[nagdu] Service dogs who were pets

[Margo Downey and Arrow]

Hi.  A couple of friends have service dogs who were their pets but were
trained at a service dog facility--very wonderful balance dogs.  The
facility staff determined that the dogs would be good for the service
purpose and then trained them for that.

Margoa nd Arrow

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione
Sent: Friday, August 30, 2013 10:54 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] Service dogs who were pets

I've been thinking about what Ann said about expectations.  I bet many
people who have trained a pet to be a service dog still think of it first as
a pet, if only subconsciously.  There's Fluffy, begging at the table, saying
Hi to everyone he meets, and then Joe Q discovers Fluffy can do this great
extra thing, like detect low blood sugar or anxiety, and alert him to it, so
Joe Q trains Fluffy to enhance that ability, but doesn't do any other
training, or change how he thinks about Fluffy, except to appreciate his new
skill.  On the other hand, most of us, from the first, think of our dogs as
service dogs first, and pets second.  From the beginning, everything we do
is with service in mind, and thus we expect a different standard of
behavior.  Everything that's done has to be evaluated as to how it will
affect the dog's work. For instance, I'm sure Jetta is not being allowed to
beg at the table, because that is not acceptable guide dog behavior.
So, as Ann said, people who've trained pets as service dogs have to be made
more aware of acceptable service dog behavior, which, IMO, requires a change
of mindset.  I'm not sure how that could be done, though.  I wonder if an
organization like IAADP could be helpful, having as members many kinds of
assistance dog partners.
Tracy 


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