One of the most prominent features of a service dog is, obviously, the fact that they are allowed to go in public! Service dogs are able to do this because of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal law which protects the handler of the dog by treating the dog as vital medical equipment for mitigating the handler’s disability. This is why service dogs are allowed in public places, while pets, facility dogs, therapy dogs, and ESAs (Emotional Support Animals) are not protected by the same law.
Dog Edition:
The important part of the Americans with Disabilities Act to remember is that it protects the person, rather than the dog- because the dog is working to mitigate the person's disability. Because a service dog is allowed in public because of his or her job as medical equipment, there are several traits a service dog’s personality should have that makes them an appropriate dog for service work. Each dog training organization thinks differently about what is the most important characteristic, and each has their own behaviors and quirks that they like to look for in a dog. In general though, the core behaviors are:
FOCUS
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| Emmy knows it is her job to focus on her handler! |
CONFIDENCE
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| Nora was very confident riding the escalator- on her first try! |
For many dogs, public places like restaurants, stores, and schools, are very scary places! New smells, people staring and talking, weird sounds, yelling, people running up to pet them without permission. Because service dogs have to deal with this on a daily basis, they need to be very, VERY confident! If a dog is fearful, they might not be able to handle themselves in public in a way that will truly mitigate the disability they were trained for. Throwing a dog who lacks confidence into a public situation is also an incredible disservice to the dog. Fear, aggression, and inability to work are only a few responses some dogs can have to situations in which they are scared, and it isn’t fair to the dog or the handler to constantly live in fear. And always remember not to confuse confidence with dominance! Confidence is awesome to find in a dog, while dominance can make a dog hard to train and generally difficult to work with.
CALM
While some dogs respond to public places with fear, others get… well….
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| Emmy is most definitely off duty here! |
A bit overly happy. Exciting things happen all the time in public- other dogs, children running, yummy food getting spilled, finding other people the dog knows, and running across small animals they REALLY want to chase. Add these exciting things to the mix of scary things, and the human world can be a bit…. bewildering to dogs. All of these are normal things for a dog to react to. But when a service dog is working, they have to be able to maintain their composure through thick and thin, whether somebody is running at them wearing a scary mask:
Or a throwing a squeaky toy across an aisle to try to get them to play. If a dog barks, bristles, growls, bolts, bites, chases their tail, chases a squirrel, or tries to steal some yummies that have fallen on the floor (I’m looking at you, Nora, we’re well acquainted with the lab tummy) they simply are not doing their job properly.
Or a throwing a squeaky toy across an aisle to try to get them to play. If a dog barks, bristles, growls, bolts, bites, chases their tail, chases a squirrel, or tries to steal some yummies that have fallen on the floor (I’m looking at you, Nora, we’re well acquainted with the lab tummy) they simply are not doing their job properly.
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| Carver showing off just how calm he is in public! |
While all of these characteristics have wiggle room, there are absolutely rules in place to make sure that only top notch, well trained service dogs are allowed in public- service dogs have an etiquette they have to follow as well! There are a few important ones to remember, like:
Service Dogs are all trained to do tasks! In Emmy’s case, it will be guidework, retrievals, and deep pressure therapy for her client. Nora will pull a wheelchair, complete retrievals, and brace for her little girl. Other dogs might be trained to alert to low blood sugar, to respond to a person’s name in case that person is deaf or hard of hearing, to respond to seizures, to carry an oxygen tank, and a lot more! If a dog does not do a task to mitigate a disability, the dog is not legally recognized as a service dog.
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| Emmy demonstrating the task 'Pressure' |
Additionally, a service dog is only allowed in public as long as it is not causing a disturbance. All service dogs are given the benefit of the doubt under the ADA, but if a dog barks, growls, bites, or goes to the bathroom inside a public place without the handler taking an appropriate action to end that behavior, that place then has the legal right to remove the dog from the premises.
The People Edition!!!
Now, while we have expressed our feelings about petting service dogs before, we haven’t said what the proper way to approach service dogs is! So….
