[nagdu] Meetings between dogs

[Julie J.]

Two situations come to mind...

Situation one...I am planning to attend a luncheon meeting at a local 
restaurant.  I know there will be another service dog there and she knows I 
will be there with Monty.  she contacted me in advance by email to ask what 
I had in mind for a socialization plan.  I wasn't really sure what she meant 
or what she wanted exactly.  I responded that Monty would mind his own 
business and if he didn't I would remind him right away.   Monty is very no 
nonsense when he's working and I wasn't worried.  When I got to the meeting 
and got seated, I somehow ended up at the same table with the other service 
dog handler.  She allowed her dog to stretch under the table to sniff and 
greet Monty.  I wasn't very happy about this, but Monty gave the other dog 
the expected sniff and resumed minding his own business.   she seemed 
pleased with this exchange.  It isn't how I would have preferred things to 
go, but it worked out fine.

The second situation I'm thinking of was at a conference with a handful of 
guide dogs.  One of the other guides really didn't like Monty for some 
unexplained reason.  The handler was embarrassed and handled her dog quickly 
and appropriately.  I tried to keep as much space as I could between the two 
dogs, but I wasn't always aware of the other dog's presence until it was too 
late.  It was stressful for all involved, but especially Monty. I don't 
think there was really any better way of dealing with this situation.  The 
other handler was doing everything she could to prevent/manage her dog from 
reacting.

I'm very firm with no greeting other dogs when in harness.  I'd prefer if 
people and dogs just ignored Monty.  He's fine being around other dogs. 
He's just not into socializing when he's working.   He'll lay under a table 
literally touching another service dog and do nothing to interact with the 
other dog.  Fortunately most other service dogs I've been around conduct 
themselves in a similar manner, so it works.  I don't know what I'd do if 
another handler wanted to let their dog greet Monty in harness.  I think I'd 
decline and offer to keep some distance between the dogs if not greeting was 
going to create a problem for the other handler.

Julie