[nagdu] Suggestions needed!

[Julie J.]

I think limiting breeds or even identifying specific breeds as common 
service dogs creates a couple of problems.

Every dog is unique and although dogs within a breed will have similarities 
in temperament, there are always going to be exceptions.  I'm sure there are 
very nice Chihuahua's out there.  I had a Beagle as a kid that was a menace 
to society.

Suggesting or pointing to specific breeds will give the impression that only 
those breeds can be service dogs.   Different breeds have different talents. 
What we choose for a guide might be the polar opposite of what someone that 
needs a hearing dog would choose.  Also there may be things that dogs can do 
that we haven't discovered yet.  I wouldn't want to say that St. Bernard's 
can never be used as service dogs, only to find out in 20 years that their 
saliva contains some enzyme that can be used for pain management for people 
with advanced arthritis.  I totally made that up, but I don't think we've 
discovered everything that dogs are capable of helping with yet.

My final issue is that the general public is not very good with breed 
identification.  I had people mistake my Beagle for a pit bull.  And what 
about the mixed breed dogs?  Just the other day I had someone insist that 
Monty looked like a Great Dane.  Or at the state fair a couple of years ago, 
I had someone say he was a pit bull.

I think entering into the area of what breeds are used as service dogs will 
cause more confusion than it will clear up.  Any public education efforts we 
offer have to be super simple, straightforward and black and white.  The 
less open for interpretation the better.  Either the dog has fleas and 
should be asked to leave or he doesn't.  Either the dog pooped on the floor 
and should be asked to leave or he didn't.

JMHO
Julie