[nagdu] petting guide dog question

Fri Nov 28 18:17:22 UTC 2014

Excuse me, but that was a bit extreme. Your response would be more
appropriate if John had asked what to do if someone petted a guide dog
without asking.
To answer the question that John asked... As Michael already said, it needs
to be you and only you whom the dog respects and obeys. For this reason,
when you first get your dog, I would recommend setting a no petting policy
for both in and out of harness and regardless of if it is friends, family,
coworkers, or strangers. Developing a strong bond with your dog is very
important, and it is easier if all good things come from you. Okay, so it
has been six months since you received your dog, maybe more. You have a
strong bond with your dog. Now what? The answer depends on a lot of factors,
including the handler, the dog, and the situation. If your dog is easily
distracted and it is hard to get your dog to focus again when someone pets
the dog, then I would say to not let anyone pet the dog. The same if your
dog is easily excited. When someone is petting your dog, your dog still
needs to listen to you. The dog should stay in a sit or down position. If
this is not possible, then the petting session must stop. If you are finding
that people do not understand that they have to stop petting if the dog gets
up, then it is better to just have a no petting policy. You can also
practice having a dog stay put while being petted by having friends and
family help you. It is quite common for people to have friends or family act
as distractions while doing obedience with a dog. There will also be times
where you need your dog to be ready to work at a moment's notice, such as
when you are waiting for a bus. Regardless of what people might say to try
to make you feel bad about not letting them pet your dog, you cannot listen
to them. A guide dog is there to be your guide, not to entertain the public.
Some people say to not let people pet your dog if the dog is in harness,
regardless of what is going on. Again, this depends on the dog. I do not
think that it ever affected Lexia, but that is just Lexia. For some dogs,
the harness is what dictates what is and is not appropriate. This is true to
some extent with Lexia, but she can also tell based on what is going on how
she is supposed to act. For example, even if I take her harness of at work,
she still behaves and does not act the way that she would when her harness
is off at home.
I hope that my answers were not too confusing. You can also ask the school
this kind of stuff when you go as they will know more about your dog. Also,
some of this stuff will start making more sense once you have a dog.

Nicole

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Buddy Brannan via
nagdu
Sent: Friday, November 28, 2014 8:05 AM
To: John Sanders; NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog
Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] petting guide dog question

Well, there's the textbook answer, and then there's real life. 

Textbook:
"He's working right now, so please do not pet him or talk to him, because
that will distract him, and that could be dangerous. Moreover, such
attention from others over time could lead to future problems, so please
just ignore him, I'd appreciate it."

Real life:
"Get your !@#$%^^!#@##%@%#$!@!!!!!ing hands off my dog!" 
(This after approximately the 48,923,875th such encounter during the past
week.) 

So.yeah.take your pick. 

My reaction usually falls somewhere between these extremes. Although the
other thing is, you probably want to focus less on discouraging others from
petting (a losing battle) and more on discouraging your dog from reacting
(something more under your control). 

-
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: 814-860-3194
Mobile: 814-431-0962
Email: buddy at brannan.name

> On Nov 28, 2014, at 10:40 AM, John Sanders via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> I have a question: I know that this topic has already been talked about so
I do apologize for reposting it.
> I had talked with my parents and they said that they were ok with me
getting a guide dog.
> My mom had asked me, if me and the guide dog were just sitting there and
the guide dog wasn't working, what would I say to some one who wanted to pet
him?
> I remember a lot of people saying that while the guide dog is working,
people are not supposed to pet him.
> I'm just wondering:  when your not working with the guide dog, do you
allow other people to pet them?
> I hope to hear from you soon.
> Sincerely,
> John Sanders
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