A working dog may become distracted if touched or petted, which could keep him from attending to his human companion. You don’t want to get in the way of the dog, as he may be carrying out a command or following instructions from his owner.
When a dog is distracted, he is not focused on his task, and his human handler, who is incapacitated, is far more likely to get wounded and end up hurt.
Due to the fact that it is distracting, you are not allowed to pet service dogs, and you are responsible if the dog’s handler becomes ill or hurt as a result. Although trained to ignore these kinds of disturbances, service dogs are still dogs.
No dog is perfect, and no amount of training will make a dog totally immune to any and all distractions. Everyone has a duty to avoid purposefully attempting to divert a working dog’s attention from his task or handler.
This is what the redditor in today’s story was trying to avoid as they stopped a little girl from petting the service dog. But then, the girl’s mom started yelling at the OP.
Keep scrolling to read the full story in the OP’s own words.
Redditor u/Witchywomun asked a little girl not to pet the dog but then, something happened
Her mom started yelling that her kid isn’t touching the OP’s dog
And the comments roll in…
She totally overreacted
You hope she can better in the future
That mom is going to be a wreck
They know they have to ask the owner
Another Redditor saying that the mom is the AH
This Redditor is very hesitant in setting boundaries
It should not have been a big deal
You handled the situation perfectly
What this Redditor thought was common knowledge
The OP has more stories like this to share
There’s always the plausible scenario
Most kids would want to pet the nice doggy
The mom is a little off
Setting boundaries for kids to learn from
Nothing wrong with telling them politely
Your actions were only protecting you, your dog and the kid
They had obviously run away from their parent
She has to stay home instead of going everywhere
Service dogs aren’t some pretty art exhibit
Why we should not bother service dogs
Kids need to learn that service dogs are doing a job
The service dog and its handler work together as one. Always talk to the person handling the dog first, rather than just going up to the dog to pet it.
Keep in mind that the animal is working, and her ability to concentrate on her duties is crucial to the survival of her human. Share this post with others to get their view as well.