Ask To Pet Me patches???

I in fact LOVE this idea... seriously, I'd SKETCH It on my dogs if I could figure out how []

Aren't there collars you can write things on? I wonder if that would work too. Or just right on a harnes. Cool idea!

Going to respond to this in sections, okay.

ORIGINAL: Liesje

I agree, DumDog.  I don't see any harm in other dogs wearing clothes, packs, etc. as long as they are not wearing actual SD vests with SD patches. And there's no 'official' SD vest or packs.

There's a SIGNIFICANT difference in clothes and packs or vests.

Unfortunately, SDs seem like the dogs we really can trust to be socialized with strangers, but they are the ones not to be pet. 

Why unfortunately? Do you mean, unfortunately they can be trusted, or unfortunately, they're not pettable? Because my SD is NOT out in public for people to pet. He's out there to mitigate my disability.

Many people have "pets" that have issues with fear, reactivity, aggression, etc but somewhere it became OK to pet anybody's dog as long as it's not a SD.  I don't think it's good to pet SDs while they are working or even ask, but I also think it's not OK to just pet someone else's dog either.  In a perfect world, everyone would always ask to pet every dog, just like when we meet someone new with a newborn baby we ask before trying to hold the baby. 

This is true.

I don't think it would desensitize the public to service dogs if more dogs wore their own clothes, bandanas, backpacks, etc (again, NOT SD vests but other indicative garb), it would educate the public about the many tasks that our dogs can perform.

My experience has been very, very different. Not so much with bandanas and clothing that looks 'fun', but with backpacks- especially because some SD teams use backpacks.

There's more to dogs than just pets, show champions, and service dogs.  My dog has a dog backpack b/c I like to hike or go on extended walks where there might be a need for something that she enjoys to carry.  I'm not going to ditch her pack for fear of people assuming she's a service dog, nor am I doing to pretend she's a service dog.  She's a protection companion, an agility dog, and a tracking dog.  Not any less important or valuable than a service dog, just a different job with different equipment (backpack or tracking harness) and a different patch.

I'm not sure you mean this statement as insulting as it is, but ... it is VERY insulting to imply that your pet- who is no doubt well trained and very much loved, is the same as a dog who makes it possible for a person with a disability to function in a more normal and complete manner. That's like implying that someone's motorized scooter is just like you having a bicycle- hey, you can both get to the store faster than walking, yeah? But you COULD walk- and they can't.

Where are you going to wear that backpack? On hiking trails? In parks in town? In pet supply stores? Guess what? There aer people with service dogs in all those places. How tempted are you going to be to use the backpack and appearnace of 'officialness' to take her on trails where dogs aren't allowed, or just run into the store on the way home really quick because it's too hot to leave her in the car, but you're tired and don't want to make a trip out? It's a slippery slope. I do NOT think it's appropriate for a pet dog to have any patches and a backpack in town unless they include "Therapy Dog" and perhaps "Public Access Not Required".

Her "Ask to pet me" patch is there because she does have an issue with larger men and I'd rather require everyone to ask than have some man come up behind us and reach for her.  Her patches are not there because I think it makes her more special or she deserves it more than other dogs.  

If she really has an issue with men, i'd get a doggy t-shirt and have it embroidered or printed with very large letters "ASK BEFORE PETTING". It's a LOT bigger and easier to read, and it doesn't imply that she's a SD or working dog.

Opps.  I have back packs for my dogs.  No patches or anything, but we use them for hiking, romps in the woods AND for in town walks.  They carry their own water and treats.  I've never even considered cheating and taking anyone into the store with me, nor would I.  I'm not trying to pass them off as anything other than dogs either.

But Glenda, do they have patches? That's actually more the issue with backpacks, to be honest. Realistically, the patches are hard to read and no one reads 'em, even when they say DON'T pet- but it looks, superficially, like an SD pack with patches on it.

Nope, no patches.  The only ones that charge my dogs are little kids too young to read.  Most folks over the age of 6 are a little leary of that many LARGE dogs.  I have taken one or two at a time into someplace like Home Depot or Lowes but those are places that are OK with dogs anyhow.

Why unfortunately? Do you mean, unfortunately they can be trusted, or unfortunately, they're not pettable? Because my SD is NOT out in public for people to pet.

"Unfortunately" b/c people assume they can pet companion dogs, not service dogs, while service dogs have the best training for being socialized and companion dogs often have terrible behaviors.  Nothing unfortunate about a SD or not being able to pet it!  As I've said in all of my posts, I don't ever pet service dogs and I don't even ask to pet them.

How tempted are you going to be to use the backpack and appearnace of 'officialness' to take her on trails where dogs aren't allowed, or just run into the store on the way home really quick because it's too hot to leave her in the car, but you're tired and don't want to make a trip out? It's a slippery slope.

