If you're a service dog handler like me then you have most likely uttered the words, "Please don't pet my dog. He/she is working", more times than you can count. The general public isn't used to seeing a dog at Target and sometimes (pretty much all the time) people forget their manners. But why can't people pet service dogs? They don't look like they're working when they're trotting along beside their handler or sleeping at their handler's feet. It shouldn't be a big deal to just sneak in a quick pet, right?
Well, it certainly can be a big deal. A working service dog is out in public because its handler has a disability. The dog is brought into public so that it can assist its handler in ways other medical equipment cannot. Simply put, these dogs have incredibly important jobs to do.
Now I know what some of you are thinking. How can one little pat distract a dog so much that it can't do its job? Well, as soon as a person engages with the service dog, that dog is now focused on the stranger giving it attention and not on their handler. In those moments, even if its just a few seconds, the dog could miss a vital piece of information. A scent, a movement, a change in their handler. In those few seconds, you may have jeopardized someone's health.
Ask yourselves, "Is interacting with the dog more important than someone else's wellbeing?"
Even with advanced training, service dogs are not robots. An excited stranger cooing and calling to the dog may be enough to break its focus. Service dog handlers desperately need their dog to be focused solely on them. The public needs to know that this unauthorized petting is a real issue. One of the most prevalent issues in the service dog world, I would venture to say.
So what do you do if you see a service dog team out in public? Most teams would prefer to be left alone. We've likely already been stopped 20 other times today and we just want to get in and out of wherever we happen to be. However, there are polite ways to go about talking to a service dog handler:
If you decide you'd like to try to talk to a service dog handler, make sure you actually talk to the handler. More often than not, people address our dogs before they say a single word to us. That gets old quickly. Say hello to the dog's handler first and foremost.
Ask to pet the dog. Seriously, this seems like common sense. Even if the dog is not a service dog, always ask before petting a stranger's dog.
Try not to be offended if we say that you cannot pet the dog. There are several reasons for this and none of them have to do with you. Don't take it personally.
If we say yes, please pet the dog calmly. An interaction that gets a dog overly excited is exhausting. It's like dealing with a toddler on a sugar high. The dog (especially dogs in early stages of training) may lose all focus. Just be calm. Please.
Basically, use good old common sense, and when in doubt, please don't pet the dog.
