[nagdu] wearing a harness.

[Vivianna]

OK, it may not be the law that a guide dog has to wear a harness however, i respectfully strongly disagree that folks should just take their dogs around on a leash in public.  
i am a college graduate myself and spent 4 years on a university campus working my dog, in harness.  it’s a huge place with, traffic, busses, stairs, ramps, bicycles, paths going off in all directions, etc.  i often had to walk a mile between classes and, sometimes had to take a bus to the next class.
all of us on here know that, the public recognizes a guide dog by the harness.
we are encountering more and more folks taking their pets around and saying that they are service dogs.
allowing your dog to act like a pet during guide work is, IMO, not helping those of us who use our dogs as guides.  
guiding on a leash, while possible, is not the recommended way to work a guide dog.  just ask any school.
you can most definitely not feel the movements of the dog nearly as well as in a harness.
man, all i can envision is a bunch of folks deciding that harnessing up is not necessary.  next thing, i will be in a store or restaurant, or, even at a national convention with a bunch of dogs, guides or not, on leashes, their owners feeding them treats and never giving them a correction for anything.  yuck!

i am proud to be a woman with a harnessed up guide at my side;
Vivianna