Service dog questions

[dawnball]

NON- VIOLENT protection. Lots of service dogs are trained for it. Look it up.

I don't need to look it up. I'm familiar with it. My Father-in-law works with service dogs in training. If you need a dog to prevent you from self-mutiliating, remind you to take medication, check a room for occupants, or protect you from injuring yourself when you have a seizure - I'm all in favor. If your dog acts as a physical barrier between you and danger - that's great.

When your dog starts looking or acting aggressive (and growling counts) - it's not OK. I understand that it is comforting to you that your dog is so protective. The fact remains that the US Justice department has clarified that growling (and you're realistically talking about a threatening growl) is not acceptable behavior from a service dog.

This is an issue for you and your trainer not you and people who don't know your dog. You'll need to identify what situations might be problematic. Watch youtube videos, look at crowd pictures and try to come up with plans.

 

[DisneyBigSis]

You keep changing the circumstances under which she'll growl...above, you say only with a physical attack, but in another post, you say she growls to alert you. Which is it?

Yeah. She's growls if the person is physically hurting me. To tell him to back off.

I never say she "growls to alert me" I said she growls to alert other to step back. I did at one point say a lot of service dogs are trained to bark to alert their handlers. But I never said that about mine.

 

[OurBigTrip]

She would never growl or bark in a crowd. Because she isn't trained to bark or growl randomly.

Under what specific circumstances is she trained to growl?

 

[Zooshoveller]

I only read the first half so I apologize if this has already been addressed.

I would contact the trainer and see if she has a calm/relax command. Something to let her know the situation is safe.

I don't know you, your dog or it's training, but I have seen videos and read personal stories of PTSD service dogs getting in between its owner and an aggressor. I can't comment on whether or not the service dogs barked or growled, but they move to protect.

 

[DisneyBigSis]

That's actually not entirely true. Dogs cannot speak. Growling is their way of letting someone know to leave them alone or that they are hurting. Besides barking, it's their only mechanism for verbal communication. My 3 year old and our golden play all the time. Sometimes the 3 year old doesn't know when to quit, and our dog will make a sound similar to a growl. He never bares his fangs and it's not an ugly sound, it's just his way of telling her "stop harassing me!" Now, if they growl and snarl and bare their fangs, that's different, especially if it's accompanied by a movement to strike. I understand the reasoning behind service dogs not being allowed to growl for any reason- they will be placed in positions that are much different from a regular pet. The standards are just higher. OP: only you and your trainer can make this decision. You still have 3 more months to get to know your dog. Maybe you can practice taking her to crowded and chaotic places. Good luck.

Thank you. You understand. She doesn't growl in a mean way. She's trying to communicate. She trying to get the person away from me before I have an episode. She's been trained to recognize physical harm as something that puts stress on me and something she needs to protect me from in order to keep me calm. She doesn't growl for her own sake.

Also, she's great in public even crowded places. I took her to a beer festival in my city, it's the biggest festival in the city all year. You think Disney world is chaotic imagine if all those people were drunk and bumping into each other. She did great and was happy the entire time. And she helped me deal with being in a situation I was 100% comfortable with.

 

[DisneyBigSis]

How did your dog react during your trip in May?

We had to cancel our trip in May and reschedule for October. But I wouldn't have had her permanent then yet. She was still training.

 

[SteveMouse]

I walk with a severe limp and a lunging gate due to my health condition. Many dogs perceive my gait as threatening.

How would your dog behave and can you instantly control him? I have a delicate balance and most service dogs are easily big enough to knock me over.

What happens when someone (a stranger) bumps into you? Or on a crowded bus?

 

[islandmum]

I train dogs. I have never heard of a service dog being trained in protection and to be allowed make the decision when a person is being aggressive. .

Totally agree!

I have fostered many dogs going through their training processes for a charity supplying partner dogs for people with physical disabilities and service vets with conditions such as severe PTSD.

NEVER is a partner dog TRAINED to be aggressive, or trained in a scenario of danger from another person to their owner - as they cannot properly anticipate what is aggression in humans and what is play/fun etc. Police dogs or example are only truly safe with their handlers, other officers know to keep out of their way on duty in a situation as the dog cannot differentiate aggressors and officers.

I call a large amount of b and s

 

[earsaddict]

This is straight from the world: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/service-animals/

They cover a bit of the scenarios of concern with noise, crowds, rides, etc. it seems like you and your dog have some time to continue working together. Maybe hit some large-ish crowded events, as much as you can. I hope you are able to enjoy your trip and wish you the best.

 

[sibesx2]

Since one of her jobs is to help me socialize with strangers she is very calm and well mannered in public. She's great in crowds. My trainer knows I don't feel comfortable bringing her into a lot of places. He's told me it's okay. She would be extremely hard to steal. And she actually has been 100% paid for by me and my family. Thousands of dollars for training and to make sure we got a good pup with good breeding so that she had a better chance of not flunking out. If she were to stollen it would only be of mine and my families concern not my trainers. Even though, I know he truly loves and cares for her and all of the dogs he trains.

Why would she be extremely hard to steal? If someone wants your dog and she is tied up outside unsupervised what would stop them from taking her. I hear of dogs stolen all of the time.

What would happen if something happened to you and you needed medical attention? EMT's running toward you with medical equipment could be taken as threatening.

 

[SteveMouse]

I walk with a gait that some would describe as " lunging." It's decidedly unusual. My standing posture is decidedly irregular. If I were close to you, say within 5 feet, how would your dog react? How fast could you stop him? Is he making a determination about when a perceived threat becomes real, or are you? I could easily be knocked over, especially by a dog ( I usually, but not always, use an assistive device).

