Pets as Therapy dog snapped/tried to bite 11 month old.

[CluelesslyMomin]

Hey, to be honest I'm neither here nor there about whether IBU or not. I'm super pissed off about it but that's besides the point. Just throwing out a few thoughts to the hivemind to get your take on it.

So basically I had this friend who claims to have the most well behaved saintly dog ever. (I've never witnessed anything extraordinary from this dog myself) she has trained this dog so that her and the dog can volunteer with Pets as Therapy and visit schools, care homes, hospitals etc. I know that when she booked the dog in for his therapy test she purposefully booked it in with a vet she is friends with and loves the dog. I'm not 100% on the ins and outs if I'm honest.

Anyway, a couple months ago (when we were still friends) she was visiting and her dog was laying down on the sofa (I didn't really want this but it got the dog up off the floor and out of the way so I didn't kick up a fuss.) anyway, DS 11 months old at the time, tried crawling past the sofa to get a toy that was near it and the dog absolutely lost it and snapped at DS. I was absolutely furious because DS had made absolutely no contact with the dog. DS is also used to being around dogs as we have our own and never had an issue.

Anyway, I was so mad, and this friend then tried brushing it off as nothing and has since stopped talking to me since it happened, she could not see any fault in her dog and 100% blamed DS even though he was not even near the dog and I wouldn't agree with her saying that her dog isn't to be trusted.

To cut the rambling and a long story short, I feel super uncomfortable that a dog that is so clearly volatile is allowed to visit vulnerable people and children under the guise of a 'Therapy Dog'. What should I do? Just get on with life and forget about it? Or report it to the appropriate organisation and let them deal with it/decide what to do?

As it happened a couple of months ago it's probably a bit late to do anything now, I would think.

It's more that I didn't think she would continue taking the dog out on therapy visits but I've found out she still is.

I just don't feel comfortable with knowing that it is doing that. If something was to happen I'd feel awful for not saying anything.

Issues with the owner and dog aside, I just don't think a dog displaying any form of aggression should be a therapy dog.

As the other poster said, it’s been months now. If the dog does it again at one of these therapy events i don’t think it will have a long career in it.

Can you separate your obvious dislike of her from what her dog did? I remember at one of those police/fire dog demonstrations, the handler saying that his dog has a work and a ‘chill’ mode and that he could be quite naughty in his chill mode. Also the idea that a vet would pass a dog just because she’s friends with the owner quite insulting.

In essence I think that you are conflating your feelings about the woman and your opinion on her dog.

All most all assistance dogs are trained to go into work mode when they have got their work harnesses / collars on. I presume this dog did not have its on ? so it will of been in down time mode and act more 'dog like'
however this would still worry me if it snapped .
was your LO going for a toy that the dog had been playing with / guarding?

Also the idea that a vet would pass a dog just because she’s friends with the owner quite insulting.

Why? It’s not exactly outside the realms of possibility. I know people who are friends with doctors or they are family who they ask to sign them off work when they feel like time off. Just because the majority of people in professions behave responsibly and with conduct doesn’t mean everyone does.

PAT- pets as therapy no longer allow your own vet to assess ( haven't done for about 10years). They have specific assessors who complete the temperament assessors.
So the dog may not be a 'true' PAT dog.

I think crawling babies can easily unnerve previously placid dogs. My brother's snapped at crawling 10mo DS1 And the crawling DS2 a couple of years later. He's never showed the slightest aggressive tendancy and we'd caged him just in case on the second time.

I don’t know if it helps at all, but if the dog had wanted to bite your son, trust me, it would have. They’re super fast when they want to be, so the dog was warning/telling off, not trying to bite.

However, in the bigger scheme of things, that’s still not acceptable from a service dog. Is it old? Could it be that it’s starting to develope problems? Dogs can suffer with their mental health as they get older, just like people. If that’s the case, maybe your friend just doesn’t want to face up to the changes/aging of her dog rather than just being a completely self involved idiot.

If the dog isn’t old though, it does sound more likely that it could not have the best temperament for this kind of work. I’m not sure what you can do now, but I can understand your unease.