feywild dog training

Alright, look, it is rude for a human to let their dog walk up to your obviously vested service dog.

In fact, the culture of strange dogs greeting each other in public is a problem whether the dog is a service dog or not. Many dogs don't like to be greeted. It's not safe, and it's not fun for everyone.

But not every human knows this! Many dogs and humans do like to greet each other out on walks. Even though this is an area with leash laws, I live in a place where safe and accessible green space isn't something you'll come upon outside of a public park. This is just part of the dog culture in my area.

So... should I scream at the guy? Should I body block the dog?

Well... no. I'll just stress my dog out that way. Nines is pretty dog neutral-social. This dog is fairly pro social. This is not an emergency. Treating it like one will only create the problem behaviors I want to avoid. And because she is well trained and has the temperament for service work, this interaction isn't going to leave her distracted. Shes dialed in on me. She's back to work seconds later.

This isn't the way every service dog team has to handle it. With Dizzy, who has been attacked, I'd create much more distance from an off leash dog. I'd take up more space and gently redirect the other dog out of her face. I still wouldn't yell, kick, or make a scene... That would only scare her and bring the energy up, creating more of a chance for danger.

Mistakes happen, and dogs are dogs! It's okay if things don't go perfectly as long as everyone is safe. However, I believe in a world where we trust in our service dogs to handle situations like this with grace, so we can treat the people around us with grace too.

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