Petting Zoo Revisited
When I'm out and about and working a dog, the question I get asked the most is "can I pet your dog?" (if I'm lucky, they ask. Otherwise, they just pet without asking. Oy.). The 2nd most asked question is "why don't you allow petting?".
I've always used my standard explanation, that it distracts the dog and turns us into a petting zoo. But at a recent mall trip, I learned another good reason not to allow petting.
I met this fantastic lady who asked me tons of questions. She was a former dog breeder and an obvious dog lover. Her and her hubby worked at one of the mall kiosks and they have a co-worker that works a service dog. (I don't know the nature of her disability or what her dog does for her, but I do know I have to meet her! Kewl!)
This woman told me that the co-worker used to allow petting. She allowed it for years, until one day her now very friendly sdog approached a very scary man for some attention. She then realized that her sdog had the potential to put her in a very dangerous situation.
She stopped allowing petting immediately.
People often ask me if my sdog would protect me if someone tried to accost me. Because I've never been in that situation, and because my sdogs are not specifically trained to protect me, I don't know the answer to this question. But at least I do know that they will never unknowingly put me in danger by approaching a stranger for affection.
Good lesson learned.
I've always used my standard explanation, that it distracts the dog and turns us into a petting zoo. But at a recent mall trip, I learned another good reason not to allow petting.
I met this fantastic lady who asked me tons of questions. She was a former dog breeder and an obvious dog lover. Her and her hubby worked at one of the mall kiosks and they have a co-worker that works a service dog. (I don't know the nature of her disability or what her dog does for her, but I do know I have to meet her! Kewl!)
This woman told me that the co-worker used to allow petting. She allowed it for years, until one day her now very friendly sdog approached a very scary man for some attention. She then realized that her sdog had the potential to put her in a very dangerous situation.
She stopped allowing petting immediately.
People often ask me if my sdog would protect me if someone tried to accost me. Because I've never been in that situation, and because my sdogs are not specifically trained to protect me, I don't know the answer to this question. But at least I do know that they will never unknowingly put me in danger by approaching a stranger for affection.
Good lesson learned.
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