Service Dog on buses and other WDW SD questions

[bedogged]

I was hit with another could be issue that I am hoping Disney is wonderful at solving

Normally I am not aware to all that goes on with Service Dogs at WDW but I tried hard in the Spring to watch if I waw one. I did see a couple. I found out last night the company doing ours would not train for moving sidewalks because they are a danger to dogs. Something about the end of them can catch their paws and injure them or even break their foot. I certainly do not want that.

So Oliver will not be exposed to moving sidewalks prior to us going to Disney which kinda worries me. And next, how the heck do I dodge them? They told me WDW will turn them off for the dogs that they all I have to do is ask. Ok.... I want to kinda talk to the experts on this one. Last thing I need is issues, and 2 kids with melts ready to ride the ppl mover or buzz and a dog looking at me like what the heck do I do now lady?!

I am not a service dog expert by any means, but it occurs to me that a good place to start your dog getting used to moving walkways would be a home treadmill. I have used my treadmill for this purpose even with really small dogs that can be easily intimidated. Just start really slowly and reward. It works best with two people at the beginning.

 

[kerstfan1]

be carefull with this as my normal beagle sufferd from a nice wound to his foot from such a thing

 

[bedogged]

be carefull with this as my normal beagle sufferd from a nice wound to his foot from such a thing

So sorry that this happened to your pet! I certainly wouldn't want any animal to be injured, least of all a service dog. I have personally used this method with safety even with fragile tiny dogs. If you watch the Dog Whisperer on National Geographic television, he often uses and recommends a treadmill for training purposes. There might be a clip on his web site? I guess it all depends on what you are personally comfortable with.

 

[Emagine]

I am not out to really train behind their backs, heck I am paying for that enough lol. If it will cause harm then it is something I would want to avoid. I do not want to be out a dog I have invested so much time, love and energy in.

Esculators have the same flap on them as they wrap around as moving sidewalks so I do not see a disconnection.

Has anyone encountered this as an issue at WDW? Do they stop the sidewalks? I know they do for ppl with chairs and such.

I have read on some recent forums how some trainers are moving in this direction so it may be new, not sure. I certainly do not wish to make Oliver be in a position of harm just to make it easy.

If you have a SD and go to WDW how do you handle the sidewalks? Esp if they are not trained for them? I suppose I will have no choice to to ask for them to stop them. ??

 

[SueM in MN]

I am going to combine this thread with your other thread since they are both about Service Dogs (and re-title the original to be more general).

Post 11 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread has a list of attractions at WDW with moving walkways and also a list of attractions with stairs. The wheelchair accessible entrance will avoid the stairs.
For the moving walkways, you should tell the CM at the boarding area that you need a slow or a full stop of the moving walkway and they will accommodate you.
There are 2 attractions which have moving walkways that can’t be stopped - Peter Pan and the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (also called the Peoplemover). With the exception of those attractions, all other attractions can be slowed or stopped.

A treadmill has a much smoother transition at the end of the track than the moving walkways do, so kind of different. I would just avoid the moving walkways. Even pushing a wheelchair on a moving walkway is kind of difficult. When you get to the end, the wheelchair can shoot out because the front wheels are on solid ground and the back wheels are being rolled forward by the walkway. The dog won’t understand how to deal with that, so it’s easier to just avoid.

 

[disney david]

Read sue post once again she posted great info thank fully she posted I said the people mover could stop.

 

[lilmissdisney216]

I am not out to really train behind their backs, heck I am paying for that enough lol. If it will cause harm then it is something I would want to avoid. I do not want to be out a dog I have invested so much time, love and energy in.

Esculators have the same flap on them as they wrap around as moving sidewalks so I do not see a disconnection.

Has anyone encountered this as an issue at WDW? Do they stop the sidewalks? I know they do for ppl with chairs and such.

I have read on some recent forums how some trainers are moving in this direction so it may be new, not sure. I certainly do not wish to make Oliver be in a position of harm just to make it easy.

If you have a SD and go to WDW how do you handle the sidewalks? Esp if they are not trained for them? I suppose I will have no choice to to ask for them to stop them. ??

I am a service dog puppy raiser and a former cast member just fresh from WDW and as far as I've noticed on rides at WDW with a moving sidewalk they have typically slowed down the sidewalk enough so its at a very slow crawl so that way the service animal can board the ride safely (and the service dog I saw boarding the ride [nemo and friends] was in training and handled it just fine). I'm sure if you let the CM know that you are boarding the ride with a service animal they will make sure that they have the walkway at a speed that is safe for both you and the animal and the speed won't cause any injury to the animal.

