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why do people tgink its their right to try to pet and play with my dog

Shes a service dog whos is trained to pick up on panic attacks and help me calm down. Yet people always come up to her to stroke her or distract her. You are put me in danger doing that.

Whats worse is i have had parents yell at me for telling their kids to leave my dog alone. They say “they are just kids so its fine let them. Dont be so stuck up about it” Thats not how it works. Me and dad trained rusky to hide away from people trying to pet her. And i have one had a woman who was annoyed that i told her to leave my dog alone that she followed me around the shop trying to get rusky to come to her. If you have a service dog do you have the same problems

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MarkPaul · 26-30, M

Tbh, it's unreasonable for you to go out into the world and expect it to revolve around your condition. In case you haven't noticed, people do tend to naturally pet a dog. Perhaps if you don't want anyone touching your dog, you should carry a sign like "No petting" instead of acting like you are being personally targeted.

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rachel11 · F

@MarkPaul she dose have a no petting sign on her

MarkPaul · 26-30, M

@rachel11 Then just point them to the sign. Problem solved.

rachel11 · F

@MarkPaul i do. They dont listen

MarkPaul · 26-30, M

@rachel11 Maybe they need the calming factor that dogs provide. Where is your empathy?

rachel11 · F

@MarkPaul because my dog is their to pervent me going into panic attacks. For my safty them distracting her puts me at risk

MarkPaul · 26-30, M

@rachel11 You can't control what people will do in the open world. That's just the nature of the open world. I hope you understand that.

rachel11 · F

@MarkPaul i understand that but when a sevice dog has a vest stating what it is and saying no petting you shouldnt pet it.

MarkPaul · 26-30, M

@rachel11 Can't you be flexible at all? In theory, I understand your situation and point. But, we have to make allowances once we walk out into the world. The world often (if ever) conforms to our each and every need, whim, and desire.

rachel11 · F

@MarkPaul not with my service dog shes their for my safety. Shes got a job and people distracting her puts me in danger

MarkPaul · 26-30, M

@rachel11 Well, I'm sorry to inform you, but people aren't going to stop. You have to decide if maybe you're just not up to the standards the world offers you.

Shayla · F

@MarkPaul I hate to argue, but that is bull. Kids need to be taught not to touch animals without the owners consent. What if the dog was a skittish rescue still being trained and bit someone who scared it? Not the dog or owners fault if a properly restrained animal feels attacked.
If someone needs soothing from petting a dog they should get their own dog.
How flexible are you about letting strangers borrow your car or into your house? I bet you feel those things are yours and no one else has the right to that, huh? Guess what? That dog is hers and no one else has the rights to it either.

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ExperienceDLT · M

@MarkPaul it's her dog she has every right to tell people not to pet it service dog or not

MarkPaul · 26-30, M

@Shayla That's a bit over-blown. [u]In theory[/u], yeah people should not touch anything that is not theirs, they should not stare at people who are different from them, they should not slow down in traffic because of a gory accident, they should not be rude, they should not be a dumb ass, ever. But, you have to be living under a rock inside a cave in a bubble to think that people won't be tempted to pet a dog.

rachel11 · F

@MarkPaul people can be tempted but dont do it to a serivce animal. They are their for their owners safety

MarkPaul · 26-30, M

@ExperienceDLT That's not the point. She has that right, but if she wants to be out and about in the world, she needs to expect that people will pet the dog and act and respond accordingly.

MarkPaul · 26-30, M

@rachel11 But, it's going to happen... as it is happening. And, it is going to continue to happen. AND... you need to expect that. Maybe you shouldn't go out into the world for your own protection.

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rachel11 · F

@MarkPaul its not the point i need the dog to go out safely if people are distracting her im not safe. What dont you understand about that

MarkPaul · 26-30, M

@frankietime It matters, but that's not going to stop people from petting a dog. Just like people are not going to be stopped from backing up traffic to glare at a gory accident. And, if you can't accept that, then you shouldn't drive and you shouldn't go out and about in the world. There is a certain amount of flexibility that is required to be in society.

MarkPaul · 26-30, M

@rachel11 I understand that. But, sadly that is not going to stop people from petting a dog. What don't you understand? If you can't accept that "the rules" are not always followed with precision, you need to rethink about leaving your "controlled environment."

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MarkPaul · 26-30, M

@frankietime I think it's great that in your fantasy land of what you think England is there is zero crime and everyone follows all the rules, all the time. I'm not aware of any place on the planet though where people follow all the rules all the time. And, if you go out into the world and expect that YOUR fantasy is going to be reality in terms of people's behaviour, then you are going to be hurt... all the time. And, if that's the case, my point is, you just might be better off staying in your safe little fantasy land.

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MarkPaul · 26-30, M

@frankietime You're just not being practical, realistic, or smart. When you get a little bit more experience of how the world works, you will realize the world doesn't conform to us, we have to conform to it without risking our core principles.

People shouldn't distract a service dog. I agree. But, to expect that it won't happen is something only a silly little school girl can expect. I trust you know what that means.

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