So called “Service Dogs” on board ships

[daisy-mae]

There is apparently no national standard in Canada either.

 

https://globalnews.ca/news/5232932/guide-dog-owners-national-standard-service-animal-training-ownership/

 

One comment that struck me was the fact that "comfort animals" in retail establishments can distract service dogs and cause distress for their owners.

Edited May 18, 2019 by daisy-mae
not relevant

[VennDiagram]

13 minutes ago, daisy-mae said:

because it failed to perform its duties:

 

After reading the link, I agree there was a failure of some sort.  Whether or not it was the dog's failure isn't as clear to me.

[STI]

True and even the best trained service dog can get distracted. 

[VennDiagram]

1 hour ago, daisy-mae said:

There is apparently no national standard in Canada either.

 

https://globalnews.ca/news/5232932/guide-dog-owners-national-standard-service-animal-training-ownership/

 

One comment that struck me was the fact that "comfort animals" in retail establishments can distract service dogs and cause distress for their owners.

 

Did you post a different link earlier?  About a child with autism and his dog?   Because now, when I went to re-read the article, it isn't the one I read previously.  And my comment makes no sense 😉

[Fouremco]

5 minutes ago, VennDiagram said:

 

Did you post a different link earlier?  About a child with autism and his dog?   Because now, when I went to re-read the article, it isn't the one I read previously.  And my comment makes no sense 😉

The autism article was a link within the article provided by @daisy-mae. Here's the link if you want to go there directly:

https://globalnews.ca/news/3710485/service-dog-autism-human-rights-ontario/

 

[daisy-mae]

Sorry VennDiagram. I did post a link very briefly then decided that it was probably not relevant and tried to delete it. However, I was unable to simply remove the entire post so added another, more relevant link instead. 

 

Sorry for the confusion.

[VennDiagram]

Thanks daisy-mae.  For a brief instant I thought I'd hallucinated something 😉

 

And then, after Fouremco replied, I was wondering if my mouse needed replacement, since I seemed to have clicked through to a different page, unaware!  😱

 

Edited May 18, 2019 by VennDiagram

[wizard-of-roz]

As I read all comments; negative, positive, helpful, caring and even educational, I am reminded of the night that I dropped my medication, I couldn't bend because I had had a spinal spasm that absolutely paralyzed me.  I called to my Service Dog asked him to "get" my bottle of meds and "give" them to me.  If it were not for him I would have died.  He matters in my life, he makes a difference in how I live my life and allows me to be independent and free.

 

 

[GUT2407]

10 minutes ago, wizard-of-roz said:

As I read all comments; negative, positive, helpful, caring and even educational, I am reminded of the night that I dropped my medication, I couldn't bend because I had had a spinal spasm that absolutely paralyzed me.  I called to my Service Dog asked him to "get" my bottle of meds and "give" them to me.  If it were not for him I would have died.  He matters in my life, he makes a difference in how I live my life and allows me to be independent and free.

 

 

Yep, Maxy is quickly learning the art of retrieval. Though he still sometimes thinks it’s fun to run away with it, he is a work in progress.

[3rdGenCunarder]

47 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Yep, Maxy is quickly learning the art of retrieval. Though he still sometimes thinks it’s fun to run away with it, he is a work in progress.

 

I'm sorry, I know it isn't funny to need something and the dog doesn't cooperate, but it made me laugh to picture a happy puppy  thinking he has a new toy. 

 

There was a study done about cats and dogs and how their interactions with people are different. If you point to something, a dog will look where you point. They'll even look at your face, see where you're looking and follow your line of sight. That's why they're good at fetching things for you. Cats don't do that, so they don't know what you're asking for. 

 

[Copper10-8]

2 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I'm sorry, I know it isn't funny to need something and the dog doesn't cooperate, but it made me laugh to picture a happy puppy  thinking he has a new toy. 

 

There was a study done about cats and dogs and how their interactions with people are different. If you point to something, a dog will look where you point. They'll even look at your face, see where you're looking and follow your line of sight. That's why they're good at fetching things for you. Cats don't do that, so they don't know what you're asking for. 

