Another Service Dog Question

[SueM in MN]

I request no more discussion about SD etiquette UNLESS you have links to some official guidelines.
Everything I have seen on internet searches about SD etiquette have been etiquette for people meeting service dogs (i.e. not bothering the dog, not offering the dog food ir drink without asking the SD's handler).
It is also a much different thing to discretely give a dog something to eat or drink in a restaurant than to allow the dog to sit at the table and eat food off a plate (I think everyone would agree that is not good etiquette for any dog).

Without documentation, it is just one person's opinion against another, so no further discussion on what is/is not good etiquette without something to back up what is posted.

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

I don't have the links at the moment because I'm on vacation, plus when I get home my computer needs to see the computer doctor before I turn it on again (smoke coming out of it isn't a good thing...), but you should be able to find it with a Google search. I'd do it now, but I need to get up early and should be in bed already (why is the DisBoard so addictive and I only usually read the DisAbilities and Touring the Parks sections?!!).

I wasn't equating a fake SD sitting on the table eating with a real SD sitting under the table and drinking. Just was adding that is what some ppl actually do, imagine that?!?! They sneak their pet into a restaurant and then let it stand on a table (this is a small dog, obviously) and eat from the plates. Somewhere I read from one restaurant owner who had somebody do this and when he asked the lady what the dog's task was, the lady said it was cleaning the crumbs off her plate!!!!!

 

[SueM in MN]

I don't have the links at the moment because I'm on vacation, plus when I get home my computer needs to see the computer doctor before I turn it on again (smoke coming out of it isn't a good thing...), but you should be able to find it with a Google search.

Please post your links when you get back.

I tried several google searches before my last post and was not able to find any etiquette guidelines except for things about how other people should interact with SDs in public (i.e. do not pet while working, do not distract, do not offer water or food without the SD handler's consent). I got 10 -12 pages into each search without finding anything that looked like etiquette for how the handler and SD should behave. I did find a few articles for restaurant employees that stated things like "a bowl of water may be welcomed" and then cautioned the restaurant worker to ask how they can be of assistance rather than assuming they know.

So, I was not able to find anything pertinent to how SD teams should act, other than general 'keep your dog under control...make sure it doesn't beg for food...stealing food off the table is not acceptable." Some of this was from a SD handler workbook I found online. I found nothing that said a SD should never be allowed to eat or drink in a restaurant.

SO, if there are guidelines, they are not easily evident to someone searching.

 

[LauraVV]

This only includes minimum standards but it is helpful.

http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/Standards/ServiceDogStandards.php

http://www.iaadp.org/iaadp-minimum-training-standards-for-public-access.html

 

[SueM in MN]

This only includes minimum standards but it is helpful.

http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/Standards/ServiceDogStandards.php

http://www.iaadp.org/iaadp-minimum-training-standards-for-public-access.html

Thanks.
I did find those; they were the kind of thing I was talking about as 'keep your dog under control...no begging for food', etc.

 

[dclfun]

Sue- that's because there is no prohibition against allowing your SD to have water inside a restaurant. Most SD handlers do not feed their dog in a restaurant or even while the family is dining at home so as not to have them associate human food with eating or begging. Dogs don't beg for water so even that is not a concern. I too, would want to see something in writing from a reputable source, not just someone's opinion that differs from that of everyone else.---Kathy

 

[LauraVV]

Sue- that's because there is no prohibition against allowing your SD to have water inside a restaurant. Most SD handlers do not feed their dog in a restaurant or even while the family is dining at home so as not to have them associate human food with eating or begging.

The two links I provided are minimum standards from two service dog advocacy groups.

 

[dclfun]

Thanks Laura. Indeed, neither site mentions giving a dog water in a restaurant being prohibited.---Kathy