What's the etiquette for when you see a service dog, don't realize it's a service dog, start the "OMIGOD YOU'RE SO CUTE" routine and notice the service dog harness midway through it?
I too am guilty of getting very excited to meet a dog, I love dogs. Dogs are marvelous animals and I want to greet all of them. However, you need consent to interact with any dog, and you need to get that consent from its person before you even make eye contact with a dog.
When you do find yourself in that situation, I advise you correct your body language to be interacting with the handler instead of the dog and apologize for interfering with their dog and drop the issue ASAP (ie, āIām sorry for interfering with your dog, I didnāt mean harm by it, please have a wonderful day!ā and walk away without continuing to talk about the dog and handler, we can normally hear you).Ā
If a handler wants to have further discussion, let the handler open that up. But generally itās just weird as a handler to shove someone off my dog and then continue being distracted from what I was doing because of dead dog stories, long winded excuses, accusations about my dog training, intrusive questions about my disability, or the other thousand things I hear almost daily. I hate to sound cruel, it just wears on me after a while and Iām sure other handlers share this perspective.
Itās fine to make mistakes, just recognize it isnāt a handlerās job to make you feel better about your behavior.Ā
Things I would rather hear or see from people in place of greeting my dog:
Quick complements of training: āyou allās hard work is paying off, good job!ā
Quick complements of how my dog looks: āyour pup is beautiful, I love goldensā
Talk to me about normal things other than my dog and disabilityĀ
My opinion on greeting dogs that arenāt yours (regardless of if theyāre an SD):
See dog, be happy, keep your composure and do not make eye contact, talk to the dog, or lean over. Look to the handler and if theyāre not busy, politely and calmly askĀ āI love dogs, may I greet your pup and if so how?ā
If the handler says yes, greet the pup how they want. Generally petting a dogs chest is a lot more polite for a pup and encourages less jumping than petting the top of their head.
If handler says no, wish them a good day and carry on with your day.
Why not just greet a dog that isnāt vested and seems friendly?Ā
Dogs are powerful animals and can be extremely dangerous, protect yourself
A dog may be a carrier for fleas/ticks/parasites that can be later transmitted to your own animals by you
You may have an allergen/virus/parasite on you or your clothes that you could transmit to a pup. (for example, giardia parasites can lie dormant for months in mud that could be on your shoes)
Even pet dogs are being trained and the way you interact with someone elseās dog could unintentionally reinforce behavior a dog owner is trying to curb (ie jumping, lunging, pulling). Listen to the owner when they ask you to behave a certain way, theyāre asking for a reason even if it seems silly!
Most importantly, respect people around you:Ā you always need consent before touching other people or their stuff
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