It’s distracting the dog from its jobYou wouldn’t try to distract and engage an air traffic controller talking to them to get their attention while he or she is working, would you? No! That would be dangerous. The same goes for a service dog. When you see it out and about, assume it’s working and on-duty to keep its handler safe.”If people in the general public either pet, talk to, make eye contact with any assistance dog, it can distract the animal from its work and then the dog is going to not pay attention to tasks it needs to perform,”‘ says Rivi Israel, guide dog program manager,
OK, we know that you wouldnt do this, but if someone tries to maliciously or recklessly interfere with or impede the duties performed by a guide dog or service dog, that could be a misdemeanor offense or even a class 6 felony, in some states, including in Arizona.
Different from a Therapy or Emotional Support Dog
In recent years, a lot more people have started using therapy or emotional support dogs. They are actually quite different from service dogs. Service dogs are dogs that have been specifically trained to do a task. This can be a variety of different tasks, but the dog actively watching for a situation and relying on their training to perform a task. Emotional support and therapy dogs are dogs whose presence is beneficial, either physically or psychologically, to their handlers.
There are many different types of service dogs, each has a different task to perform. If service dogs are ever off duty depends on the type of work that they perform. These are the main types of service dogs:
Guide dogs are one of the most commonly seen types of service dogs. They lead blind and visually impaired people around, alerting them to obstacles. These dogs are well trained and how blind people function properly.
Hearing dogs function similarly to guide dogs. However, instead of helping the blind, they help the deaf and those with hearing impairments. They are trained to listen for noises like alarms, phones ringing, or anything else important, and alert their owner to the noise. They can then guide the person towards the noise.
Mobility assistance dogs provide quite a different range of tasks for those who struggle with mobility. They can bring things to their owners, hit buttons to open automatic doors or operate ramps, and even provide support for someone to lift themselves upon after a fall or pull a wheelchair up a ramp. These dogs are also trained to call ambulances if their owner has fallen and needs some help.
Diabetic alert service dogs are particularly talented dogs. They can smell their owners to pick up on changes in their blood sugar. With this information, they can then alert the human. This gives them time to treat themselves and check their blood sugar.
Being able to predict a seizure before it happens is a particular type of natural ability that some dogs have. These dogs can then alert their owner and those around that a seizure is incoming. This particular type of service dog is a bit controversial, at the moment it is difficult to find a dog who can do this reliably. Various epilepsy groups disagree about the effectiveness.
Seizure response dogs are a different type of service dog that is able to respond to their owner’s seizure. These dogs can get help or call the police if their owner needs assistance.
FASD is a condition which affects children who were exposed to alcohol in the womb, a similar Drugs Exposure condition affects those exposed to drugs in the womb. Service dogs for children with FASD or Drug Exposure help to alert their owners to any safety concerns from their decreased mobility, and they assist with problems such as sensory overload. These service dogs aren’t performing as visible of a role, but they still do important work.
Allergy alert dogs help people suffering from extreme allergies by checking areas for traces of the allergen. These dogs do a job that only a dog, with their better sense of smell, could do. These dogs have a very talented sense of smell that helps their owners live a normal life.
Is a Service Dog Ever Off Duty?
Service dogs live a busy life. While many have long days, they get plenty of downtime. Some service dogs have entire periods when they dont have to work since their owner is otherwise occupied. Others that are on call in case something happens are usually always aware of what is happening. However, they arent stressed about their work. Instead, this state of alertness is fun for them. They get plenty of downtime even if they are watching out for their owner.