To ask what you'd do if a service dog without an owner approched you what would you do?

[NaughtToThreeSadOnions]

I know this is an american example but it got me thinking how many people would know why a service dog wanted your attention or what to do? I found it on twitter
(twitter.com/lissalet/status/1008087816604127234?s=09)

I know most people think of services dogs as guide dogs or prehaps hearing dogs but theres an increasing amount of epilepsy, autism or dusablity assistance dogs. I just wonder if this applies in the uk (i suspect it does) and what you'd do.

If it was obvious that the dog was a service dog, then it will be trained to stay with its owner and not run away...so if it was away from its owner my first thought would be something has happened to the owner and they need help...and that the dog was probably trying to get someone to follow it

Well yes, common sense would tell me to follow the dog to find out why it wants my attention

If I see any dog obviously without an owner I look for the owner. If I saw a service dog alone I’d think the owner was probably in some kind of trouble and try and find them. Some people might not realise what the implication of a lone service dog was though.

Ok so i'll change the question slightly you wouldnt get annoyed like the woman in the story did.

Cos part of me doesn't understand why anyone wouldnt think exactly what youve said its service dog why you wouldnt see what the problem was?

If the dog is wearing a jacket, there coukd be a message printed on it to make things clearer.

I'm not sure, it could mean anything.

A friend of the family guidedog kept stealing other dogs tennis balls and played selective deafness when the owner wanted him back.

Perhaps the "annoyed" woman who was approached by the dog has her own issues that make her unable to assess the situation and react in a way that people would expect or need. Not all disabilities are visible.

Like what teasandtoast service dogs would always be wearing a hivis jacket while working generally with the type of service dog they were. Like guide dog for the blind, hearing dog for the deaf, disablity assistace dog etc would this be enough?
should it be enough? Or shoukd it say if im alone my owner is in trouble please follow me?

I guess smashed and yes i know i have austism so know well that not all disablities are seen, and i also thought of people who are scared of dogs, so where does the respobsiblity lie cos the dogs not going to know who cant judge thecneed or wether the person they approach is scared of dogs which would make them unable to rationally judge that this wasnt a dog just wanting to play!

KPO how could it mean any thing? If a service dog is stealing tennis balls while working then its not been trained properley

where does the respobsiblity lie

Not on the person who is approached.

The dog needs training to move onto another person if the first doesn't come or shoos them away.

Why not though smashed (and if you read the story in the picture thats what their going to do)

Surely its also about educating people about what alone service dog means

Or shoukd it say if im alone my owner is in trouble please follow me?

Yes, I think it should say this, because some people are a bit stupid.

The thing is its not about helping a dog is it - its about helping a person who uses a dog which has gone to find help.

Same as if someone fell in front of you in public would you shoo them to the side and step over??

Usually if they are off lead they are also off duty and don't wear the full rigmarole so if they approach in full regalia then there is an issue.

I would absolutely assume the owner needed help, and follow the dog - or whatever seemed sensible at the time. I wouldn't swat the dog away or get annoyed.

But I guess some people are scared of dogs/annoyed by dogs/very stupid.

Why not? For the reason I already said above 😂 You can't guarantee that the person approached by the dog is able to help so have the dog prepared to move on. It's good that they plan to do that (I did read the post, that's how I managed to response to it) because it's the best way to be sure someone can help.

“A friend of the family guidedog kept stealing other dogs tennis balls and played selective deafness when the owner wanted him back.”

They’re not working when they’re offlead like that, they do just behave like dogs then

Smashed i was rulling out hiden disablities and people scared of dogs i accepted that point in my previous post to be just as patronising as you 😂

I was raising the question about educating people about what a lone service dog means

Any dog on their own I'd try to find the owner. If it was obviously a service dog I would follow it because I'd assume the owner was in trouble.

well, to me it is common sense that the dog has left someone in difficulties, and needs help.

But I don't think that is obvious at all to most. I can see a well meaning person putting a string through the dogs collar and carting them off to the police to hand in the lost dog, thinking the dog is important and the owner will be sad to have lost him.

If the dog is trained to get help, then it's jacket should say very simply and clearly that someone needs help

If a service dog approached me I would assume the owner needed help.
A hypothetical service dog who dicks around with tennis balls has not been properly trained.
I've known a few service dogs. None has ever dicked around with a tennis ball.

Hmm. I don't know what I would do. I've tried to imagine it and I think I would probably (instinctively) take hold of the harness and look around for the owner. If they weren't in sight I'd probably say Where's your person / something similar, and then start walking the way the dog had come from. I'd probably also let the dog 'steer' me iyswim.

Hopefully that would be effective. I would assume someone that needs an assistance dog to get about was in trouble, but I'm not sure I would know the dog was trying to get help, rather than just milling about confused. I didn't know that was part of their training.

Definitely wouldn't get annoyed with the dog.
My first thought would be that it was lost so would check the collar for owners details. Hopefully there'd be a message somewhere on the dog telling me what to do.

Before today, I would probably have just stroked the dog. I'd probably look around for the owner but if they were out of sight I don't think it would have occurred to me to follow the dog, because I never knew service dogs were trained to do this.

If I see any dog alone, I try to approach it and find its owner. It's caused me significant delays to where I'm going in the past but I would feel far too guilty to just leave any dog roaming and would expect others to do the same for mine.

So yes, I would approach and I would follow.