[nagdu] When a service dog is a pet - WAS differences between service dogs and pets

Sat Feb 28 13:48:34 UTC 2015

Julie,
I myself was told that guide dogs are not pets. Goodness, I think we
all heard this repeatedly during lectures at guide dog school. What I
understood this to mean is:
1. this dog is bred, born and raised to work, not sit around the house
or spend it's days playing and doing recreational activities. The
primary purpose of you getting this dog is to use this dog as a means
to mitigate certain hardships and to add certain conveniences to your
life experience.
2. this dog is your dog primarily. You are responsible for caring for
this dog's needs. The dog is to understand that you are it's leader
and provider. While the dog will likely acquaint himself with other
family members, friends, and roommates, the dog should respond to you
primarily, and you should always assume responsibility for the care
and actions of your dog.
3. This animal is not for others' enjoyment or entertainment. This dog
is not solely a companion, but a dog with skills and specialized
training meant to be used on a regular basis.
4. Your guide dog is not only a representation of you, but also of our
program. Your dog's physical appearance and behavior, and your
interactions with your dog, in the presence of others reflect upon the
school.
5. There should be higher behavioral expectations of your guide dog
than there is for a pet because the training and behavior maintenance
that happens at home is the foundation and reflection of how your dog
will behave in public settings and in others' homes.
-- 
Raven
You are valuable because of your potential, not because of what you
have or what you do.

Naturally-reared guide dogs
https://groups.google.com/d/forum/nrguidedogs

On 2/28/15, Julie J. via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Dailyah,
>
> Yes, I mentioned that in my original message.  The thing I was trying to get
>
> at is that when a disabled person is thinking about getting their first
> service dog, the thing that everyone always says is that pets are not
> service dogs.  They aren't talking about the task training.  People are
> talking about the everyday life and management of a service dog.  I was
> trying to understand exactly what people mean when they say that service
> dogs aren't pets in that context.
>
> Julie
> Courage to Dare: A Blind Woman's Quest to Train her Own Guide Dog is now
> available! Get the book here:
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QXZSMOC
> Visit my new website on developing courage and living authentically:
> http://www.falling-up.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dailyah via nagdu
> Sent: Friday, February 27, 2015 7:24 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: [nagdu] When a service dog is a pet - WAS differences between
> service dogs and pets
>
> Apologies if this has already been noted or is stating the obvious...but
> ummmm...lol...the difference between a highly-trained service dog of any
> kind (guide, hearing, mobility, etc.) and a pet who's not trained at all or
>
> as highly-trained as the service dog is only one thing...
> A service dog has been specifically, individually trained, and does work or
>
> performs tasks that all or partially mitigate their human's disability.  If
>
> we want to get picky - all or partly mitigate the legally recognized or
> "legally qualifying" disability.  Legally disabled is when one or more of a
>
> person's Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) are profoundly impaired. ADLs are
>
> things like seeing, walking, breathing, grooming, talking, working,
> hearing...it's a long list, but ya'll get the idea.
> Even if a dog is a service dog for one person, that doesn't mean they are a
>
> service dog for someone else.  The disability and the dog's training have to
>
> match.  For example, if I suddenly had a beautifully trained hearing dog
> given to me who alerted me to all sorts of sounds in my environment that dog
>
> cannot be my service dog partner because my hearing is just fine.  Unless
> someone Deaf or HOH is handling that dog, that dog is a pet.
> There are the slightly funky exceptions or variations.
> If the disabled person is a child or an adult unable to be responsible
> and/or physically manage the dog so a parent or nurse participates, that'd
> be a triad service dog team.  In the case that the dog is doing work for the
>
> disabled person but there has to be a more able third party involved, the
> dog is still a service dog.  (Some programs like Canine Companions
> differentiate these teams and call them Skilled Companions, but the laws
> treat skilled companions as service dogs.)
> Also, and this one varies by locale and can be fuzzy, but there are some
> task-trained dogs that are handled by a non-disabled handler but who
> actually work with a whole series of disabled people because it's part of
> the handler's job. The handlers of these dogs have jobs like School
> Counselor, Special Ed Teacher, Physical or Occupational Therapist, Nurse,
> Doctor, etc. The dogs are sometimes called Facility Dogs by training
> programs, but many just consider these service dogs just like the 'triad
> teams' where the disabled person is always the same person.  If the dog is
> out in public working because someone like a physical therapist is having a
>
> disabled client or patient team with the dog to work on rehab (or whatever),
>
> the dog would be a service dog then, too. The same dog is a pet, though, if
>
> and when the handler is able-bodied and doesn't have a disabled client
> along.
> Cheers,Dailyah
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