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.

Yes you do! That is literally the role of the puppy walking stage of guide dog training for example. To expose them to as many environments as possible before they start their intensive training once old enough.
If they are not exposed to the environments they are going to work in how the hell are they going to be able to work?
Sounds like the OP is at the fairly early stages of training and this is exactly what she is supposed to do.

Im so sorry that happened to your son. She is always on a harness when out and she doesn't approach people. I'm not a 'don't worry, she's friendly' type. If she was just a pet she would be well trained because it's my responsibility.

If she genuinely and identifiably is a service dog, then fine.
If she isn't, then there are obviously places where it's not appropriate for you to take her.

Yes YABU

If it's allergies you suffer from, I fail to see how a dog can help. Unless she is trained to smell whatever you are allergic to.
Also, you keep referring to her at a year old as a puppy. Even a giant breed is past being a puppy at that age. Not mature granted, but not a puppy.

Completely agree with you. Cafe wise we go to dog friendly places or sit outside. I haven't been brave enough to go to John Lewis yet! She's becoming a bit of a local celebrity in the village as most know her and her role.

I say this as a dog lover.

you’re dog is “being trained” and therefore not actually a service dog as yet? Don’t then expect people to make allowances for a pup not acting like a service dog. Don’t use her as a service dog till she is properly able to do so.

when the charity training her sign her off it is a different scenario.

I'm one of these who is generally against the "my dog must go everywhere with me" brigade but I have no issues with service dogs going anywhere.

The issue I have is with poorly trained dogs in public places, jumping up at me when I'm out on a run, jumping at my kids who have no interest in going near them, being dragged into shops when they are clearly distressed, coming over to me in cafe's because the owner isn't paying attention, and being in places that are clearly marked as "no dogs" because their owner can't be parted with them for more than 30 seconds. Not to mention the 💩 everywhere.

Really, I'm not against dogs, I'm against shitty owners who think their dog's needs come above everyone else, and the massive increase since Covid in those type of owners.

But you're fine OP. Crack on. I hope the training is completed quickly so you can get the full support. Service dogs are an amazing invention.

It depends really. You're only protected in law once your dog is trained. Our organisation has 4 levels (puppy, bronze, silver, gold) then a public access test. For Puppy and Bronze, we are not expected to take them to non dog-friendly venues. For silver (minimum age 9 months) we are allowed to ask permission to train in non dog-friendly venues. For gold (minimum 12 months) we are allowed to go to non dog-friendly venues without asking but must leave if our dog does not behave as we hoped.

I wouldn't object to a service dog being anywhere, as long as it was clear to see from their harness. You don't really see people complaining about service dogs here though do you?

If she is a service dog aren't they fully trained before you get them?
I have absolutely no issue with genuine service dogs being allowed in any space , as long as it is clear they are service dogs
I don't like dogs who are clearly not service dogs in cafes and food shops

As long as you're removing her swiftly from environments she can't handle, rather than ignoring her getting overwhelmed, I am not bothered.

I will say, this was a silly thread to start given (as evidenced by the replies) most people here do not realise you can 'owner train' an assistance dog entirely yourself, or you can do it with the aid of a charity (Dog A.I.D, Canine Generated Independence, i think there are some others too), or you can do it with the assistance of a private trainer.

So without explaining that, you're always going to get some negative responses from those who think assistance dogs are either born aged 2 and totally trained or can only come from a charity that trains the dog, then supplies it to you.

Do make sure you have permission to take her to wherever you're taking her - it is not a legal requirement for ADIT's to be given access as it is with fully trained AD's.

For those actually interested, AD's can be trained to:

Do physical tasks an owner cannot do - open doors, pick things up etc
Alert to medical conditions - cardiac, seizure, blood glucose
Alert to things the owner cannot hear - alarms, doorbells
Guide an owner who cannot see around obstacles, to pre-trained destinations or places like exit doors, toilets, seating.
Alert to an allergen - theres far too many of these to list, AD's are most useful for the airbourne/contact allergies.

Alerts to medical conditions may look like the dog is misbehaving - for example, alerting someone to an impending seizure may mean the dog wilfully disobeys an instruction to cross a road, or seems to tow them out of a shop or to a seating area, or the dog may seem to repeatedly poke or bark at the owner to get them to pay attention.

