AIBU to take my dog everywhere I go

[Loopylouloves]

After several posts recently about dogs in public spaces I wanted to add another angle. For context I wasnt a dog lover and never thought I would own one. However I am now the owner of one but with a difference. I have a serious medical condition which causes me to become very unwell quickly and my dog is being trained to detect when this is about to happen so I can take action promptly and get help. She goes everywhere with me including supermarkets, cafes, friends houses etc.

The issue is that shes a puppy (12 months) and is very much in the training phase so sometimes she doesnt behave when we go out. But its so important that she lives my life with me so she learns to alert me even when we are out and about. Once fully trained she is going to change my life and give me so much freedom and peace of mind.

Because she doesnt always behave like a service dog should, aibu to think that people should be more understanding and tolerant of her.

As long as it’s clear that she’s a service-dog in training, then most people will cut you some slack. Even dog loathers like me!

Surely the specialist charity training the dog is best placed to advise on where to take it at each stage of the training journey aren't they?

I'm allergic to service dogs as much as any others, so if it's not yet trained not to jump up at strangers, then I would stick to places where that can't happen for now.

It depends.

Into church during friend’s wedding vows or baby’s Christening, probably not.

Ditto into the cinema, theatre, the V&A, dinner at a new friend’s who has cream carpets and sofa, Michelin starred restaurant.

Bbq of good friends and family who understand your situation, park cafe, fine.

Even people who take their dogs into John Lewis and dog friendly restaurants don’t take partly or untrained puppies.

Deploy common sense.

You can’t just pick a puppy and decide it’s a service dog. Do you know how many dogs the guide dogs fail because they are not able to meet the standards (it’s a lot)
This may well happen to your puppy, it sounds like you’re not really aware of how t train a dog to be a good dog. You’re just taking her everywhere and hoping for the best.
Maybe you should get additional services from a dog trainer as well as the charity so your dog is less of a PITA when you go out

Lets just hope you pick the wrong dog to do that to and they react appropriately - you vile person

Never heard of a service dog being trained by the person. They are helping

Just to clarify a few things, the charity can train a dog for you so would be fully trained and ready to go, they will also train your dog. I chose that route because having never had a dog before I was worried I wouldn't bond with the dog. As I said before I'm not a dog person so this felt important to me.

The charity are amazing and work very closely with us. They are impressed by how well behaved and how quickly my dog is learning. She goes to their training centre and is doing really well. There are certain targets she needs to hit and she's doing well with these.

Most people who meet her are impressed with her behaviour and when I compare her to other dogs I can see she is. Maybe I've just been unlucky that the few times she's gone rougue it's been around people who don't like dogs.

Her 'naughty' behaviours are not settling in public spaces as in laying down quietly. This mainly bothers me. Apparently this is one of the hardest things to do in a very young dog and I'd say we are 60% there. She's never been a barky dog but if something scares her or startles her she will bark, only once and is quickly settled. There are just a few niggly issues I'm working on and again the charity are amazing with their advice.

Do you ask your friends first?

I wouldn't be very impressed if one of my friends turned up at my house with a dog (and they wouldn't be coming in or even in the back garden).

I can sympathise completely as carry a few myself. No she doesn't jump up at people and if someone let me know they were allergic I would move away from them and if this wasn't possible I would leave.

I understand that and always ask if it's OK to bring her in and explain she's training. With regards to the behaviour, actually I'm not supposed to remove her but teach her what she should be doing. But based on comments here it seems she's actually very well behaved, which makes me feel better.

Surely the charity have advised you on what you should be doing when the puppy is with you.

She's well behaved in people's houses. It's mainly when outside with lots of distractions.
Most of my friends have visited me in intensive care so are really supportive of me having something that could prevent that. If my friends were not impressed by needing her to be with me then I would question the sort of person they were.

