3 Behavioral Tips Around Service Dogs

A service dog is not a regular dog. They have been specially trained to help a person with certain tasks. When they are out and about with that person, they are working. The way that you behave while you’re around these types of dogs should differ from when you’re around other dogs. Here are some behavioral tips for when you find yourself around a dog with service animal certification.

Speak With the Owner or Handler First

When you come across a service dog, they’re working. The person that they’re helping depends on them to complete certain tasks. It’s extremely important that the dog is able to remain focused on the job and is not distracted by its surroundings. While you can approach most dogs, talking with them and petting them, you should approach the owner or handler of a service dog first to ask if you can do so. This will ensure that you’re not distracting the dog if it is focusing on a task that is meant to help the person that needs the service animal.

Keep Your Dog at a Distance

When walking your dog, you might allow it to approach other dogs to say hello. Oftentimes, you’ll probably chat with the owner of the other dog about the breed differences. Approaching a service dog is not the same as approaching any other dog. The service dog will likely be working on a task to help its owner or handler. Service dogs are trained to ignore most distractions but can still be put off by other dogs. If you are walking your dog and come across a service animal, you should keep your dog away so that they can continue working on their task.

Let the Handler Know if the Service Dog Approaches You

If a dog approaches you, your first instinct might be to talk to it and pet it. While this is perfectly fine with most dogs, this is the wrong thing to do with a service dog. During the training process, service dogs are taught to avoid distractions and focus on the job at hand. If the dog approaches passersby, they are being distracted from the task that they are meant to be completing. In the event that a service dog comes up to sniff or nudge you, it’s important to let the handler know. This will allow them to ensure that it doesn’t happen in the future.

Service dogs are not like other dogs as they are meant to be helping someone in need. As such, your behavior around these dogs should differ from your behavior around any other animals. These tips will allow you to avoid distracting a dog with service animal certification.

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Created on Oct 23rd 2019 00:57. Viewed 313 times.

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