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

Tue Mar 3 16:23:30 UTC 2015

I work in New York City, and I pass a lot of dogs walking around.  Most of
them are well-behaved and quietly walk by with their people.  I think that
people who spend time walking around with their dogs don't want to be
constantly dealing with a leaping, barking idiot, so they make them
behave.  Or the dogs are so used to being out and about that seeing
strange dogs and people is no big deal--they're well-socialized.  Not all
of them, of course, but definitely a majority.
Tracy
> Raven,
>
> LOL  Did I mention I homeschool my son?  It really is a lot the same as
> owner training.  I don't have to know  all the answers, but I sure better
> have some resources who do.    And just like owner training, homeschool
> has
> been a wonderful experience!  It's hard at times, but the challenge is
> what
> makes it so rewarding.
>
> On a different tangent...when I was in Alaska on vacation a few years ago,
> there are a lot of dogs out and about with their people.  They are almost
> all mutts and they all do actual work or accompany their owners while they
> work.  Rarely were any of them on leashes.  They were not in restaurants
> or
> being passed off as service dogs.  They were just dogs going and doing
> things with their owners.  They were without exception very well behaved.
> No jumping up, no barking, no begging for food and the owners had complete
> control with only verbal commands and maybe hand signals.
>
> I wonder if it's a regional thing?  For example I rarely get asked the
> legal
> questions and have only once been asked for ID.  There are no fake service
> dogs, that I know of in my general area where I go most often, including
> the
> other cities around here.  But it is also very solidly accepted that dogs
> have jobs.  A lot of dogs are used for hunting, herding, general farm use
> and even my tiny town has a police dog. Most of the dogs are pets, but
> it's
> rare that dogs are kept in dog purses or otherwise used as fashion
> accessories here.  Dogs seem to be treated more like dogs and I'm
> wondering
> if that is why I have less access issues?
>
> 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 via nagdu
> Sent: Monday, March 02, 2015 9:37 PM
> To: nagdu
> Subject: [nagdu] Rant on fake service dogs, responsibility,and owner
> trainers
>
> 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
>
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