The way we present our team means a lot not only to those around us but to every other service dog team that comes after us. A prime example is the teams that have some sort of certification they walk around with and offer it anytime they get into a public access confrontation. Not only is this not necessary but it causes the person looking at the paper to have the impression that all of us have to have this. This makes it VERY hard for the next team that comes along that do not have this unneeded "certification". This is why you see so many SD handlers jump down peoples' throats when they talk about all the fake certifications. Yes, this is one of my pet peeves..
Now, as handlers, how should we and our dogs act? Simply said just normal. Service dog teams make up less than 0.1% of the population here in the US. That makes us very rare. Being so we tend to get a lot of attention, which means we always must be on task. The dog has to be as unobtrusive as possible as much as possible. People, the general public is going to remember you and your dog. There no way around this. Are they going to remember the dog pulling at the lead and sticking their heads into the meat freezer or are they going to remember the sweet pup that walked right next to the handler the whole time enjoying the time next to their owner? Remember this forms their base of thought for all service teams that they see in the future.
Most important is training, for both ourselves and our pooch. Yes, we need to train ourselves. Here is an example. No one is supposed to approach the dog, let alone pet it, most of us have patches all over the vest that say so. Does it stop everyone? Yea right! How do you handle the situation? I am ex military/law enforcement, so I have to fight the impulse of pulling out my "razor hand pointer" and the drill Sergeant tone and demand that they step away. We have to train ourselves.
Know your laws. I say over and over most police officers do not know service dog law. It is not their fault, it is just something that they don't have to deal with day to day. Carry ADA cards and give them out to anyone that shows an interest. Some ADA cards even have state laws on them.
Be ready to leave at anytime. All of us have bad days, that includes our dogs. I call them "knucklehead days". If your dog is showing bad behaviour you have to be ready to leave the area you are in. It is OK to correct your dog while you are in public, and expected to do so. However, if he/she continues, step up and leave, this shows responsibility and people will approve.
Do not be afraid to confront another dog team when you see something wrong. With service dog laws as open as they are you will see many fake service dogs. There is nothing wrong with talking with another "team" and offering advice or educating. We know what proper behaviour is and most places are terrified to confront a team let alone asking them to leave. I have been known to walk up to a manager and suggest that they should ask a "team" to leave or even called law enforcement. We have to police our own.[/FLEFT]
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