Er...it's not slippery for me!  I wouldn't take my dog anywhere except pet stores where all dogs are allowed, private properties, and public areas that explicity allow leashed dogs.  Maybe other people have this problem, but I've never seen a dog in a private business where dogs aren't allowed that wasn't a legit service dog.  In fact, I've only seen 2 service dogs in the past few years - one being trained at Target and another more recently aiding a woman in a wheelchair.  Maybe it's more of an issue in certain locales?

If she really has an issue with men, i'd get a doggy t-shirt and have it embroidered or printed with very large letters "ASK BEFORE PETTING". It's a LOT bigger and easier to read, and it doesn't imply that she's a SD or working dog.

Well, i'm not going to make her wear some shirt because of stupid people that think petting service dogs is OK and even more stupid people that assume anything on a dog besides a flat collar and lead = service dog.  She IS a working dog - a tracking dog - so she will wear the appropriate equipment for that task regardless of what other people falsely assume about her (and me, apparently).

I'm not sure you mean this statement as insulting as it is, but ... it is VERY insulting to imply that your pet- who is no doubt well trained and very much loved, is the same as a dog who makes it possible for a person with a disability to function in a more normal and complete manner.

Well, it can be equally insulting to make assumptions about other people's pets.  Chopper was bred and is being trained for the purpose of tracking - sniffing out humans, maybe saving a life someday. 

I personally prefer not to make any assumptions about the necessity and value of anyone's animal.  In the end, only those that live with her and train her can know what is best for her and what types of things she should wear to keep in shape in order to get her jobs done. 

Tracking is not the same thing as search and rescue, and a recreational sport cannot be compared in any way, shape, or form to service dog work. It's recreational. The very definition of that is NONESSENTIAL. Service dogs *aren't* something people use for fun- they're a way of functioning normally.

 I'm glad you won't be tempted to defraud anyone even a little bit by using a backpack with patches.

How is wearing a t-shirt different from a backpack?

Here's Chop's new pack.  I specifically got this one because I wanted it to stand out as little as possible.  I searched and searched until I found this one, black and tan just like her, and has Eddie Bauer logos (which people associate with outdoor recreation). I avoided anything red or blue b/c I don't want it to stand out.  If it's still too similar, then I'm at a loss because everything else I found reminded me a lot more of a service dog vest. 



If the patches are that big of a deal, I can nix them, but honestly I don't think that's really an issue around here (people using patches to pretend their dog is a service dog).  This is not a pet-friendly city at all (just another reason I can't wait to leave).  I think the only time I've ever seen a pet dog inside a business besides a petstore in my 22 years living here was someone carrying a min-pin in her purse inside a bagel shop.

How is wearing a t-shirt different from a backpack?

You can't put stuff in a t-shirt and you can't attach a lead to it like some backpack/harness combos.

er... slightly ranty there, but... yeah. Feel very strongly about this.

Well, people pretending their dogs are service dogs can lead to prejudices against YOU and your dog. I totally understand why it bothers people.

Does anybody know if there's a t shirt available that says to ask to pet a dog? That's something I'd love to have a couple of. I'm actually planning on buying Emma a backpack for day outings, and put her poop bags, treats, tags, etc in it. I'd considered putting a "Please don't pet me" patch on it, but now I'm thinking I won't. I don't want anybody thinking she's a service dog, especially if she decides to misbehave.

I'm not sure of t-shirts that say it, but if you find a plain dog shirt you can get iron-on transfer papers from any hobby or office supply store, print whatever you want on it with a deskjet printer, and then you iron it onto the shirt.  I've made a few (human) shirts this way and it's really easy and they seem to last as long as any other screen print as long as you wash them inside out.  You can make exactly what you want in any size or color you want.

the way i see it is.... cigarettes come with a warning, dogs should do. we ALL know cigarettes can and will kill you eventually just like we ALL know dogs can and will bite if they feel threatened or challenged. but its for those ding bats that need constant reminders that made us feel an urge to put warning labels on everything "Hot coffee", "drinking while pregnant" "drinking while driving", not looking both ways before crossing the street, not mixing bleach with ammonia.... not petting a strange dog without permission...... it all seems pretty common sense to us....

