[nagdu] Rant on fake service dogs, responsibility, and owner trainers

[Raven Tolliver]

The problem in this country is that legislation is regulating pet
ownership to the point that people don't have to be responsible for
their pets, or people are given too much leeway.
Laws that mandate castration, dog licensing, and prohibit pets from
public businesses are the laws I am talking about. People are not
expected to have well-behaved pets. People are not expected to put
their dogs through obedience classes, or at least train their dogs
themselves, teach their dogs self-control, and maintain that training
at home and in public. And so because of this here we are:
Because the stupid public cannot be expected to have well-behaved
pets, they bring them out to businesses, under the guise of service
animals. Well, now it's the people with disabilities who must pick up
the flack. We are expected to be responsible with our assistance dogs,
so we should be okay with being grilled and carded and checked and
proving who we are and what our dogs are.
Sorry, but I don't think it's right. Either punish the people who are
being insultingly ignorant, or put it on the public to be more
responsible with their pets. I should not bare a burden because other
people are abusing the law. I should not be punished for others
crimes.
If members of the public were allowed to bring their dogs in public,
we would not be going through this fake service dog debacle. If
everyone was expected to be responsible for and with their dogs,
business owners and employees would have no qualms about asking a
person with a misbehaving dog to leave.
This issue does not need to be so complicated.

To the person who said owner trainers are less likely to retire a dog
when behavioral problems arise, I'm jumping to owner trainers'
defense.
There are plenty of guide dog programs and handlers from guide dog
programs who push dogs to be a guide dog, when that dog is clearly not
cut out for the job or for that particular handler.
I used to be close to someone whose guide dog was clearly not meant
for her, yet, she still has this dog. She constantly complains about
how her dog's walking pace does not match her own; her dog walks too
slow for her. And, her dog is always distracted. Walking with them is
like walking in a sporting event. She has to nonstop, cheer her dog
on, keep talking to her to keep her pace up, and all the while, she is
physically pushing this dog to walk at a pace that she just doesn't
want to.
Now people from the program where she got the dog have observed her
during class, and after she graduated, and she's still clinging to
this dog and using her as a guide because of an emotional attachment.
I'm sure we all know or have known someone like this, where they know
the dog they were given isn't right for them for one reason or
another, but they kept the dog because of the relationship. And
because there are far more program graduates than owner trainers, I'm
willing to bet there are far more program grads like this than there
are owner trainers.
And then don't even get me started on schools who push through
adolescent dogs, and place the responsibilities of adults on the
shoulders of teenagers.
I have never been an owner trainer, though I think it's something I
would like to do or be a part of one day. But I will say that because
owner trainers don't have a program to fall back on, because they
themselves are responsible for all or some of their dog's foundational
training, they strive to have extremely well-behaved dogs. When they
pick out a dog, they go into it knowing that there is a possibility
that it might not work out.
When you read literature for owner trainers on the net, this is one of
the many warnings. You'd better have something in place just in case
the dog doesn't turn out to meet the job requirements. Be ready to
keep the dog,, return it to the breeder, or have a trusted person who
will care for it if you can't for whatever reason.
In a sense, I compare owner trainers to those parents who home school
their children. They know that because they are choosing the
alternative route, to be completely responsible for the education
received by their child, that because they are going with the
nonstandard option, that they'd better turn out well-educated
children, or children who are more advanced in their education than
their school-attending counterparts.
Also, just because owner trainers don't have a school to call does not
mean they don't have a source or soundboard for helping them make
objective decisions. I argue that owner trainers have more resources
at their disposal because they have not been taught to trust and obey
a certain authority. Owner trainers can call obedience trainers,
former or current service dog instructors they might know, private
service dog trainers, and other owner trainers. There are other
sources I'm sure, but my point is that they are not limited to one or
two phone numbers, or one person or location.
And just because you graduated from a school doesn't mean you'll
recognize when to call the school, or call anyone for help. Many
people, in addition to those with service dogs, don't know when
they're having problems that require help.
There are poor examples of people in every group. And so what? The
good examples cannot control or always focus on mothering and
improving the poor examples. The best thing they can do is demonstrate
excellence by letting others see their successes.
-- 
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