Emotional support dogs?

[ppony]

No, not all of us bring our dogs to PetSmart because we are "selfish and don't think about the dogs health". A number of us bring our dogs to PetSmart because it helps with socialization and reinforcement of training with distractions around. My dog loves to see children and get "lovins". Plus she gets treats from the cashiers when she shows her "manners". And if she shows any sign of not wanting to be there, we leave immediately.

I agree. It's good socialization. Honestly, I rarely took my dog there or anywhere like that just because I'm always making other stops and I don't like leaving my dog in the car. I wouldn't expect others to keep their dogs home because I have allergies though. I'd shop some other way. Smaller store or online if its as truly that bad. On an airplane though is an entirely different story. That's a sealed small container of air. Sadly, I think there are far, far more irresponsible dog owners than responsible. I can't watch those clips on AFV where people think it's so cute to encourage bad behavior. And hello people, YOU walk your dog, not the other way around. We all know obedience training is really people training. Dogs get it, it's the people that dont.

 

[Carirae]

Not being sarcastic at all. Some people, especially those who suffer from PTSD really do benefit from emotional support animals. Of course, there are also various levels of PTSD with variable needs.

Typically, dogs for PTSD are "service dogs," not "emotional support dogs" (usually referred to as "psychiatric service dogs"). Dogs for veterans are trained for one individual person to mitigate their disabilities. If they have a visible disability, such as missing a limb, the dog may be trained for helping with balance or picking things up, etc. However, for those that suffer from PTSD and other psychological conditions, the dog is trained to do more subtle tasks -- but they are trained to perform tasks, nonetheless. For example, a dog may be taught to sit with it's back to the handler's back while the person has to pay for something at a counter. This will help the person feel more secure and safe, like the dog "has his back." Another subtle task is the dog will put itself between someone approaching and his handler. The person may be uncomfortable with a stranger approaching them and the dog will help provide a barrier so the person has enough space and time to react. Another task might be that the dog knows how to get out of a store if the person starts having a panic attack. These are just some of the tasks that service dogs for veterans are trained to do, so they do fall under "service dog" status. They also do provide "emotional support," but they still must have tasks that they are trained to perform for the person to qualify as a service dog.

 

[Carirae]

I'm noticing a lot more service animals around too. I saw a basset hound at Disney a few years ago and it doesn't bother me unless they 1.try to take them on rides which is dangerous to the animal or the riders or 2. leave them tied up in the heat outside a ride (even worse). I understand how some animals alert their owners to pending conditions and that's great. But last time I flew there was a woman on the plane with a cat in a carrier. She said the TSA made her take the cat out to search it (??) and the cat got loose and was all over the place going bonkers until they could catch it. I was a little freaked out that somehow the cat could get loose while we were in flight and what would occur if this happened. Not that that would happen in Disney. Cat's aren't service animals. But true service animals are "on the job" and as far as I have been told they do not pay attention to anyone else when they are working. It angers me if people keep their little pets with them and just get a service animal vest on ebay. Leave them in a nice, air conditioned, monitored pet hotel. Disney's is great. I'm pretty sure the noise and crowds at Disney can't be good for pets anyway.

Currently, Disney takes great care of service dogs in the parks. There are few rides the dogs are NOT allowed on - roller coasters, Peter Pan, Soarin, etc. For those rides, there is a crate set up where the CMs are running the ride and the dog stays there when the handler rides the ride. Or they allow you to do rider switch, if someone in your party can handle the dog while you ride. So, there should never be any dogs tied up in the heat! Oh my!

I will say that anyone who takes an untrained ESA into the parks is really asking for trouble. There is so much that could spook a dog! We considered taking my guide dog in training to the parks for our trip, but we had a plan to take him to the Disney kennels for half of each day, at minimum. We were concerned getting stuck in the parks for fireworks WITH the dog and that is really rough on most dogs. This reason, and because I wasn't sure what would happen if my dog got so tired doing all of that walking that he just stopped walking, we decided to leave him at home with a sitter.

Ok and a little off topic, but about the cat thing: My brother is a TSA - yes, they DO have to inspect any animal carrier bags at security. Believe me, they hate it more than the animals! Haha My brother told me of one woman who was transporting her daughter's cat and the cat HATED the lady. The lady refused to take the cat out, at first. When she did, the cat started clawing her and launched out of her arms! My brother (who really dislikes cats) saved the day and caught it. Also, he wasn't there for this one, but they had a cat taken out of a carrier and it just started peeing everywhere. :-/ Unfortunately, they can't put the cat through X-ray, but ALL bags have to go through, so they don't have much choice!

 

[sndral]

Can one person have two service dogs? I ask because a couple of years ago I saw a man in a scooter @ AKL w/ a rather large dog several times, I assumed it must be a service animal, until one day I saw him w/ two dogs (they looked alike) and that made me wonder.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

No, not all of us bring our dogs to PetSmart because we are "selfish and don't think about the dogs health". A number of us bring our dogs to PetSmart because it helps with socialization and reinforcement of training with distractions around. My dog loves to see children and get "lovins". Plus she gets treats from the cashiers when she shows her "manners". And if she shows any sign of not wanting to be there, we leave immediately.

I wasn't talking about the people who bring their dogs to petsmart for training. I was talking about the ignorant people who bring their stressed out dogs to petsmart and totally ignore their dogs behavior from being stressed out. I have no issues with people bringing their dogs there for training I have done that a time or 2, but don't bring your stressed out dog to petsmart and ignore the fact that they are stressed out. I also couldn't stand the people that brought their dogs to Black Friday that is just a safety concern. I mean if the dog is small and can fit in the cart that's different than bringing your 70 pound dog to petsmart and having them almost get run over by the stampede of people trying to get the good deals. I didn't even have my dog with me that day and practically got ran over by 3 different people.

 

[Pumpkin meme]

Although I can understand that. It's hard for some people who have allergies to go there. I own a mini schnauzer and he is the only type of dog I can tolerate with my allergies. The minute I go into Petsmart to pick up anything, I instantly have a reaction when walk through their door. I have to get in and out of there right away as I can not breathe. Not to mention the times I have stepped in dog crap there.

we have a mini schnauzer as well......awesome dogs arent they

ok, back to topic

 

[patty57]

I think animals that sleep in one's pants qualify as a different type of "service" animal.

 

[Lynne M]

Since about 1 page of this four-page thread has anything to do with resorts, or Disney for that matter, this thread is closed. If you want to discuss service dogs in general, or dogs in Petsmart, the Community board would be the place to do it.