[nagdu] people who persist in petting

[Natasha Baebler]

Julie, Marie doesn't like strangers touching her- especially in harness. So when someone asks to pet, I say no she isn't fond of strangers touching her. If the human has been rude enough to pet without asking, or worse, say they know but, all being polite has been forfeited. I won't be nasty, but I will stand up for miss M. I use my no-nonsense "teacher/nanny" voice and say "please don't. You are endangering us." Or if need be just leave it at a firm "please don't" and immediately tell Marie to hop up. If I can tell the person is really a dog/animal person I will say "please don't. You are getting her in trouble." That has worked really well for goo-goo-gah-gah gushy people as heaven forbid they would get the cute doggie in trouble! If they come back with something like "oh she should know better," I say something like "yes. And you are making it harder for her." 

I really advocate using as few words as possible when standing up for your dog/saying no petting. People loose the message if there are too many words.

Natasha
guidingpaws at gmail.com
Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 24, 2013, at 5:21 PM, Julie McGinnity <kaybaycar at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi guys.
> 
> I'm curious.  What do you all do when people persist in petting your
> dog.  I do not allow people to pet Brie, and generally, this is not a
> problem.  I just tell whoever is asking (or petting anyway) that she
> is working, which means I do not allow people to pet her.  I can
> usually leave it at that.  But there are a few people who I see at
> church and school who say things like "I know.  I'm going to pet
> anyway."  In fact, one of those lovely people decided to pet Brie
> while we were crossing the street.
> 
> I don't want to be rude and create a problem, but I'm not sure how to
> tell them in a polite way that I don't want them petting my dog.  I am
> also not sure if they would even listen at that point.  Part of me
> also wonders if it's even a problem, since Brie doesn't generally get
> distracted by this.  She only gets distracted by people she knows, and
> those people know better.  What do you guys do?  I know I'm kind of
> obnoxious when it comes to people petting my dog, but when she is
> working, she is my mobility tool, not a dog on display for others to
> play with.
> 
> 
> -- 
> Julie McG
> National Association of Guide dog Users board member,  National
> Federation of the Blind performing arts division secretary,
> Missouri Association of Guide dog Users President,
> and Guiding Eyes for the Blind graduate 2008
> "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
> everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
> life."
> John 3:16
> 
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