 

[sunshinehighway]

Why would she be extremely hard to steal? If someone wants your dog and she is tied up outside unsupervised what would stop them from taking her. I hear of dogs stolen all of the time.

What would happen if something happened to you and you needed medical attention? EMT's running toward you with medical equipment could be taken as threatening.

My guess is the growling makes her hard to steal.

 

[DisneyBigSis]

If the ride does not allow dogs there are temperary kennels you can leave the dog in. I'm not sure how big they are but you as the handler have to put them in and out. I understand this will be your first time out at WDW with your dog so there will be some things to keep in mind. Some sections of the parks can get very crowded. Think carefully what your dog may do if someone places a hand on you to guide themselves around or break a stumble. These aren't threatening situations but may be perceived as a threat. There are many places now that have sounds that are similar to gun shots, the fountains at Epcot are one and the pirates game in MK makes several cannon noises all over Adventureland. In those areas how might your dog respond. I don't want to discourage from bringing your service dog but just wanted to give you clues to what might cause issues. In my time as a CM I met 1 PTSD dog and he did not handle fireworks well and was always circling his handler. His handler told me he only came to the parks a few hours at a time and never stay for fireworks due to the nature of his PTSD dog. There will have to be a lot of you paying attention to your service animal as much as him doing his job. Finally note if you do bring him and determine the first day it just isn't going to work you can not leave him unattended at the hotel. There is a boarding facility rather close that has great views if you need to leave him for any reason.

Thanks for the info. She's been around fireworks a few times. She's used to that noise.

Thanks for your understanding. This is why I posted something. I'm not sure what I haven't thought of that I need to address.

I've only had her for a couple of months. I still don't know how she will react 100% of a time but I had never thought about someone accidentally falling on me. I'll need to talk to my trainer about that.

 

[olwyngdh]

Because dogs rely on their noses for a lot of information, I wouldn't think that an animatronic would "smell" like and aggressor, and I don't think I can remember any of them that actually come close to you. Best bet may be to take your dog to a local amusement park, especially if they have characters or fireworks and figure out there how both of you are going to react. Like a previous poster said, there should be a stand down command of some kind--if your trainer didn't tell you, or you have forgotten it (I live with fibro-fog, I forget everything!), give the trainer a call and check on what it is--

Good luck, I hope you, your family, and your dog have a wonderful trip.

 

[DisneyBigSis]

I only read the first half so I apologize if this has already been addressed. I would contact the trainer and see if she has a calm/relax command. Something to let her know the situation is safe. I don't know you, your dog or it's training, but I have seen videos and read personal stories of PTSD service dogs getting in between its owner and an aggressor. I can't comment on whether or not the service dogs barked or growled, but they move to protect.

She does. I've already learned all the commands I need to handle her properly. It was part of my training.

 

[DisneyBigSis]

I walk with a severe limp and a lunging gate due to my health condition. Many dogs perceive my gait as threatening. How would your dog behave and can you instantly control him? I have a delicate balance and most service dogs are easily big enough to knock me over. What happens when someone (a stranger) bumps into you? Or on a crowded bus?

Bumping into me is much different then grabbing or pushing me. He doesn't just find people threatening because they are moving. And his movement to step in front of me and someone approaching me applies to everyone. Even my boyfriend who spends the 2nd most amount of time with her besides me.

 

[DisneyBigSis]

Totally agree! I have fostered many dogs going through their training processes for a charity supplying partner dogs for people with physical disabilities and service vets with conditions such as severe PTSD. NEVER is a partner dog TRAINED to be aggressive, or trained in a scenario of danger from another person to their owner - as they cannot properly anticipate what is aggression in humans and what is play/fun etc. Police dogs or example are only truly safe with their handlers, other officers know to keep out of their way on duty in a situation as the dog cannot differentiate aggressors and officers. I call a large amount of b and s

So you have experience with puppies who aren't trained? Great.

And I've only said a million times now that shes not aggressive.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Your trainer should have explained to you that people shouldn't be coming up to pet her while she's on duty.

 

[SteveMouse]

Bumping into me is much different then grabbing or pushing me. He doesn't just find people threatening because they are moving. And his movement to step in front of me and someone approaching me applies to everyone. Even my boyfriend who spends the 2nd most amount of time with her besides me.

So he becomes a tripping hazard for other's? Because I guarantee you they are t looking down at Disney!

Where is the "threat zone" 5 feet? 1 foot? Disney gets crowded!

For me, if I dog growled at me in a park/on property and I thought I was minding my own business, I would perceive it as a threat and a risk to my health and report it to a CM.

 

[DisneyBigSis]

Listen I'm only going to say this one more time. Then I'm not responding to repeat myself again.


She's not trained to protect me in an aggressive way.

She only growls when someone is ATTACKING me.

When she growls it's to tell the person not only to back off. But to protect me from myself. So that I don't have a panic attack.

She DOES not growl for her own benefit.

I'm not afraid of her being aggressive in large groups of people. Her job to help me feel more comfortable. And she is comfortable in crowded areas.

She will not perceive you as a threat because you walk funny, because you're close to me, because you are walking towards me, because you're walking towards her.

I was only asking about the rides because she doesn't have experience with them. Any responsible dog owner would be concerned.


I do have a command to get her to relax is for some crazy reason she gets worked up.


And most of all. I don't care if you say you're a trainer, if you've lived with puppies that were on their way, I don't care. You don't have and right to say what my dog should or should not be trained to do. You don't understand the circumstances. You don't know me and you don't know her and you don't know our trainer. You don't know how she reacts or why. You don't know or understand her training. And most of all. I wasn't asking your opinion on my dog or my condition and what I need I was asking for help getting prepared for a trip with my dog.