[nagdu] How do any of you deal with small children wanting totouch your guide dog

Fri Apr 8 03:40:03 UTC 2011

Children!  Breakfast of champions.  Also tasty!  /lol/

Actually, I have to confess that my poodle is of the super-shy variety, and
when a poodle is super-shy, they go really overboard.  In fact, someone was
mentioneing that they have one at home of the same type and were baffled by
it, even though they've had poodles for years.  I've met a couple of other
poodles of Mitzi's type, but they seem to be pretty rare.  These ultra shy
poodles will duck away from strangers like they're head shy; the couple was
insisting that they didn't abuse their poodle, that she's really fine with
the family, so and so forth...  So I assume she does that, as Mitzi used to
do.  Actually, Mitzi still will if she's not in a mood to socialize.  It
looks like a dog that's been hit on the head and is afraid of human hands
because of it, but apparently that's just a trait that crops up now and
then.  People used to tease Mitzi because she would let me touch her -- even
though with numb hands and ever decreasing vision, I would sometimes miss
and bonk her on the head or body with my fingernails -- that she would let
me touch her but not them!  /lol/  I, too, used to worry that people would
think my shy child was being beat about the head on a regular basis, but she
was not.  Except the occasional fingernail bonk by accident, and I make sure
to keep my fingernails short for that reason.  /smile/

So, since I planned to be taking Mitzi about the city and hoped to turn her
into a guide dog when she grew up, I figured out right quick that I was
going to have to abandon my principles on interactions with other humans and
just see if I could convince her not to flee, melt down, collapse, then go
home and puke all over the house if someone wanted to pet her.  She was
still a pup, on leash, and I would discover that I couldn't possibly bat
some fool's hands away with my cane while my dog was spinning me around in
circles to avoid being touched.  She would also dive under me, between my
legs, so there would get to be quite a tangle of leash and cane and dog and
leg and still some idiot would be chasing her around with outstretched
hands, saying, "oooh, I only want to say hi, you sweet, beautiful girl."
Honestly, this happened more than once!  The second time, I think I was
actually trying to hit the person with my cane because I kept bopping myself
on the head with it while it was getting more and more tangled in the leash
and the legs going everywhere.  I began to feel downright irritable, I tell
you.  /grin/

So I changed tactics and started using praise and treats with Mitzi to see
if she could learn to deal with the unwanted attentions of strangers I knew
she would face as a guide dog.  If she couldn't adapt, then I didn't need to
be going on with guide-specific groundwork, did I?  /grin/  She was very
brave, and learned to let people look at her when she was on leash and when
I asked her to, which was a start.  It also helped me figure out something
about her character.  She's a total snot monster.  Self-willed to the max,
will push the envelope just for fun, ain't nobody the boss of her, all that.
Only...  Part of her stress with strangers was that when I asked them to
avoid touching her because I was training her to be a guide dog, etc., etc.,
she took my disapproval to heart and worked extra hard to keep them from
touching her.  Strange little dog, mine.  It took me awhile to work it all
out, but I was able to use that trait of hers to work with her despite her
outward rebelliousness.

Anyway, so now she's a total hussy.  Quite the social butterfly!  Her
greatest fear was small children, and she would flee if one looked at her.
So I gave it up and started putting treats into tiny hands to convince Mitzi
that they weren't really all that dangerous.  Also, a real sweet one with no
dog of her own started showing up at our dog park, and we would meet her
around the neighborhood, and she was just old enough to sort of kick the
ball for my young poodle dog.  So she helped a bunch, as have some of the
kids of my friends and neighbors.  /smile/  So long as the parents ask --
andmost around here do -- I always encourage interactions to this day.  I
can take an opportunity to do some on-the-spot education of parents, kid and
onlookers (oh, how cute!) alike while ensuring that my poodle won't bolt at
the approach of a small child at an inconvenient time.  Which has happened
and was very inconvenient, not to mention disorienting.  /lol/

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Buddy Brannan
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2011 6:50 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] How do any of you deal with small children wanting
totouch your guide dog

Oops. I also wanted to say. Yeah, she'll get over it. And, you're not there
to be on display for anyone. Your dog isn't either. Not even for
four-year-old kids. If this mother doesn't understand that you may have
other priorities than to stop and let her kid pet your dog, that really
isn't your problem. If you choose to do so, that's also your prerogative.
I'm sure someone will think I should lighten up, or I eat children for
breakfast, or something. LOL
--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY

On Apr 7, 2011, at 9:39 PM, Buddy Brannan wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> Nope, I don't think it was wrong of you. A four year old is old enough to
understand. And anyway, your dog, your rules. The mother will get over it. 
> --
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
> Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY
> 
> 
> 
> On Apr 7, 2011, at 9:29 PM, Brittney N. Mejico wrote:
> 
>> Hi everyone,
>> The other day this lady got mad at me for not letting her 4 year old
touch my guide dog.  I kind of felt bad afterwards, do you think It was rong
for me to tell her no?  I tried to be as polite as Possible.  Do any of you
have any tips on what I should next time that happens
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