Service-dogs-in-training are an increasingly regular presence at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and this is all thanks to a foster program run by the non-profit I am currently interning for, Diggity Dogs Service Dogs.
Part of my responsibility as an intern is to work as a relief foster—this means that I will occasionally help care for and train puppies on campus.
The puppies have full access to all buildings on and off campus under Massachusetts state law. This provision allows participating students to take their dogs to class with them. Giving the dogs the opportunity to live and train on a college campus is not only great real-world training for the dogs, but also serves as a fantastic platform for sharing information and educating people about what service dogs actually do, and why they are important.
My recent experience relief-fostering a yellow lab puppy named Grace, pictured below, opened my eyes to the need for clearer communication between dog handlers and the general public. These puppies are adorable, but they have purpose beyond entertaining us with their goofy antics. They are being trained to perform potentially life-saving tasks. Just as their focus and attention is imperative to their eventual success as service animals, it is crucial that people understand how to interact with them in a way that both respects the animal and their handler.Here is your guide on what you should and shouldn’t do when interacting with service dogs.
1. Do not: Pet or distract the dog’s attention away from their person
I am aware that asking a bunch of college students not to pet a fluffy puppy is a cruel and unusual form of torture. The internet is saturated with cute puppy videos and many of us just want to run up to the first dog we see on campus, wrench the leash from the owner’s hand and bounce away into the sunset with our newfound friend.
However, when service dogs have their vests on, it means they are working. One of the biggest problems I encountered while fostering Grace was people just coming up and petting her, or reaching out to grab her ears as they walked by. This is a big no-no. In order to do their jobs successfully, service dogs need to pay full attention to their person. That job could be to alert for an oncoming seizure or a severe drop in blood sugar. If a dog is distracted by someone petting them and misses a cue they had been trained to pick up on, it could pose a serious threat to their person’s health and safety.
Similarly, it is just as distracting to a dog if you squeal or scream about how cute they are. Baby talking a dog is not only attention-diverting, it is also super uncomfortable for the handler—or at least it was for me. Like, hi! I’m cute too!
2. Do: Ask
While the nature of a service dog’s job necessitates an acute level of concentration and attention on their handler/person, they are not strictly limited to only interacting with that one person at all times. In fact, new introductions to different people are encouraged! It is important that you always ask the dog’s handler if it is alright to pet or interact with the dog before doing so. Asking does not mean the answer is always going to be a yes, but trainers and fosters love when people ask because it demonstrates a certain level of respect and understanding.
Socialization is incredibly important for these puppies as they are in a critical phase of development. The more diverse situations and people the puppies are exposed to the less likely they will be to behave fearfully or defensively when faced with a new or unfamiliar stimulus. Service-puppies-in-training benefit enormously from interacting with lots of different people, and the trainers try to make each new interaction as positive an experience as possible.
3. Do not: Resent the trainer/foster for saying no
When I applied to be an intern watching the light and excitement die in the eyes of college students was not in the job description, nor was it something I expected to have to bear witness to on a daily basis.
(accurate representation of this crushing disappointment)
Fosters do not set out to steamroll your hopes of snuggling up to a pup, I promise! Sometimes the situations we’re in are too overwhelming for the dog at the time to allow for a meeting with a new person. If there were days when Grace was having a lot of trouble focusing, or we were in a very crowded space and people asked to pet her, I said no. The reactions I got ranged from understanding nods and smiles to death glares that pierced the very fabric of my soul.
If you are told no, please do not take it personally. It has nothing to do with you so much as it does the situation and the dog’s behavior at the time. Also, understand that there are a only few puppies and a lot of eager UMass students. It would be impossible to allow every single person who asked on campus to pet the dogs.
And finally, ask questions! The people who work as fosters are amazing and they do what they do because they love it. They are passionate about the dogs and about the people Diggity Dogs serves, and are more than happy to answer any questions you may have. For more information about this and other service dog organizations feel free to visit the Diggity Dogs website.
All other photos courtesy of the author.