however on the other end of the spectrum..... putting a warning label on your dog can attract people that want to sue you.
since you have admitted to the fact that your dog may be unstable, it should not be in public, and therefore you are held liable for any incidents that occur. just like putting a "Beware of Dog" sign up can make you liable if your dog bites an intruder. Sure the guy was trespassing, but you had admitted to owning a vicious dog. the wise choice is to say "No Trespassing" or "Dog on Sight" or something like that. you have admitted to nothing except there is a dog present. whether or not it is a poodle or a pit bull is up to the intruder to find out on his own.
So to flip the coin again, owners should be allowed to have a patch on their dogs collar or bandanna, harness, pack or shirt saying with some indication that it is polite to ask to pet with permission. wording is just a detail. maybe the patch should say "Beware of Owner" indicating it is probably more upsetting to the owner than the dog if some one pets your dog. It bothers me when people pet my dogs with out asking because I never know if Kaydee will sense something wrong with that person, which she has been known to do. There have been cases where someone has approached us to pet her but i had to tell them to back up, and no you may not.... that has been rare, it has happened like twice... BUT i watch her like a hawk and look for warnings in her posture. and she is good about giving me those signals before the people get within reach. Kaydee is a protective dog by nature and i am hers to protect. i like it that way. but i also know how to read my dog. not everyone can say that about themselves. i would bet a dollar to a donut that most dog bites happen because the owner didnt know a thing about their dogs body language. the dog could have been communicating all along that he was uncomfortable and scared or felt threatened, but the owner failed to acknowledge the situation and insisted the dog was indeed friendly or wouldnt bite. So maybe the patch should say "I have teeth" if you want to point out the obvious and be sarcastic at the same time, or perhaps go a step further and say "I am friendly but please ask Mom/Dad before petting me"
I personally would love to have a patch for Kaydee. the only reason i take her with me anywhere is if i have to go somewhere alone. having her around is like having a loaded gun, but that gun comes with a brain and a warning signal, and it wont just "go off" accidentally. But i dont want to alert scum bags to the fact that she'll bite if they threaten me. And she will bite hard and fast. But the fact that she is a bulldog is enough of a warning already. She is also good about Agiving off a good threat display just like a profesionally trained protection dog.

Anyway, there are a million ways to do it. but yes, for the dumb dumbs of the world, dogs need a warning label too just like boiling hot coffee and other such hazardous things.
It wouldnt reduce the importance of serve dogs. if a kid cant read then he isnt going to be able to read that your dog is a service dog anyway, so THAT defeats the purpose, dont you think? Hopefully the child will be with an adult that can read, and that adult will be able to tell if the dog is a service dog or just a dog with an owner that is concerned about the welfare of the public and their own pet. either way it is a notice for people that want to pet your dog. there should be specific colours for SDs and pets, but why? It SHOULD be common sense to not just trot up to a dog you dont know and pat her on the head! i knew a lady that was bitten on her hand by a dog while at a friend's house for a BBQ. She told the owner that his dog had bitten her, and all he had to say was "Dont you KNOW better than to pet a dog you DONT know?" sure the dog should have been put away for this social gathering because he had a bad attitude, but the owner was thinking people would know better all on their own. that sort of comment wouldnt fly today. this happened quite a few decades ago... back when common sense ruled.....

but if you find a plain dog shirt

I've had a heck of a time, with that. Teenie wears clothes, all the time, due to environmental allergies, and it's HARD finding plain doggy shirts!

Emma isn't bad, at all, but she will snap at a stranger, if she's surprized. She's not ever made contact. It's just a warning snap. The only people she's made contact with are me, a stupid coworker, and a couple of vet employees. She's a pain/fear biter, but she's fine, under normal circumstances. I just don't want people grabbing her.

Teenie is just majorly afraid. I try to take her out, and get her used to looking at things. She's about a zillion times better, but it sets her back every time somebody grabs her.

My dogs aren't terribly unstable, and neither is likely to inflict a real bite, except under specific circumstances (Emma, if she's in pain *and* being held down). They've both been accidentally tested and pushed pretty far, and neither has bitten. I'd just rather people not touch them. I'm funny about people. I'm funny about my dogs. When people walk up and start touching them, it's as bad (in my silly head) as walking up and touching me. It flips *me* out, and that goes right down the leash.

you need the "Beware of Owner" patch [sm=biggrin.gif]

you need the "Beware of Owner" patch

haha, I think that's what I really need!

But seriously, people have no common sense these days and I think that kids need to learn more about service dogs and the treatment of dogs in general as part of the elementary curriculum.  They learn how to tie shoes, call 911, memorize their address, not to go with strangers, how to treat each other...but what about how to treat dogs?  In reality, kids are going to met dogs way more often than they'll need to call 911.  Plus, kids love learning about animals so it's a lesson that's well received.  We were blessed to have a man and his service dog come to our school every year to teach us how to treat dogs, how to treat service dogs, and how to treat people with disabilities.  What I know about service dogs came more from those lessons than my more recent experience with dogs.  I'd love to see something like that in every school.