[nagdu] petting guide dog question

Fri Nov 28 18:01:47 UTC 2014

Craig,

I think it's as you say: The focus is safety and what message the dog 
gets if you do or do not allow petting.

I've found that doing what I call a "controlled greet" is the compromise 
that works best for my current dog. I do this whether I'm standing 
around, sitting and relaxing with her, in or out of harness, whatever.

She's fairly reserved and safety-conscious and would rather people don't 
approach her, especially when I'm asking them not to. When she was 
young, the stress of having people persist in trying to get their hands 
on her anyway would make her sick. So I changed tactics, and we found a 
way to deal that was more comfortable for both of us and allowed me to 
control the situation and to protect her from determined petters when 
she absolutely does not want the attention. If she's okay with a 
controlled greeting, then I can keep it more manageable. Usually.

We do the same when she's out of harness. I'm a bit more liberal in my 
willingness to allow the greeting, but ultimately it depends on how 
reserved or not she is being at the time. The downside of my training 
her to do it this way and to be okay accepting attention is that she 
will sometimes go into floozy mode and initiate greetings, which takes 
me by surprise. I've found she only initiates with people who want to be 
greeted, and I often suspect they've been giving her the come-hither, 
but still! It's not proper etiquette!

Loki, my pup in training, is totally friendly, so I'm thinking with him 
I can do things differently and more the way I would actually prefer, 
but we shall see. For now the trick is teaching him that he doesn't need 
to express his great love and affection for absolutely everyone while 
fostering his confidence around people. I'm aiming for relaxed and 
comfortable with the range of human interactions he will need to field 
while he's working, but not seeking attention. I'm also wondering how 
the attention will differ, since he's going to be quite a large black 
poodle whereas Mitzi is smallish. Maybe people will be less inclined to 
stick their hands in his face in the first place? Can I hope?

Mitzi can greet and get back to work, so I don't have to worry about 
that part of it. Some dogs can't, and I'm wondering if Loki will be one 
of those, since he is *so* friendly. If that is the case, then I will 
have to be hard-line with petters.

Tami

On 11/28/2014 09:29 AM, Craig Heaps via nagdu wrote:
> I think you have to work backward from the ultimate goal: your safety.
>
> The reason we ask people not to pet our dogs is because it can distract
> them.  If it distracts them, they might not guide us safely.  So,
> someone might say, if you're just sitting there, what difference does it
> make if your dog is distracted?  Because it tells the dog it's okay to
> be petted while in harness, and the dog might not differentieate between
> "just sitting there" and crossing the street.
>
> So you discourage petting so your dog gets the message that when he/she
> is in harness, it's time to focus.  No seeking affectioin.  No
> scavenging for food.  No sniffing the bushes.
>
> I tell people, "Please don't pet my guide dog.  It can make him
> distracted. And when he's distracted, I tend to walk into fire hydrants
> and parking meters.  I've found that to be very painful."  They usually
> laugh and say they understand.
>
> That said, I sometimes let people (especially children) pet Chase.  It's
> the real world and you have to use your judgment.  Just remember, it's
> about your safety.
>
> Craig and Chase, who loves to be petted
> craig.heaps at comcast.net
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Sanders via nagdu"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, November 28, 2014 7:40 AM
> Subject: [nagdu] petting guide dog question
>
>
>> Hi,
>> I have a question: I know that this topic has already been talked
>> about so I do apologize for reposting it.
>> I had talked with my parents and they said that they were ok with me
>> getting a guide dog.
>> My mom had asked me, if me and the guide dog were just sitting there
>> and the guide dog wasn’t working, what would I say to some one who
>> wanted to pet him?
>> I remember a lot of people saying that while the guide dog is working,
>> people are not supposed to pet him.
>> I’m just wondering:  when your not working with the guide dog, do you
>> allow other people to pet them?
>> I hope to hear from you soon.
>> Sincerely,
>> John Sanders
>> _______________________________________________
>> nagdu mailing list
>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nagdu:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/craig.heaps%40comcast.net
>>
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/tami%40poodlemutt.com