[nagdu] Service dogs who were pets

[Tracy Carcione]

Did the training center instruct the owners about the kind of behavior 
expected of service dogs?  Or did they work it out on their own?
Tracy

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Margo Downey and Arrow" <margo.downey at verizon.net>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, August 30, 2013 12:31 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Service dogs who were pets


> 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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