Things to do (there's a lot of don'ts!) when you see an Assistance Dog - regardless of the type of Assistance the dog provides....
● Don't tell your child just to go and pat the dog because Assistance Dogs are always friendly. Yes, Assistance Dog's are meant to be friendly however this doesn't mean that you should just send your child over for a pat.
● Don't pat the dog. There's a badge on Henry's jacket that says "working dog, do not pet." The badge is there for a reason. Ask before you pat the dog. If the handler says no, they've said no for a reason. Respect them.
● Don't give the dog a treat, ie some of the food you're eating. Number one, Henry and Alaska aren't allowed human food. They eat good quality dog food, twice a day. Number two, Henry and Alaska are trained to not to beg for food at all, or even sniff at food that might be on the floor. This is a distraction for the dog when they're working and depending on what you're offering, could make the dog unwell.
● Don't try to give the dog commands that you use with your own dog. Working dogs have set commands that they are used to. If you start giving other commands, the dog will become confused and lose focus.
● Don't go and start to take the halti, harness, leads and so on off the dog, because you think the dog looks uncomfortable or because you don't believe the dog needs it. The dog is a working dog and is wearing the halti, leads, jacket and so on for a reason. And yes this did happen to us when Henry was in work mode, the elderly woman's reason was because she thinks dogs need to be spoilt. If you want to spoil a dog, spoil your own pet.
● If the handler says that you can pat the dog, pat the dog when they say to and where they say to pat the dog. When in work mode, the only people who can give Henry and Alaska pats at any time is L and O, and the pups doesn't have to "earn" the pat. Anyone else, the Pups need to do a trick to earn the reward and even then, the pat is on the back of the pups head.
And lastly please be respectful towards us and our hoomans.
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