[nagdu] Suggestions needed!

Sat Aug 17 05:20:10 UTC 2013

Maybe it could be required on a yearly basis or two years or something? Or,
maybe as an alternative, if a business owner thinks that a dog that is being
called a service dog is misbehaving too much, then the business owner could
report the dog to someone (not sure who) and the dog could then go through
the test. This might be better than requiring everyone to do the test.
However, having the test on some sort of regular schedule might not be a bad
idea, even for organization trained dogs as I know that it is possible for a
dog's behavior to get out of hand once he/she is placed with a handler.
Sometimes, it is something that the handler is doing and sometimes it is
not.
Something else that might helpful, but that could also be misused, is some
sort of description of what sort of dogs usually do certain services. For
example, most guide dogs wear harnesses and need to be large enough to
effectively  guide their handlers. Also, maybe there are certain breeds that
are more questionable as service dogs than others because they are more high
strung or for whatever other reason.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tami Jarvis
Sent: Friday, August 16, 2013 10:12 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Suggestions needed!

Well, if there were a way for that to be administered that would actually
work, it could be worth consideration, at least. There is the question of
how that is paid for and by whom, to begin with. Where would the testing
take place? And so on.

Also, to what extent would the test guarantee that the dogs continue to be
well-behaved and that the handlers continue to maintain that part of the
training and so on.

Also, how is that certification then used? Do we have to show it everywhere
we go? Is that a good idea? Can we produce a proof of this certification
that cannot be forged?

I've seen some proposed sample tests that seem sensible and reasonable, with
fairly specific requirements for the testing. However, there is still the
problem of administration and financing on a large scale. So I have never
come up with an idea of how to even start there. Maybe someone else has?

On 08/16/2013 08:27 PM, Nicole Torcolini wrote:
> Would requiring some kind of behavior  test be considered too much 
> certification?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Larry D. 
> Keeler
> Sent: Friday, August 16, 2013 8:13 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Suggestions needed!
>
> Tami, I think the formost issue with me is does the dog behave when 
> asked and does the handler know how to handle the dog! Grooming and 
> general health is also important because iether the dog may be 
> bringing its own pets with it or sometimes, Not always, it can reflect 
> badly on the handler. A handler may be slipping in maintaining the 
> dogs appearance due to lack of money, time or just lack of interest. I 
> know that many folks will disaggree with me but I also think that an 
> ID, tradmark harness or for owner trained teams some kind of state 
> issued sticker be obtained so that a service dog can be distinguished from
any other dog. A perfect example is my dughters friend.
> She has a jack Russell terrier named Trouble! She is a owner trained 
> hearing dog. The dog is cute and well behaved but, I can forsee many 
> folks confusing her with a pet. For me, I wonder wher the line between 
> being private about why you need a dog and what that dog does for you 
> conflicts with the general publics seeming need to declare there dogs 
> as service dogs! At some point, there has to be a clear line instead 
> of the big grey void folks seem to have now. I met a woman at the train
station last year on the way to convention.
> William and I were taking the train and I sure hope she wasn't! At 
> least she wasn't in our car! Anyway, she had a little terier, and the 
> thing barked, growled and tried to come at our dogs! She had to walk 
> down the tracks quite away down the tracks and her dog was still going 
> off! Interestingly, she claimed it was for PTSD. That thing would have 
> caused it instead of relieving it! I really didn't know how to handle 
> the situation other than william and I controlling our dogs while hers 
> cut loose! I mean, who or how do you report a situation where the dog 
> is clearly in dubious territory iether because of its or the handlers 
> lack of controlling behavior? At least with guide dogs you can call a 
> school or talk to a friend and check to see if the behavior is normal 
> for a service dog! And, I can tell good owner trainers because they 
> keep there dogs under control. I wonder what or how penalties can be 
> assessed to folks who are not being truthful about the service or lack 
> of services that the dog performs. As long as there is no requirment 
> that can't be faked or we are not required to have some proof that the 
> dog does the service. we'll always have folks sneaking nonservice animals
under the wire!
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tami Jarvis" <tami at poodlemutt.com>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, August 16, 2013 10:39 PM
> Subject: [nagdu] Suggestions needed!
>
>
>> Okay, following up on Ken's suggestion, I opened my mouth and now 
>> have a writing project. I blame Ken! /grin/
>>
>> Seriously, I do think it might be nice to have some semi-formalized 
>> collection of those rules of etiquette that most of us here just take 
>> for granted and that we work so diligently to follow. The
> "responsibilities"
>> part of our rights and responsibilities. Most of those I have learned 
>> from a lot of you, whether it's what you learned from your schools or 
>> the experience of years of real world guide dog use. So this seemed a 
>> good place to ask again! /smile/
>>
>> What do we -- with "we" being responsible, considerate service dog 
>> users -- consider important when we take our dogs into public? What 
>> is good etiquette in our dogs? What is good etiquette for us humans?
>>
>> I'm thinking of a couple of categories for the dogs:
>>
>> 1) Grooming and health
>> 2) public behavior
>>
>> For the humans... I haven't figured out neat categories for that yet.
>> I'm thinking of good dog management -- keep the dog out of the aisle, 
>> stuff like that. Maybe a bit about how to manage lines and so forth.
>>
>> I think I'll include a "what to do when..." As we have seen from the 
>> convention debriefing... Not everybody knows that it's bad form to 
>> walk off and leave the smelling mess for someone to step in. Ugh! And 
>> what about those times your perfectly well trained dog goes klepto in 
>> the supermarket? I say pay for it; others say, "oh, well." I've only 
>> had to buy an unintended stuffed animal, if anyone is wondering. 
>> /lol/
>>
>> I have a few items I might address for interactions with other 
>> service dog users... Hm...
>>
>> Anyway, if anyone has suggestions they would like to see included, 
>> you can write me off list at tami at poodlemutt.com. It might also be 
>> fun to discuss some of these things on the list. I'm thinking of the 
>> recent discussion about riding in cabs. We all have different ways of 
>> doing the same thing and smoothing over the rough spots we encounter 
>> in a
> crowded busy world.
>>
>> Tami
>>
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