I can imagine the image that went through some of your minds when you read that title. We have all encountered, or at least heard of, dogs that are poorly trained and poorly behaved wearing service dog vests because someone thought it would be fun to take their pet everywhere with them. I promise you; Mouse is not that dog. Most of the time, you would never think to question her wearing that vest; but let’s face it, no matter how much training they have had, dogs are not robots.
My combination of medical conditions prevents me from working. Sometimes, they prevent me from leaving the house at all for a week or more at a time. While I love visiting theme parks and doing other fun things with my family, sometimes I am just not up to it. I can tell when Mouse has not been out in public for a while. Hanging out with mom at home just doesn’t require the same level of behavior. She is also social, and sometimes a bit excitable. If I run into someone she has claimed as one of ‘her people’, everyone around will know it. She is just SO happy to see them!
We are living in complicated times. Everyone seems to be more stressed than they used to be, and our service dogs can pick up on that stress and incorporate it. I have seen a lot of posts on social media lately from service dog handlers concerned that their dog’s behavior on an outing was less than stellar.
To all of those handlers, I hear you. You are not alone.
Every person has a vision in their head of how a “legitimate” service dog should behave. I would be willing to bet that the vision swimming around in many people’s heads is the image portrayed by guide dogs in the movies. However, dogs trained to guide handlers that are hearing or sight impaired, where distractions present some of the highest risks, do not behave to that ‘movie perfection’ 100% of the time. Additionally, a “guide dog” organization only has a success rate, at best, of 60-70%, but many of the ‘wash outs’ from these organizations can still be successfully trained as service dogs for a different disability.
Many of the amazing tasks that these dogs perform assist with completely INVISIBLE disabilities, but all too frequently I hear muttered comments that are questioning the right of a complete stranger to be accompanied by a service dog! I worry that we have managed to create a society of “fake spotters” …. Yelling “fake” at every dog that does not meet their “expectation” of the top 1% of the top 1%.
I have a theory about service dog handlers, and the dreaded fakes. It is not always about the dog’s behavior. If your service dog is spot on ‘most of the time’ and then out of the blue does something out of character …. service dog handlers will use this as a training opportunity, while most often the fakes will completely ignore it and allow the behavior to continue.
As an example, I was recently in a store with Mouse where we encountered another service dog. Mouse did not bark or lunge, but she was not focused either. She pulled in the direction of the other dog, wanting to meet it. I kept my distance, so I was not creating a distraction for the other dog, but I circled a bit at the fringes. We repeatedly worked commands, anything that required Mouse to remain focused on ME and what we were doing. After a short period of time, we were able to walk past the other dog without Mouse losing focus.
We all want our dogs to be on their best behavior, and we do not want to leave a bad impression about service dogs with other people, but don’t beat yourself up too much. Own up to it, work to prevent it from recurring, then move on.
Love your dogs and the amazing work that they do for you!
For additional information on service dogs, please visit the ADA site about service dogs, or their FAQ section:
https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm
https://www.ada.gov/resources/service-animals-faqs/
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