[nagdu] But so and so lets me pet their dog!

Mon Mar 8 14:46:16 UTC 2010

I tend to take the GDB attitude towards petting--I can't really control
people, but I can control my dog.  So I don't get too upset if I find
someone petting my dog, although I may ask them to stop.  I concentrate
instead on keeping my dog from getting excited about the petting.  A GDB
instructor told me that people will usually stop petting a dog who's not
responding.  I'm not sure that's so, but I can keep my dog from crawling
in their lap or bouncing up and down. And usually they do stop petting
pretty quick.
So I guess I'm one of those so-and-so's, because I don't always yell at
people for petting.  There are too many of them.  Life in the big city.
Tracy

> Different people have different ways of dealing wiht this issue. When
> I was young and wiht my first guide, I got all upset with people
> constantly petting my dog and interrupting our rhythm when we were
> walking down the sidewalk. The family can be the most challenging
> people. Back in the mid 90's, my parents got a mini van. There was no
> outward jutting console between the front seats, so there was a good
> place for my guide to lay. He really enjoyed it too. My dad enjoyed it
> too since he often, without thinking, dropped his right hand down and
> started rubbing my guide, especially when sitting at a light. That
> took a long time to correct that behavior. At one point my mom
> wondered why I was getting so upset, so I asked her how she would feel
> if I reached over and started turning the steering wheel back and
> forth. I said I wouldn't do it when she was driving, but just sitting
> at a light. That helped stopped the dog petting behavior.
>
> Fortunatley I haven't been rejected from any cabs yet due to my dog. I
> have been rejected from a Super shuttle shortly after I got my dog,
> with witnesses. But I chose not to follow up with it. I'm with Dan on
> this, if you get a ride from the cabbie, even if they're flurting wiht
> your dog, then that's way better than not getting the ride, or from
> having the cab pull up then drive off for some unknown reason.
>
> Wayne
>
> On 3/7/10, Michelle <m-johnson at bigpond.com> wrote:
>> Ok, what I'd do is tell the people whoever they are, to basically stop
>> deciding what happens to you and your dog. My family pushes me around a
>> bit,
>> only to be helpful, but I make it clear what I will and won't accept
>> from
>> them. It works out well.
>>
>> If your Dad and others keep getting defencive, just ask him how he'd
>> feel if
>> his eyes were closed, and he's using a guide dog, and others are
>> treating
>> him like that? No doubt he might have a different understanding then.
>> Not
>> just your Dad, but others as well. And, tell your Dad and Co, that it's
>> not
>> up to anyone else to decide whether it's ok for your dog to be petted
>> and
>> anything else for that matter, just because So-and-So wants to say that
>> it
>> is. If you have to be, be a little harsh. It's better to cause offence
>> for
>> five minutes than to allow your dogs training to stuff up for life,
>> which
>> would be more devastating, wouldn't it?
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>> Michelle and Troy
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Chasity Jackson" <chasityvanda at charter.net>
>> To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 12:28 AM
>> Subject: [nagdu] But so and so lets me pet their dog!
>>
>>
>>> Yesterday, a friend and I were waiting for a cab at the grocery store.
>>> Apparently the cabby who showed up had driven for us before. He
>>> apparently
>>>
>>> remembered my dog's name. So, while she's still working, and while
>>> she's
>>> actually walking and guiding me, he sticks his hand out in front of her
>>> and says, "Hey Hadley, how ya been?" And starts to pet her. I moved her
>>> away from him and said, "I'm sorry, but she's working." And he got
>>> defensive right away and said, "But so and so has no problem letting me
>>> pet her dog when it's working. What's the big deal?" And when I
>>> explained
>>> that it interfered with her performance and that it was a big
>>> distraction,
>>>
>>> he continued to be defensive, because his model guide dog team is so
>>> and
>>> so and her dog. Well, I happen to know the person he's talking about,
>>> and
>>> I happen to know that she is not at all disciplined in caring for her
>>> dog.
>>>
>>> She lets her dog have table scraps, and tells her dog to speak in
>>> public
>>> and gives it human food treats. So go figure. LOL. But he just couldn't
>>> figure out why I was being so unfair about the situation, after all, if
>>> she did it, what was the harm in it. And what was even more funny was
>>> that
>>>
>>> he actually tried to pull a stupid stunt to get an extra tip. He said,
>>> "Well, so and so tips me herself, and then she's cute about it and
>>> gives
>>> me an additional tip from the dog too. She gave me an extra dollar tip
>>> yesterday from her dog." And I thought, well, don't hold your breath.
>>> LOL.
>>>
>>> A few weeks back, a similar incident happened with another cab driver,
>>> but
>>>
>>> it didn't involve petting. It was the beginning of February, and we had
>>> some snow and ice on the ground. I was at the top of my porch, about to
>>> head down the stairs. This cab driver clapped his hands, whistles to my
>>> dog and says, "Come on," and she starts to get excited and go toward
>>> him.
>>> Had I not been holding onto the rail, I would have easily  fallen down
>>> the
>>>
>>> stairs. So I told him, "Please don't call her. She shouldn't be
>>> listening
>>> to commands from other people. She's only supposed to follow the
>>> directions I give to her. And again, he got very defensive, and said,
>>> "I
>>> was only trying to show her the way." And I said, "You're not supposed
>>> to
>>> show her the way. If you insist on helping, you can tell me which
>>> direction you are in and I will give her the command to go in that
>>> direction. What enraged me more regarding this incident was that later,
>>> I
>>> talked to my dad, and in frustration, I told him about it. My parents
>>> are
>>> not exactly the brightest when it comes to guide dogs versus pets, and
>>> although they understand quite a bit from me, sometimes they don't have
>>> the brightest things to say. So my dad says, "Oh Well, get over it.
>>> That's
>>>
>>> life. Some people are dog lovers and you have to expect that." And then
>>> when I said, "I could have fallen," or, "What if she did that while I
>>> was
>>> crossing the street," my dad just said, that's life, people are dog
>>> lovers, s**t happens."
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>
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