Reactive service dog at a convention

[lightlight]

I’m not one to mess with or be anything less than respectful of people with SD since they cost SO much to train and are absolutely necessary for some individuals. However I’m at comic con, there’s thousands of people here and there are security k9 dogs all over. I sat down to take a break and a lady and her friend sit down w a cute service dog. As I’m noticing more about this dog, he looks extremely stressed. He is not paying attention to his owner but everyone and everything else. His eyes are darting around, and mildly loud noise (someone sneezing) he’s turning to see. He overall seems like he is NOT okay in this environment which I was under the impression service animals are trained for this high stress situation. Then it happens a security dog walks by and he lunges, and barks at this k9 dog who then barks back and is then redirected and back at his job. The lady is struggling to control her dog, who is crying and shaking, and she’s trying to force him into a settle which he’s fighting. Maybe I’m crazy, maybe this is totally acceptable behavior, please inform me if I am but this genuinely reminds me of my reactive dog’s behavior. If it’s not a service dog I don’t understand WHY you would bring it here.

 

[fateh]

@lightlight 100% totally not acceptable. That dog was either not a true service dog or it was not trained well enough for that environment and even if it had been trained to do tasks it should not have been there. So somewhere between someone's pet they just wanted to take in with them and a person with a disability that has self trained their service dog and in over their head (this is not a dig at self training service dogs).

 

[daybeliever]

@fateh Yeah. I am in favor of people being able to train their own service animals because getting one already trained is EXPENSIVE. But at the end of the day, that means that the service dog’s training, desensitization, etc. could be anywhere on the spectrum from “you barely know the dog is around” to “yes, they perform a specific task for their owner, but they aren’t super well trained otherwise.” I have several blind family members and I’ve heard so much secondhand gossip like “my god, Lucy’s dog just Will Not Stop Barking,” or “be careful if you hang out with Tony, his dog tried to go after mine at Ski For Light last year.”

It’s not nearly as common as ESAs being poorly trained, but it certainly happens. There’s nothing magical about a service dog; it’s just a dog that you can honestly say is an aid for a disability and that has been trained to perform specific tasks. Most service dogs are extremely well trained because most people who have them are sensible enough to not want to take a poorly-trained dog out in public with them for any number of reasons. But if a dog can alert you of seizures but also is highly reactive or just straight-up badly trained, it’s still a service dog. (And businesses absolutely can legally remove a poorly-trained service dog—one who growls, barks, lunges, relieves itself on the floor, etc.—but many will not because it’s not worth the possible lawsuit.)

 

[catangel]

@daybeliever When I was attempting to self-train a service dog, I had to train her to pass a good citizenship test. Is this not actually required/not universal?

 

[daybeliever]

@catangel It probably depends on where you live, but per the ADA, the only thing required for a service dog to be a service dog is that it’s trained to perform specific tasks related to its owner/handler’s disability. There is no requirement for any other training, certification, licensing, etc. The dog can be excluded from public places if it’s considered to be not under its handler’s control (acting aggressive, making a lot of noise unrelated to the tasks it performs for the disabled person, relieving itself in inappropriate places like inside a business), but that doesn’t make it not a service dog, it just makes it a service dog that is out of control (and therefore that can be excluded in that specific instance despite being a service dog—but if the same dog comes back later it has to be admitted unless it acts out again).

It’s strongly recommended by pretty much everyone that service dogs be well-trained in all areas, not just those related to the disability, and organizations that help with service dog training do often require it for the dog to “graduate,” but it’s not legally required in the US under the ADA.

 

[heartbreak]

@daybeliever This is so informative. It also highlights why it’s so important for pet owners not to abuse the “service dog” title—it’s precarious and not all that well-protected since there’s no required license or certification to back it up.

Disabled people end up getting hassled and their dogs overly scrutinized / pressured.

 

[silversarah]

@catangel Not required where I live but I’m doing it anyway.

 

[805margie]

@fateh Your absolutely correct, and that poor dog should not have been there. Even putting aside guessing whether, or not this dog was a legitimate service dog (my guess is it’s not)- I absolutely couldn’t imagine seeing my dog in distress like that, and not immediately getting them out of there! I would never force my dog to suffer through a situation that was causing that much anxiety, fear, and stress for them. I also couldn’t imagine a legitimate service dog owner who wouldn’t treat their dog with the utmost respect and care. If their dog was ever in distress, they wouldn’t just ignore them and carry on.

 

[celtish]

@fateh Both - not a service dog and not well trained.

 

[fateh]

@celtish I mean, yeah that's the most likely case but doesn't discount any of what I said.

 

[ma37icws]

@lightlight Sounds more like the dog was an emotional support animal and not a Service dog. Big difference. Anyone can get an emotional support vest on the internet.

 

[becca777]

@ma37icws a nervous emotional support animal that needs it own emotional support animal

 

[simple2005]

@becca777

 

[angelspraise]

@becca777 I have one of those!

 

[robertnduati]

@ma37icws Fake service dog vests/harnesses are also easy to come by. Someone I know thinks it’s funny that he got his (definitely not service dog) dog a service dog vest so she can go to wineries where she wouldn’t normally be allowed. It’s not funny.

 

[aoeder]

@ma37icws Emotional support animals are not granted public access. They are only for housing (not even air travel anymore either). In either case, if the animal is out of control or causing a problem, the business can ask them to leave.

 

[bcrawl]

@aoeder I know someone who ordered a service dog vest for his not service dog.

 

[mauricio512]

@bcrawl Not all (real) service dogs wear vests either.

 

[quisutdeus]

@mauricio512 They don’t need to however if you want to win a legal action against someone like for an attack you better have them marked properly.

 

[b%E1%BA%A1ch0933]

@quisutdeus There’s no way to “properly” mark them in the first place