[nagdu] petting guide dog question

Fri Nov 28 18:39:14 UTC 2014

Well Nicole, I consider it rude not to ask anyone if I can pet there dog for 
whatever reason! We don't know how the dog might be trained or how it might 
react. We should always ask and respect the fact that sometimes, we can't. 
An extreme example would be a dog who does police work. Imagine what happens 
if a person approaches a vehicle with a nice looking shepherd inside. They 
try to reach in and will probably get bitten because the dogs are trained to 
protect the car. I've actually heard of a case like that. However, the 
person in that case was warned first and reached in anyway. The dog nailed 
him and he tried to sue. Didn't stand because the person was warned what the 
dog would do and ignored the warning. That's part of why I would always ask. 
Among a whole lot of other reasons including but not limited to; is the dog 
socialized, has he been abused or is she doing something I could interfere 
with if we try. As a thaught question, how many members of the canine units 
at police departments get asked to pet the dogs? The dogs can be justg as 
friendly as ours! But, I somehow think that it doesn't come up much!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nicole Torcolini via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
To: "'Buddy Brannan'" <buddy at brannan.name>; "'NAGDU Mailing List,the 
National Association of Guide Dog Users'" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>; "'John 
Sanders'" <starmy22 at gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, November 28, 2014 1:17 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] petting guide dog question


> Excuse me, but that was a bit extreme. Your response would be more
> appropriate if John had asked what to do if someone petted a guide dog
> without asking.
> To answer the question that John asked... As Michael already said, it 
> needs
> to be you and only you whom the dog respects and obeys. For this reason,
> when you first get your dog, I would recommend setting a no petting policy
> for both in and out of harness and regardless of if it is friends, family,
> coworkers, or strangers. Developing a strong bond with your dog is very
> important, and it is easier if all good things come from you. Okay, so it
> has been six months since you received your dog, maybe more. You have a
> strong bond with your dog. Now what? The answer depends on a lot of 
> factors,
> including the handler, the dog, and the situation. If your dog is easily
> distracted and it is hard to get your dog to focus again when someone pets
> the dog, then I would say to not let anyone pet the dog. The same if your
> dog is easily excited. When someone is petting your dog, your dog still
> needs to listen to you. The dog should stay in a sit or down position. If
> this is not possible, then the petting session must stop. If you are 
> finding
> that people do not understand that they have to stop petting if the dog 
> gets
> up, then it is better to just have a no petting policy. You can also
> practice having a dog stay put while being petted by having friends and
> family help you. It is quite common for people to have friends or family 
> act
> as distractions while doing obedience with a dog. There will also be times
> where you need your dog to be ready to work at a moment's notice, such as
> when you are waiting for a bus. Regardless of what people might say to try
> to make you feel bad about not letting them pet your dog, you cannot 
> listen
> to them. A guide dog is there to be your guide, not to entertain the 
> public.
> Some people say to not let people pet your dog if the dog is in harness,
> regardless of what is going on. Again, this depends on the dog. I do not
> think that it ever affected Lexia, but that is just Lexia. For some dogs,
> the harness is what dictates what is and is not appropriate. This is true 
> to
> some extent with Lexia, but she can also tell based on what is going on 
> how
> she is supposed to act. For example, even if I take her harness of at 
> work,
> she still behaves and does not act the way that she would when her harness
> is off at home.
> I hope that my answers were not too confusing. You can also ask the school
> this kind of stuff when you go as they will know more about your dog. 
> Also,
> some of this stuff will start making more sense once you have a dog.
>
> Nicole
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Buddy Brannan 
> via
> nagdu
> Sent: Friday, November 28, 2014 8:05 AM
> To: John Sanders; NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog
> Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] petting guide dog question
>
> Well, there's the textbook answer, and then there's real life.
>
> Textbook:
> "He's working right now, so please do not pet him or talk to him, because
> that will distract him, and that could be dangerous. Moreover, such
> attention from others over time could lead to future problems, so please
> just ignore him, I'd appreciate it."
>
> Real life:
> "Get your !@#$%^^!#@##%@%#$!@!!!!!ing hands off my dog!"
> (This after approximately the 48,923,875th such encounter during the past
> week.)
>
> So.yeah.take your pick.
>
> My reaction usually falls somewhere between these extremes. Although the
> other thing is, you probably want to focus less on discouraging others 
> from
> petting (a losing battle) and more on discouraging your dog from reacting
> (something more under your control).
>
> -
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
> Phone: 814-860-3194
> Mobile: 814-431-0962
> Email: buddy at brannan.name
>
>
>
>> On Nov 28, 2014, at 10:40 AM, John Sanders via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
>>
>> 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
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