leash or harness while we are moving, I will stop and
often drop the handle. This all of course changes if the contact is during a
street crossing. <grin> I've only had that happen once or twice and the
crowd in downtown Columbus, who are used to seeing the Pilot Dogs trainers
and classes and who are pretty good about letting service animals do their
work, berated the grabber before I could even say anything. 

Good luck with this one though. 

Jenine Stanley
jeninems at wowway.com