In this episode of the Pooch Parenting Podcast I discuss a recent news story about a 3 year old girl who was bitten in the face by a fake service dog in a Texas restaurant and how parents can avoid dog bites to their kids.
Resources
- The news story that this commentary is based on
- Episode 7 talks about what characteristics make a good service dog
If you’ve got a question about your kids and dogs, go to www.speakpipe.com/PoochParenting and record it there just like a voicemail. And I will include it in a future episode.
Summary
- We can avoid dog bites to children by teaching children not to approach dogs.
- Working service dogs should always be avoided so that they can focus on their work.
- People should not purchase service dog vests online just so that they can illegally bring their dogs into public places.
- Fake service dogs put working dogs and their handlers at risk. They can also put humans at risk, as in this case, where a child was bitten in the face.
- Restaurants can legally ask people with “service dogs” what service task their dog has been trained to do.
- Restaurants can report fake service dogs to the police in many states, but then the fake service dog owner would have to stay there until the police show up (which is unlikely as they want to avoid penalties.)
- Please avoid breed bias – just because the news amplifies aggression by bully breeds does not make them bad dogs. There are a lot of bad owners (and fewer bad dogs).
Category: Podcast
