What would happen if pet dogs were allowed in public?

If pet dogs were allowed in public places like service dogs for people with disabilities, how would that change things for the service dog owners? Would it make it easier or harder to use their service dogs, and why?

    What would happen if pet dogs were allowed in public?

    If pet dogs were allowed in public places like service dogs for people with disabilities, how would that change things for the service dog owners? Would it make it easier or harder to use their service dogs, and why?...
    General Dog Discussions : What would happen if pet dogs were allowed in public?...

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    • What would happen if pet dogs were allowed in public?

      What would happen if pet dogs were allowed in public? General Dog Discussions
      If pet dogs were allowed in public places like service dogs for people with disabilities, how would that change things for the service dog owners? Would it make it easier or harder to use their service dogs, and why?

      What would happen if pet dogs were allowed in public?

      What would happen if pet dogs were allowed in public? General Dog Discussions
    • I think it depends a lot on how the pet dog owner uses that privilege. Many people believe that teaching a dog basic manners (obedience) is impossible or cruel. However, if enough responsible owners with well-behaved pets could provide an example of proper behavior, it could ease acceptance of both pets, and of service dogs, as well as encouraging more people to train their pets. Poorly behaved, dirty, sickly pet dogs would provide exactly the opposite effect.

    • It would be both good and bad. It would mean people get more used to seeing dogs in public places. It might mean I'm less likely to be perceived as a circus attraction or source of entertainment for children. It would also mean more encounters with badly behaved, possibly dangerous dogs. One would hope that only people with well behaved dogs would venture to take them in public, but that has not been my personal experience. My service dog has been attacked more than once. It might or might not affect the public's perspective on service dogs. By that I mean they might have a more positive attitude toward service dogs just from being more used to seeing dogs in general out in public, or they might have a more negative attitude if they encounter dogs that cause problems for them with inappropriate behavior. That's hard to predict.Rude dogs who run up on working dogs are the bane of my existence. So it would be important that the pet dogs be under control, on short leashes (not flexis) and that the owner not let the dog greet or interfere with the working dogs. I don't know what could be done to prevent that, but it's a common enough problem when I try to go places where pets are permitted (like pet stores). I think that would be my greatest concern, that and the risk of injury to my service dog by a pet that is dog aggressive.

    • If there were a blind person with a guide dog, how would they handle a pet owner blocking the aisle with their pet dog who is clueless? The guide dog and handler would have to stop. What would that handler do if the person blocking the aisle keep moving toward the team and still blocking the aisle with the pet dog? This would either force the blind handler to turn around and go the other way or back out and go the other way to avoid the untrained pet dog blocking the aisle that the clueless pet owner is not controlling. This would become a big issue if pets were allowed in public access. It would interfere with the disabled handler's orientation in the store and timely shopping .This can affect access to goods and services. Say you have a taxi coming at a specific time to pick you up but wading through the pet dogs would make you late and MISS your taxi or bus. Personally if they wanted to allow pets in public places they would need to have them access tested.

    • Go to a dog park and study it for a day. The categories you would find are: 1. The numbskull who thinks his dog's misbehavior is precious2. The idiot who inists his dog is trained but it really is not3. The clueless owner who doesn't know when his dog is misbehaving and even if he did, wouldn't know how to correct it4. The ignorant owner who knows what his dog is doing but just doesn't care5. The responsible owner who follows the rules and tries to raise a well behaved dog. As you can see, a small percentage of the population would actually be a reasonable owner who would respect and control their dog in the presence of a service dog. BTW, you can take out 'owner' and insert 'parent' and take out 'dog' and insert 'child' and there you have today's society of parenting also.

    • It would be a logistical nightmare for most service dog users. Why? Because the overwhelming majority of pet dog owners do not have a clue concerning just exactly what defines "well-behaved" in a dog. Add to that the fact that the dog owners themselves do not know how to behave in the public venue, much less their aggressive, ill-behaved, flea-infested, unvaccinated, mange-ridden mongrel excuses for a canine.No, thanks......my wife's Guide is attacked often enough by pet dogs as it is, she doesn't need more places for it to happen.