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

[Tami Jarvis]

Julie,

The answers have been interesting. I've been pondering your question and 
watching our dogs... Honestly, the biggest differences come because they 
are such different types of dogs. Because I owner-train, the poodles get 
more in the way of time out and about as well as at home, and they get 
more gear. The difference in time and money spent on grooming is more 
because they are poodles than because they are (or will be) working 
dogs. I'm scratching my head, wondering if I will change Mitzi's style 
or grooming schedule when she retires, but there is also the matter of 
her comfort, so it will stay pretty much the same. Maybe not clean feet, 
although certain times of year, clean feet are a must.

I expect pets to have a certain level of civilization at home, and so do 
most of the people I know with pet dogs. So when the poodles are off 
duty, I expect them to be as good as my pets and everyone else's. They 
do have some specialized behaviors, some of which our pet dog has picked 
up on. I'm strict with how folks -- especially family -- interact with 
the poodles, but some of that also applies to Zay. There are a couple of 
family members who need to be lectured every time and watched like 
hawks! The rest are dog people who bring their dogs with on visits, so 
they pretty much know how to behave around dogs. The only real 
difference is that we don't let our dogs pre-wash the dishes or have a 
free-for-all of tidbits under the table during meals. Actually, the dog 
people aren't the tidbit-slippers, and their dogs tend to spend meal 
times sacked out on the floor in another room. My dogs are under the 
table, where they should be lying quietly, not begging tidbits from 
humans who can't follow one simple rule. Humph! If none of them were 
service dogs, I think I wouldn't have them around the table at meal 
times. As it is, table manners here are practice for table manners in 
restaurants. Zay just goes under the table because that's what Mitzi 
does. Loki just goes to the place the girls assigned him because he 
doesn't fit under the little table with them. /lol/ By now, he doesn't 
fit under the big dining table when people have their legs under there, 
too, so he gets practice lying by a chair out of the way when there is 
stuff going on. He practices under in other places, too. Some of the 
restaurants we go to have tables/booths with room for his size, but he 
will definitely need to know how to be quiet and unobtrusive in an out 
of the way spot that isn't under a table or chair, so that's why I 
haven't booted Zay from her under-table spot in favor of him.

With the working dogs, I think we (my husband and me both) have a 
different attitude towards added expenses for the working dogs than for 
Zay. Well, Zay actually lowers his blood pressure, so in that sense she 
does earn her keep. But the poodles do obvious special stuff to earn 
theirs. If it comes to an emergency vet visit, would there be a 
difference if it were a poodle as opposed to Zay? Hard to say. In 
theory, yes, we would spend more to get the working dog back to health 
and work, whereas Zay would be more likely to get a peaceful passage to 
the Rainbow Bridge... But who knows, if it comes to the test?

Of course, if Zay gets an owie and limps around some, then we do what we 
can and feel bad for her. Poor Zay. If Mitzi gets and owie and limps 
around some... OMG!!!! There's also a lot of poor me in my emotional 
reaction while my guide is off duty or on limited duty. And I worry more 
about long-term possibilities and all that. What if it doesn't heal? 
What will I do? OMG!!!! As a result, I think I weigh risks differently 
and sometimes have to take a deep breath when the realistic risk 
assessment means taking an apparent chance is the better option. I mean, 
if I keep the poodles as safe and sound as I would like to, there would 
be a 100 percent risk of serious long-term consequences. They need to do 
certain things to be healthy physically and mentally. While they are 
running around attending to their physical and mental health, there is a 
possibility of injury, and that makes me more nervous when it comes to 
my guide. Having run through those sorts of decisions rigorously when 
Mitzi was a wild child of a puppy, my nerves are pretty much stripped by 
now, so with Loki, I can be calm. Sort of. /lol/

I'm trying to think if there's anything else really significant in my 
own experience. I grew up on a working ranch, so the dogs were working 
dogs, the cats were mousers, the horses were working horses and the cows 
were a cash crop. Sometimes, I would have a pet dog and/or cat, but they 
would do double duty for the most part and be treated the same except 
for coming in and being pampered more by me. I would train them to do 
different things, I guess, though if it was one of the cow dogs spending 
time with me, I would train it to do things, too. /smile/ My personal 
horse usually had additional activities and training, just because it 
was my horse and I chose to do that. It would also be a cow horse or 
dude horse at need. I tried as much as possible to keep it from being 
used by anyone but me, since I got tired of having to retrain my horse 
all the time, but I was a kid and a girl, so... /shrug/ As I got better 
with maturity and experience, my horse became less popular as a dude 
horse, since a better-trained horse is too sensitive to be any fun at 
all for inexperienced riders. So there! Point being, the concept of 
working animal vs. personal animal that isn't specifically to do work is 
fairly set for me, so the whole "a guide dog is not a pet" business 
doesn't have a huge amount of impact. If I had been new to animals or 
perhaps had grown up with non-working pets only, it might be 
different... Probably depending on how those pets were trained and 
treated. The kids of my friends with the really great pets just 
naturally know how to have great pets themselves and do as good a job 
keeping them healthy, happy, safe and civilized as service dogs users or 
owners of other working dogs.

Tami
On 02/28/2015 06:01 AM, Julie J. via nagdu wrote:
> Yes, thank you! and thanks to everyone who contributed thoughts to this
> a guide dog is not a pet thing.  It's said all the time, but never
> really explained.  Somehow you are just supposed to know and I think if
> you've never had a service dog and perhaps never had a pet, there's a
> lot of guessing and assumptions going on.
>
> I used to do competitive obedience and sports with my dogs, so my
> expectations of pets are apparently different than others.  I have also
> seen some service dogs that leave me shaking my head.   Just cooped up
> in the house and thinking too hard maybe?  I don't know, I was just
> pondering it and thought I'd toss it out there for discussion.
>
> 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: Raven Tolliver
> Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2015 7:48 AM
> To: Julie J. ; NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog
> Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] When a service dog is a pet - WAS differences
> between service dogs and pets
>
> 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.