Therapy dogs in shops and restaurants

[Humpback21]

Where I used to work we had a rule of no dogs except assistance and guid dogs etc. in the last few years at that job we get dogs coming in as “therapy dogs” with coats for the dog saying therapy dog.One lady would bring her big dog pulling on the lead I questioned her and politely said no dogs allowed she claimed it was a therapy dog but it didn’t like to wear its coat and collar. I recently saw a dog outside the supermarket with therapy dog written on its coat waiting with its owner and all their shopping. There are no dog charity’s that train dogs to be assistance therapy dogs. I know of charities that bring therapy dogs into hospitals and care homes. Are people really buying fake coats for their dogs so they don’t have to part with them. I’m all for dogs and am a massive dog lover but surely dog owners have to realise that a trained assistance dog in a public or private space is trained to be

In some American states they do allow to have both trained assistance dogs for mental health but also you can have an untrained pet registered as an emotional support animal. There can be a good side to this (a young lady with mental health issues and a physical disability
starting college had her guinea pigs registered as emotional support for her anxiety so she could take them into lectures and keep them in her college dorm) . I myself suffer with CPTSD, BPD, and OCD and I have looked into having my guinea pigs registered as ESAs, but I'm in England and there's no formal register here as far as I know. And although my guinea pigs seem to know when I'm struggling with my emotional regulation and dissociation episodes, I don't like to take them most places. Guinea pigs are easily distressed and don't like travelling . they help me when I'm at home but they are trained . They just naturally come out their hidey huts/pigloo and squeak at me when I'm in a crisis mode! I can see the benefits for a college student just taking them to lectures on campus nearby or in a college dorm though !

But a US airline had to clamp down on ESA s because some poeple were taking some rather unusual animals in flights e.g. Peacocks and pigs even !

Oh, come on, a Guide Dog is literally the eyes for a blind person. And I write as the parent of a child who is blind and also diagnosed with autism (among multiple other disabilities).

Yes. You can tell a badly behaved one isn't trained . Hadn't realised the aurism dogs in the UK are only for children. I know an adult in the US who has an official autism support pug

@EsmeSusanOgg so sorry, I didn’t mean to quote you. Very rural here and poor WiFi…

Do you think that mental health conditions, autism etc are fictional? The dog in both cases allow the user to leave the house. Both enrich the user's life and can make the difference between life and death.

I'm in awe of the man in the US who shops with his emotional support donkey.

Apologies it was me who mentioned guide dogs. I guess I can see that a blind person has fewer alternatives to getting around whereas there are other options for those of us with mental health issues e.g. Using grounding exercises, breathing exercises and DBT help me when I'm not able to be at home with my g pigs. Having said that, maybe some people can't do those or have tried everything but only the dog works . I do think they are essential for some people and anything that helps make living with a disability easier is a good thing surely ?

Of course some people use dogs for epilepsy, diabetes, mobility issues, so it depends.

I love donkeys! I heard of a little blind girl who couldn't have a dog for religious reasons so she had a guide Shetland pony! I'm not kidding! Not sure how it worked exactly but her mum said it helped her . Anything that makes life easier for someone with a disability or health issue is a win in my book.

I am a dog lover and owner and worked with someone who brought her retired guide dog in (to a hospital, it was great and the patients loved it). Its amazing what dogs can be trained to do, which is the key phrase - a well trained assistance dog does not pull on the lead (unless pulling you out of danger), or bother other people or animals. I am not in favour of emotional assistance animals at all - its one thing for dogs to have work to do and time off. It is quite another to have responsibility for a persons feelings. It is too much to put on an animal and not fair.

What? I don't get your response to me? I agree with your standpoint - a guide dog is very different to an ESA (which are not recognised as assistance dogs in the UK).

I was saying in response to comments from other posters about there being trained assistance dogs for autism and some MH issues that there are very few categories of recognised assistance dog/ service dog of that type in the UK. Someone talked about them existing for autism... And I said in the UK only under specific, limited circumstances.