If it’s a service dog, it’s completely different to just wanting to take your pet out with you. I would have absolutely no problems someone bringing their service dog to my house and legally you can take her anywhere in public. Rocking up to a party with your pet dog - No thanks

Common sense would be following the advise the experts have given me and taking her to all those places. That's how she learns. Although she's not fully trained she's more trained then most dogs, it's just sometimes puppy brain takes over.

In time your ddog will change your life. Fact.
You aren't suggesting you bring a yappy no point handbag dog around with you for the laughs....
Ignore the doubters.. Having your dodgy with you strengthens the bond you both need for the training to work.

Thankyou, it really does. She always looks for my cues when we are out and she's such a friendly little thing. I hope the training will be successful but I know that realistically not all dogs pass, but then I will have a amazing pet dog anyway.

Maybe not taking her to the higher-stakes type places, where an occasionally excited puppy would be more out of place, would be a good idea while she’s still in training? Completely understand she has to get used to all these places but as she gets calmer and better trained, the chance of her getting overexcited as a young pup would reduce.

It’s like children - I’d take mine to more relaxed restaurants first so they learn how to behave there, before taking them somewhere really nice where it wouldn’t be appropriate if they got silly.

I think in puppy stage you need to be considerate and realistic and go where the dog is going to be able to be managed and not break anything, cause an issue or confined places where you might worry people who are scared of dogs for example a toy shop where there are small children, a boutique store full of china ornaments etc.
As she gets older and better behaved, introduce her to more places as time goes on and you see fit.

@Loopylouloves

So it sounds to me as if you bought a pup on your own and then asked this charity to train it rather than working with one of their dogs?

1-Is this a 'known' and reputable charity? I'm in the US and there are some fly-by-night 'charities' who will 'certify' a dog as a service animal with very little training. Some with no training at all. You pay some money and get a 'certificate' so you can take your dog wherever.

2-Has this charity vetted your dog's family history and temperament for training and said he/she is suitable? Not all dogs have the temperament.

3-What 'tasks' are you (and they) training your dog to do? I don't know about the UK but in the US a dog must perform a specific task related to a disability to be a certified service dog. 'Emotional Support Animals' no longer qualify.

Service dogs are amazing and life changing. And they are thoroughly reliable and obedient. I know they all go through a 'training phase' but if your pup is getting unruly or not listening, maybe it's time for both of you to work more with the trainer in public places.

So if it was a guide dog in training they shouldn’t be allowed to go anywhere, outside of structured training…….according to you.

I have every sympathy with anyone taking a dog into public places for health reasons but as per previous comments they should have a harness so that is clear. My son was badly attacked by a dog when he was 12 and had a broken nose and a large piece of skin ripped from his face and now has a scar. He’s 40 now but understandably nervous around dogs. I’m allergic to them. It annoys me that we have to suffer dogs in places like John Lewis for example. I mean, is it a shop or is it a park?

Thankyou, that's good advice. I couldn't promise she wouldn't nick a pork pie at a picnic tbh but she has never wrecked havoc anywhere yet.

Most people are great and ask lots of questions about her and seem to understand she's still training. But I've had a few horrible comments when actually she was behaving exactly how a service dog should. I had a lady demand that we were removed from Tesco, I could understand of she was being naughty but she wasn't. The manager explained what she was to the lady but she said its unhygienic in a supermarket and she wouldn't be shopping there anymore. It was just very awkward and uncomfortable.

Imprisoned? For defending myself from an out of control dog? Hardly.

The owner has a duty to keep it under control.

YANBU while in training or once she has passed but YWBU if she doesn't pass to continue to do this.

My friend had a shih tzu who was a trained diabetes alert dog. She wasn't bought with the intention of becoming an alert dog, she just naturally started alerting and so she was trained to alert and seek my friends medical bag and find a safe space to lay down.

Nobody assumes she is a service dog because she is a shih tzu, but she's genuinely a life saving disability aid.

They can give me a gummy bite when they've lost their teeth