 

 

I learned the hard way a while back that cats and women will do what they please and that, us men, better get used to that concept!

[3rdGenCunarder]

Just now, Copper10-8 said:

 

I learned the hard way a while back that cats and women will do what they please and that, us men, better get used to that concept!

 

You're a smart man!!!

 

[GUT2407]

22 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I'm sorry, I know it isn't funny to need something and the dog doesn't cooperate, but it made me laugh to picture a happy puppy  thinking he has a new toy. 

 

There was a study done about cats and dogs and how their interactions with people are different. If you point to something, a dog will look where you point. They'll even look at your face, see where you're looking and follow your line of sight. That's why they're good at fetching things for you. Cats don't do that, so they don't know what you're asking for. 

 

Funny thing is, he has been the easiest to train dog I’ve ever had, except for the one thing I really want him to learn which he thinks is just a fun game.

 

i take the blame, I think I’m going to take some training lessons, I’ve only ever trained basic obedience previously.

[Double D Cruisers]

21 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I'm sorry, I know it isn't funny to need something and the dog doesn't cooperate, but it made me laugh to picture a happy puppy  thinking he has a new toy. 

 

There was a study done about cats and dogs and how their interactions with people are different. If you point to something, a dog will look where you point. They'll even look at your face, see where you're looking and follow your line of sight. That's why they're good at fetching things for you. Cats don't do that, so they don't know what you're asking for. 

 

That is true of many dogs but not all.  For example if there are 2 inverted bowls but only one has a treat under it, you can point to that bowl and the dog will understand where the treat is.  But certain breeds (pugs for instance) pointing does no good.  They are clueless just like a cat.  Dogs look to humans for help when they are stymied.  However if there is no human around a dog may look to a cow or other animal thinking it could help them too. There are 200+ breeds of dogs. About 90% of todays breeds are only a couple hundred years old. They were "created" by us with selective breeding in the 1800s. A period known as the "Victorian Explosion."  We forced powerful changes in the dogs evolution. There are only 10 ancient breeds of dogs and most are wolf-like (Akita, Malamute, Siberian Husky, Samoyed, etc)  Those are the dogs helped the nomads spread across continents some 14,000  years ago. There are 10 more breeds that are pretty old.  They date back to around 1,000 BC. Pekingese, Pug, Lhasa Apso, and Shiba Inu  are examples.  All the rest are a result of human meddling. The dog is now the most physically diverse mammal on the planet (but they still behave pretty much the same.)  The reason for the diversity: They have a very simple genetic architecture controlling their physical traits. It is easily manipulated by man. 6 of 7 locations in the dogs entire genome (genetic blueprint) explain 80% of a dogs appearance.  With all other mammals, physical traits are controlled by hundreds if not thousands of complex variations in its genome.

[*Miss G*]

4 minutes ago, Double D Cruisers said:

That is true of many dogs but not all.  For example if there are 2 inverted bowls but only one has a treat under it, you can point to that bowl and the dog will understand where the treat is.  But certain breeds (pugs for instance) pointing does no good.  They are clueless just like a cat.  Dogs look to humans for help when they are stymied.  However if there is no human around a dog may look to a cow or other animal thinking it could help them too. There are 200+ breeds of dogs. About 90% of todays breeds are only a couple hundred years old. They were "created" by us with selective breeding in the 1800s. A period known as the "Victorian Explosion."  We forced powerful changes in the dogs evolution. There are only 10 ancient breeds of dogs and most are wolf-like (Akita, Malamute, Siberian Husky, Samoyed, etc)  Those are the dogs helped the nomads spread across continents some 14,000  years ago. There are 10 more breeds that are pretty old.  They date back to around 1,000 BC. Pekingese, Pug, Lhasa Apso, and Shiba Inu  are examples.  All the rest are a result of human meddling. The dog is now the most physically diverse mammal on the planet (but they still behave pretty much the same.)  The reason for the diversity: They have a very simple genetic architecture controlling their physical traits. It is easily manipulated by man. 6 of 7 locations in the dogs entire genome (genetic blueprint) explain 80% of a dogs appearance.  With all other mammals, physical traits are controlled by hundreds if not thousands of complex variations in its genome.