A Short Guide On How to Handle Yourself When You See A Puppy In Public:
Remember there is a person attached to the dog! This is one even the Viking Pups handlers have experienced. We get a lot of hellos walking across campus- but most of these are directed at the dogs! It can be hurtful, and yes, even a little bit irritating to be made a spectacle of or be made completely invisible because you have a fluffy creature standing with you. Most service dog handlers try very hard to be understanding, polite, and responsive (we have a LOT of practice) but it is equally important that you are understanding of the person with the dog. They may be in a hurry and unable to answer questions, they may have had a really crappy day at work, they may be shy, they may have a disability that makes it hard to interact with strangers, or they may just not be in the mood to answer questions! They are only human, and while the dogs can give freedom and health and happiness, they can’t give their handler patience or make them more outgoing.
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| Carver doesn't seem to have a problem with being outgoing, though! |
Remember the dog is doing a job! You cannot always tell at first glance what that service dog’s job is, and it’s possible that even with the best intentions you can make the dog’s job harder by attempting to interact. This means talking, kissy noises, tossing toys and balls, and ESPECIALLY calling their name.
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| It's hard to a dog to stay calm and out of the way, like Emmy is here, when they're being distracted! |
When in doubt, ask: If you have questions about the dog, many service dog handlers will be very happy to answer your questions, and some handlers are even ok with you petting their dogs (Viking Pups / QCCAN is not one of these). Remember once again that they are a person who has a life outside of your interaction with them. Approach them politely, and respect that person’s boundaries and the boundaries they have set for their dog.
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| Even though playing in a helicopter doesn't seem like work, Carver is still on duty in this picture, so he should not be distracted! |
If still in doubt or given an answer you do not like, do not get angry, and do not proceed with what you wanted to do:
Many people believe that they are doing no harm even if they go against the handler’s wishes, and so they continue on with exactly what they wanted to do. This can be super duper very incredibly unbelievably terrible awfully ridiculously bad for the dog, and the human. For example, once while I was handling the now-exited Oden, we were in a cafeteria setting and some other students begged to give him a treat. I refused, and afterwards they dropped a bunch of french fries on the floor for him to eat. Luckily I caught it soon enough that Oden did not get any of the french fries, but if he had, this would have been disastrous because A.) it is teaching the dog that if people drop food in public, it is ok to go for it (which could potentially be seen as a reason for removal, given that it violates health regulations) and B.) Oden is allergic to some of the ingredients in french fries. See what I mean about listening to the handlers, now?
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| Oden's belly if he'd gotten that french fry. |
And please, do NOT get angry! While the service dog handler IS entitled to a normal life, you are not entitled to interfere with that person’s day to day life because they have a dog. If a person turns you down for petting, giving treats, or saying hi, those are their personal boundaries and everybody should respect them. It is very stressful for just the TRAINERS to get chewed out for saying no when people ask to pet the dog, let alone a possible client!
Moral of this story: please be nice to service dog handlers!!! :]
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| Nora says, "Please be nice to my handlers! They're good people!" |
EMMY's exits, retrievals, and deep pressure therapy are doing phenomenal! She’s a real genius dog, and is set on proving it to us handlers!
Emmy retrieving her handler's wallet
Emmy practicing a double door exit!
CARVER is moving on to his next stage of training, and is learning to respond to seizures- mimic ones, that is!
Now that Carver’s 'paw' command is solid, he’s learning to pair that command with his handler’s pretend seizures (that mimic his clients'!). Eventually, the verbal ‘paw’ will be phased out- and voíla, the ‘response’ part of seizure response dog is born!!! Carver is also starting to learn retrievals, so that when his little girl has a seizure, her parents can worry about helping her while Carver goes and gets her medications. He's pretty amazing, no?
NORA is now an official master of her name! Woo! In addition to this, her basics are improving dramatically! We’re so proud of this lil lady!
We would also like to welcome some new breeders to our program! Dusty Roads Labradors, who we will be purchasing a lab from to become a service dog in the fall, Formaro Labradors and Breezewood Kennel Golden Retrievers, who we will potentially be buying puppies from, all to be trained as facility dogs- three schools and the Child Advocacy Center! QCCAN is clearly growing the reputation it deserves!!!
A special thanks to:
QCCAN
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