A service/ assistance dog must be provided by one of a few recognised charities in the UK. The biggest provider is Guide Dogs for the Blind. With Hearing Dogs and Medical Alert dogs (seizures/ epilepsy) also providing support. One of the charities also provides autistic children (usually non-verbal/ with more complex needs) service dogs. But this is not a large number last time I looked.

You cannot just get a pet and put a jacket on them to go places. They need to be formerly trained and registered with the relevent charity.

Well put. Also agree that assistance dogs need to be properly trained and provided by an organisation that knows what they are doing/ offers them to those who need them.

assistance dogs are trained to be in public and deal with all sorts of situations there trained to sit still next to the owner not run off pull on the lead etc. although I’m a dog lover I wouldn’t buy a jacket online for my dog saying therapy dog and assume I can take it with me in the supermarket or other non dog friendly places.

Your dog is amazing 😍😍
It is a thing in the USA where folk buy leads and harnesses to be able to 'cheat' and take their doggies into shops so theres no doubt folk do it over here too

I’d already apologised to you for quoting you by mistake. Genuinely, I am sorry.

I’m not against assistance dogs or therapy dogs I just feel if your going to be bringing your dog out into public places that a dog wouldn’t ordinarily go they should be trained to cope.

I know my dog at the pet store has tried to sniff the big dog bones and chews wanting to let me know she wants one. Imagine that happening in the supermarket with the steak.

My son is type 1 diabetic one of his type 1 friends has a assistance dog it alerts if he’s goi f low or high it’s quite amazing
i do think it’s gone a bit crazy with the emotional support dogs and I say this as some one with Cptsd and GAD
we saw a tiny naughty poodle In Disney world with a lead with assistance dog on no way it was so naughty

Honestly, as the parent of a child who is blind and autistic among various and multiple other disabilities, it smacks a little bit of people, perhaps in not so much need, hijacking a genuine lifeline for their own ends. In the same way that gazillions of people appropriated the sunflower lanyard during COVID restrictions so they didn’t have to wear a mask. Being disabled is shit, being the parent of a child who is disabled is shit. What is extra shit is the folk who are jealous of the ‘advantages’ that disabled people are given in life ie Blue Badges or the right of entry to premises for a Guide Dog that is literally the eyes of its owner so they seek to bend rules so they have the same ‘benefits’ of those lucky bastard severely disabled people.

Night as well let all dogs.

Are therapy dogs legally classified in any way

Are therapy dogs legally classified in any way

For pets as therapy, they need a vet or qualified person to sign off that they are well behaved and tolerate handling. For emotional support animals, there are no standards which is part of the reason I object to them. But also, there is a world of difference between a dog in harness who knows their job is to help you navigate a junction, and that it will have time off later - and an animal who is relied on whenever the owner is agitated or upset and expected to help them calm down. Too much to put on an animal and no kind of life for them. I totally understand that they can help with mental health, but dont make it their job to care for their owner. As for guinea pigs in lectures, give me a fucking break.

Yes I definitely agree people are lying about it to get their dogs into places. There is an Irish blogger who lied to get her dog listed as an emotional support dog so she could bring him on a plane from New York to Ireland!

FWIW I think there is definitely a need for emotional support dogs in genuine circumstances. I also think there should be more dog friendly places.

This

@WiddlinDiddlin your dog sounds amazing, so clever. May I ask whether you trained them yourself or did someone/an organisation train the dog and give it to you? Whoever it was who trained them, they (you?) are incredibly talented.

There is a legal difference between therapy dogs and assistance dogs at least in the UK

One of mine is a therapy dog and we visit nursing homes etc but I have no legal right to take him into premises without the owner of the premises consent. I can't take him into the supermarket for example even if he is "working".

It is illegal to refuse assistance dogs but not therapy dogs.

Go and have a look at Dogs for Good and their assistance dogs.

They're incredible

Therapy dogs are less "trained". Assistance dogs have a role/roles they are trained to perform for their owner.