Great that this topic popped up as I'm doing WDW in the spring of 2012 with my puppy in training and I was always curious about this. The organization I'm affiliated with tells us to steer the puppies clear of revolving doors and escalators however moving sidewalks aren't an issue. When I return her for formal training she will be exposed to revolving doors an dmoving sidewalks.


Hope I was of some help. Lemme know if you have any other questions!!

Meredith and future leader dog Daisy.

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

I am looking for tips, tricks, the in the know for boarding a bus with a Service Dog. Both my kids are Autistic. We normally wait it out so we get a seat and let ppl pass us by so we do not have to stand with them. One is almost 9, the other will be 6 in Dec. The 6 year old also has a mobility disorder that throws his balance off. Both are sensory and ADHD. I know our dog should be out of the way under the seat if the seats permit but I also know when we stayed in the spring (we did not have him yet them) and we were at Old Key West) we always ended up having avail seats that lined the edge of the bus instead of sideways. We also use the regular line.

Any thing I need to know, tips? Ideas? Just doing a little pre-education.

TIA!

I almost always use the seats that line the side of the bus, as the set of seats in the back of the bus is often (always?) up a set of stairs and hard to get to with a dog if the bus is already crowded. There are seats that are labeled as priority seats for those with disabilities, so if there are no more seats left on the bus, a non-disabled person sitting in those seats is supposed to get up and give your son with the balance issues the seat. Ask the bus driver for help, if need be.

If the bus isn't crowded, just let the dog lay at your feet. If the bus is crowded, the dog may have to remain standing or sitting - and be sure you continually point out the dog and watch the surrounding ppl when the bus is letting ppl on or off (thus, ppl are moving about) to protect your dog from being stepped on.

If your kids can't handle a very packed bus, you may choose to wait for the next one, but that bus might also be/get packed. So, the seats in the back of the bus might be the best option for your kids if they cannot handle ppl standing crowded in front of them and bumping into them.

If you have a bus service near your home, you can practice with the dog on there.

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

I was hit with another could be issue that I am hoping Disney is wonderful at solving

Normally I am not aware to all that goes on with Service Dogs at WDW but I tried hard in the Spring to watch if I waw one. I did see a couple. I found out last night the company doing ours would not train for moving sidewalks because they are a danger to dogs. Something about the end of them can catch their paws and injure them or even break their foot. I certainly do not want that.

So Oliver will not be exposed to moving sidewalks prior to us going to Disney which kinda worries me. And next, how the heck do I dodge them? They told me WDW will turn them off for the dogs that they all I have to do is ask. Ok.... I want to kinda talk to the experts on this one. Last thing I need is issues, and 2 kids with melts ready to ride the ppl mover or buzz and a dog looking at me like what the heck do I do now lady?!

Kids (and adults) can be hurt by escalators, too. Dogs have died because of elevators (yes, the boxes that go up and down a shaft - not a typo!). There are lots of potential dangers in life - it just means you have to do things safely. A program may choose not to teach their dogs these things because they know not all handlers are going to end up doing things safely/watching their dogs. Also, for liability reasons.

The safe way to ride an escalator or moving sidewalk is to teach your dog to hop over the beginnings and ends of them, as well as to keep clear of the sides of them (to ride towards the middle of them, not right on the edge). Watch your dog and give them the command at the proper times. For moving sidewalks, it is easiest if you've started walking for at least several strides before you get to the end so that you can keep pace and walk right off the moving sidewalk (giving your dog the command to hop off at the correct time, of course). For BOTH escalators and moving sidewalks, you need to pause before getting on them to be sure you give an empty space (at least several steps on an escalator) between you/your dog and the people in front of you - this is so you can clearly see where the end of the escalator is as it comes and to allow your dog room to hop on/off (as well as get settled as he best sees fit on the steps). Don't let ppl behind you pressure you into going before you need to go or trying to go around you too close to the end of the moving sidewalk (why they let ppl walk on those things in the airports I can't figure out - it doesn't make you walk faster! )

TTA's moving sidewalk is extremely steep (like an escalator), so may not work for every person with a balance issue. However, I have done it before and not fallen/caused a dominos situation.

My service dog has never been injured by an escalator or moving sidewalk. I, however, have been when my leg refused to pick up my foot at the end of the escalator, causing me to do the splits and get scraped up ... not fun! My dog, however, was fine ... and trying to figure out why on earth I was on the ground!