My dog alerts to high/low bg - his alert is him putting his paws in my lap and trying to stick his nose down my throat. A quiet alert is no use for me as I am most likely to have a big high/low when very distracted/stressed, or when asleep - if I am calm and able to focus, I am much more likely to recognise the symptoms myself.

Assistance dogs should NOT be taught to approach other people, or to protect people from others. They can be asked to leave a premises if they are out of control in a way that is unreasonably risky for other people - ie, off lead running around, jumping on members of the public would qualify - being a potential allergen for someone who can simply leave the premises would not.

I understand what you are saying. But in order for her to be signed off she has to do all the things I've been doing with her. I am following instructions from the charity which is to take her with me at all times and get her used to being in busy noisy places. That's how they train service dogs.

Thankyou so much for your post. Its also nice to hear from someone who has experience of this. I was naive in posting really, thanks for making me laugh with people's expectations of service dogs. This thread has highlighted to me how much people do not understand the training involved. Or just don't bother to read my posts.

I'm so glad you have a little friend that can alert you, we are still working on alerts. They are such clever animals and are quite literally life savers.

Thankyou, that's really interesting. If I applied that to my dog then we are between the silver and gold.

Oh no OP. What have you done.....this thread isn't going to focus on your question but is now going to turn into the weekly 'dogs shouldn't be allowed anywhere, they're dirty and smelly and it's a disgrace they're allowed anywhere becsuse they wee and poo everywhere. Blah. Blah , blah....' As long as you have a clearly labelled harness, you'll be fine OP 🙂

If you are in a performance space where people have paid for tickets I can understand people being annoyed. Maybe keep her from such places till her training is more secure.

So she's not a service dog but might become one some day....

yabu

This is really interesting. I know a few people who have “emotional support dogs” which have had no special training and they take them to cafes etc. It worries me that this in undermining the traditional idea of a service dog, which is allowed everywhere on the understanding that its exceptionally well trained. Perhaps in future we will see the law change to require this sort of certification

The other thing to bear in mind, is that dogs can burn out if they are expected to work before they are ready. My organisation doesn't allow us to take the PAT before 18 months, but they recommend 2 years old. Slow is fast and fast is slow.

Assistance dog is the correct UK term.

In the UK a service dog is a police or army dog.

AD pups in training shouldn't be in shops etc until appropriately trained, stick to dog friendly shops and cafes, there are plenty of these.

I think you'd have to be an awful person to complain about a service dog in training being in any public place (except if you have a deathly allergy, but then I'd still expect you to be polite and ask nicely if the dog could be removed). It's not someone's badly trained pet, it's a service animal learning to do a very important job.

OP, as long as you're not letting the dog jump up at people you're fine. Service dogs need to be in busy places in order to learn how to behave appropriately.

It sounds like this dog could prevent you from becoming seriously unwell. Someone's health (or ability to be independent in the case of guide dogs) is more important than other people's preferences on whether they share public spaces with dogs. Frankly, I wouldn't be that concerned about other people tutting or rolling their eyes in these circumstances.

I had a friend at church who worked for a while training guide dog puppies and sometimes brought them to church. If she is wearing a "service dog in training vest" then she is being trained and she is allowed where a service dog is. I honestly don't think there's a hard a fast answer on this one. For each outing you need to ask:
1) What will the dog do that a fully trained dog will not?
2) How will this impact on those around us?

If she's barking at a concert then, she isn't ok there because that will stop people listening. If she barks in a shop and you do whatever you do to calm her, that's ok.

If she is more interested in people than a guide dog would be and bounces up to them jumping up, that's not ok. If she might poke her head out from under a table in a cafe, where a fully trained dog would have stayed curled up under the table, that's fine.

I don't think it's reasonable just to expect you keep her out of public places until she's trained, because she needs to be used to the situations she will work in and she can't get used to those without being in them. However, if she is going to be a ridiculous pain to people that isn't ok. Same really as human toddlers - there are places where they go and they don't behave like 10 years olds, but that's ok because it's a place people expect to see toddlers and it doesn't disturb them too much. There are other places where you don't take a toddler, not because they are bad, but because to be there they need to do things they can't yet do.

So you'd feel the same about a guide dog puppy being trained then? She will be fully trained and accredited this year. In your expert opinion how would assistant dogs be trained to behave appropriately in public spaces, whilst being exposed to all the smells and distractions?

For those saying unreasonable would u be happy if ur child or parents needed this dog anytime anyplace for health but they left him her at home as to not upset other people?