 

Thank you for this informative post!  I enjoyed reading it.

[wizard-of-roz]

On 5/18/2019 at 4:35 PM, GUT2407 said:

Yep, Maxy is quickly learning the art of retrieval. Though he still sometimes thinks it’s fun to run away with it, he is a work in progress.

Hang in there, it takes time, patience and lots of love.  Maxy will get it and will become your hero one day too!

[GUT2407]

20 minutes ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Hang in there, it takes time, patience and lots of love.  Maxy will get it and will become your hero one day too!

Fox, Maxy is already my hero. I suffer chronic pain due to a number of spinal conditions and spend much time restricted to bed, along with that, travels depression, the best anti depressant on earth is a little bearded nose, kissing away the tears. So even if he never learns his retrieval (and he will) he has already done soooo much for me most people will never understand.

 

My wife and I have been involved in the dog world for nearly 40 years, breeding, showing and judging dogs, Max has been the easiest dog to train we have ever had, the fall down with his retrieval is my health holds me back, his breeder has asked we leave him with her when we are on one cruise, if we do we will come home to not only a retrieving champ but he will pick up things by name and colour.

[wizard-of-roz]

12 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Fox, Maxy is already my hero. I suffer chronic pain due to a number of spinal conditions and spend much time restricted to bed, along with that, travels depression, the best anti depressant on earth is a little bearded nose, kissing away the tears. So even if he never learns his retrieval (and he will) he has already done soooo much for me most people will never understand.

 

My wife and I have been involved in the dog world for nearly 40 years, breeding, showing and judging dogs, Max has been the easiest dog to train we have ever had, the fall down with his retrieval is my health holds me back, his breeder has asked we leave him with her when we are on one cruise, if we do we will come home to not only a retrieving champ but he will pick up things by name and colour.

After I had sent my narrative I realized that it certainly sounded as if I was intimating that Maxy had not reached "hero-hood", please forgive me for that.  I, of all people, realize that what our dogs do for us on a daily basis marks them as true heroes, that's for sure!

 

I appreciate the times that Horton lays his muzzle on my lap, or stares at me, as if to suggest that he's "here" for me in just his presence.  The times that he stands near me as if to place himself as close as he can so that I can reach for him to steady me, if need be.  I totally and completely understand what you are saying and I DO UNDERSTAND!  Thank you for writing about Maxy and all that he does for you. 

[GUT2407]

4 minutes ago, wizard-of-roz said:

After I had sent my narrative I realized that it certainly sounded as if I was intimating that Maxy had not reached "hero-hood", please forgive me for that.  I, of all people, realize that what our dogs do for us on a daily basis marks them as true heroes, that's for sure!

 

I appreciate the times that Horton lays his muzzle on my lap, or stares at me, as if to suggest that he's "here" for me in just his presence.  The times that he stands near me as if to place himself as close as he can so that I can reach for him to steady me, if need be.  I totally and completely understand what you are saying and I DO UNDERSTAND!  Thank you for writing about Maxy and all that he does for you. 

No I hadn’t misunderstood you, I just wanted to point out how much he means to me, some people can’t understand why I am so besotted with him, I think until you have been where we are you don’t really get it, but just having him in my life is enough to make the dark times bareabke. 

 

Funny when i first started thinking abiut a new dog a Schnauzer was high on my list, but. I would have liked a black one, well our friend only breeds Pepper and Salt (sort of grey) but he is very dark, very very dark. I often joke that Mr Churchill had depression that he referred to as “a little black dog” but if he had a little black dog like Max he would have found a different term as Max is the best anti depressant there is.

[wizard-of-roz]

7 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

No I hadn’t misunderstood you, I just wanted to point out how much he means to me, some people can’t understand why I am so besotted with him, I think until you have been where we are you don’t really get it, but just having him in my life is enough to make the dark times bareabke. 

