Why so much Worry?

Reading through my daily service dog groups I was reminded of how we worry about how others view us. Even within our own service dog groups, we worry about how other handers view our teams. The most dreaded label is "fake service dog". Sadly, I have seen perspective teams wash their dog and quit training just for the simple fact that another team contradicted some small aspect of how the prospect was training. Very sad, Very true.

My focus is not on our service dog communities, as I have already written about our own self-fulfilling prophecies in "Our Worst Enemies" here in Service Dog Advocate. Rather, I would like to discuss our dealing with the public at large.

The Public at Large

Most of the complaints we, as service dog teams, are going to experience typically are going to be within public access areas. Unfortunately, our society has moved from a more community-based organism to an "all about me and how I feel" society or the "Me" generation. This adds to the disapproving comments and complaints we see when we are with our dogs, especially if you "look normal" AKA invisible disabilities.

How can we make it better? As individuals, I do not think we can as it is not the service dog team but those mundanes that are doing the complaining. On our side, we must do everything we can with our dogs' training to make sure not only do they conform to the ADA guidelines, but exceed them.

Be confident! You know the rules and laws, but more importantly, you understand what your dog does for you. Don't let others tell you what or how YOU are supposed to act.

Be Nice but Direct! In conflicts, especially in public, people notice. One thing I have observed is that they notice who is being mean and who is not, and they tend to side with the one who is calm and collected. No matter how badly you want to deliver that much-needed throat punch it is never worth it.

Record! This one tends to get a lot of flak on if it is legal or not. It is legal always as long as there is not an "expectation of privacy". This is a legal term (federal). I have a posted video that explains this better: "Filming In Public". This does a few things

• The one you are recording will walk off. Has happened several times for me.
• Creates legal evidence. Cops & Judges love watching videos, thanks to the body cam push a few years ago.
• Makes great social media entries for SD education.

Learn the art of Ignoring! This one is my go-to. People talk and make snide comments, because you know, they know everything. Ignore them! They know about as much about you and your situation as you know of theirs. I have found that blogging (shameless plug to the Blogs here) or going to my favorite SD page(s) on Facebook and venting works at destressing from an altercation.

Do not be scared to ask for mitigation! Sometimes you may run into someone who is "in your face", overly demanding, and the like. Call for help! This can be done in many ways.

• Verbally. Call out loud for help. Bring attention to your situation. You may be surprised how many people will still reach out to help.
• Ask for a manager. The last thing a business manager wants is conflict within their establishment. The cards are in your favor, you have a service dog, and if the manager understands those ramifications they will do everything they can to mediate and calm the situation.
• Call Law Enforcement. Another favorite of mine. I go into some depth about this in a previous article "What to do when you are denied entry with your service dog. (US)".

While I do not think we, as service dog teams, can do much to stop the mundanes (or other SD teams) assumptions when it comes to our dogs hopefully, I have provided some tools to help. Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas about the subject here. Just remember to Stay Positive!