 

Funny when i first started thinking abiut a new dog a Schnauzer was high on my list, but. I would have liked a black one, well our friend only breeds Pepper and Salt (sort of grey) but he is very dark, very very dark. I often joke that Mr Churchill had depression that he referred to as “a little black dog” but if he had a little black dog like Max he would have found a different term as Max is the best anti depressant there is.

If we are lucky enough to meet one day, I would love to shake Maxy's paw! 

[GUT2407]

4 minutes ago, wizard-of-roz said:

If we are lucky enough to meet one day, I would love to shake Maxy's paw! 

As we don’t travel overseas, (Mrs Gut isn’t allowed fly) I doubt I will get that pleasure, but Maxy does great hi fives, when he isn’t stretched out on the lounge, with a pillow for his delicate little head to rest on.

[dockman]

Sadly it seems to be a sign of the times that for way too many people you "give an inch and they take a mile".

 

I agree a service dog and a comfort dog are very different things....sure we all would like to have our dogs to "comfort us" but that doesn't mean we all need to show up for a cruise with little fluffy tagging along.

 

It reminds me a little of handicap parking that once seemed to be for truly handicapped people....but now apparently just about any doctor will give just about anyone who asks the sticker...and even worse the family/friends who may also drive the same car but have no handicap also seem to think they get to use handicap stalls as they are too lazy to walk 100 feet.

 

  So now it seems there are a lot of people who go online and buy fake vests and certificates to declare their dog as a "service dog".  Not only is this dishonest it also badly impacts those with true needs and true service dogs.

 

There needs to be some kind of tightly controlled regulations on these types of incidents as without them it will no doubt get even more out of hand than it already has become.

[wizard-of-roz]

22 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

As we don’t travel overseas, (Mrs Gut isn’t allowed fly) I doubt I will get that pleasure, but Maxy does great hi fives, when he isn’t stretched out on the lounge, with a pillow for his delicate little head to rest on.

Love you Maxy!  You are one handsome boy!

[GUT2407]

2 minutes ago, wizard-of-roz said:

Love you Maxy!  You are one handsome boy!

Dalmatians were our breed of choice for many years, had numerous others including Collie, Border Collie, Shetland Sheepdog, Corgi,  Doberman, Labrador, Chinese Crested, Kelpie

 

But now I have gone over to the Schnauzer side.

[wizard-of-roz]

21 minutes ago, dockman said:

Sadly it seems to be a sign of the times that for way too many people you "give an inch and they take a mile".

 

I agree a service dog and a comfort dog are very different things....sure we all would like to have our dogs to "comfort us" but that doesn't mean we all need to show up for a cruise with little fluffy tagging along.

 

It reminds me a little of handicap parking that once seemed to be for truly handicapped people....but now apparently just about any doctor will give just about anyone who asks the sticker...and even worse the family/friends who may also drive the same car but have no handicap also seem to think they get to use handicap stalls as they are too lazy to walk 100 feet.

 

  So now it seems there are a lot of people who go online and buy fake vests and certificates to declare their dog as a "service dog".  Not only is this dishonest it also badly impacts those with true needs and true service dogs.

 

There needs to be some kind of tightly controlled regulations on these types of incidents as without them it will no doubt get even more out of hand than it already has become.

You are so right.  There are lots of people who will buy these fake vests and try to take their "pets" into any venue.

 

I must tell you, it is no simple task to have a dog go everywhere with you.  They need to be cared for constantly.  They must be groomed, pottied, fed and watered.  They can't walk on extremely hot pavement, their teeth need to be brushed, fur needs to be brushed and sometimes they get sick from "stuff" they pick up from the floor.  They need to be immunized and cared for constantly.  And, this doesn't even mention the training that MUST be done so that they are completely invisible in the public forum.

 

It's worse than having a two year old by your side 24/7.......albeit, a well trained two year old, but still a two year old with many needs.

 

I give everyone who does the Service Dog thing well, lots and lots of credit!  As should the public.