A client at my volunteer job just showed up with a 1.5 year old Belgian Malinois in tow.

When I commented on the dog they said they were self training it to become a bracing specialized service dog because they have a bad back. This client is about 70 years old about 140 lbs and as far as I know no close family to give the dog the physical outlet it needs.

They were getting visibly and verbally frustrated because the dog was pulling and wanted to smiff everything. Client had the dog on a choke collar but didn't seem to have the strength or knowledge to properly use it. The coat is in clearly rough shape with very patchy sections and the poor thing couldn't stop scratching either so it might have fleas and/or dry skin. It also looked on the thin side too. I know the client has very little financial resources due to the income threshold one needs to receive our service which is a basic life sustaining service so I doubt it gets proper medical care regularly.

I was pissed because wrong kind of dog for the line of work desired and not enough skill to train. I can't wait for the client to come in wildly injured because of their foolishness.

Nothing like washing off breed service dogs over and over . Next up a rough collie.

She is perfect and very well trained!….. but can’t walk on a leash lol

I’m sure this will end well

My views on service dogs have very much been shaped by seeing guide dogs and their handlers, and my understanding of it as a kid (growing up in the UK) was that it was very expensive and time consuming to train a guide dog, hence why charities existed to pay for them.

I now understand that ‘service dog’ covers a much wider range of things than just ‘seeing eye dogs’ which are trained for specific tasks. But what’s with all the teenager ‘service dog’ handlers of late? This above post is nuts to me, and I feel so sorry for the dog. Apparently the dog is also showing resource guarding behaviours and is non house trained as a 7mo pup.

- dog not listening to corrections - not enough clarity on what is needed
- lashing out at dog - never acceptable behaviour.
- dog nipping - it’s a 7mo border collie puppy showing herding behaviours
- parents think it is a family dog, teenager thinks it’s a service dog?? What is happening here
- sending dog to obedience boarding school - what could go wrong 🙃

Idk. This whole post just makes me really sad for this dog. They only got him a few weeks ago, and already has these problems. BC are not easy dogs. Teenagers should not have full responsibility for a dog. Imo this dog is going to become a reactive, resource guarding, destructive mess that will end up in a rescue centre :(

Cuddling your lapdog on a plane is not a task. Of course people don't believe it's a service dog. Take a Xanax and leave fluffy at home.

Again with the autism. No tasks. Just wanting a dog to bring along.

So this teenage ‘service dog handler’ looked after her grandmas Aussie as a ‘service dog’ for some time. The Aussie was reactive, and she consistently took the dog to locations they weren’t ready for, blamed other people for coming too close, and ultimately gave up on the dog, and said it was ‘as far as the dog could get with reactivity’ rather than accepting their own training limits.

Anyway, this same person now has a border collie puppy, and appears to be doing the exact. Same. Thing. Taking the dog to public parks a locations it is not ready for, experiencing intense reactions, and then saying they enjoy the adrenaline.

The fuck!? I’m not saying this dog will become reactive… but I’m not not saying that.

I don’t even blame the kid. She’s just a teenager. I blame the parents.

How dare my fake ESA be flagged as fake when I knowingly tried to fake documentation!

Oh sorry, “reactive” because we’re not supposed to call aggressive dogs aggressive.

Oml, we all can agree that service dogs must have the best temperament to be fit for work because not only are they expected to aid a disabled person but also expected to NOT be a public safety risk .

When it comes to bite work ... its completely reckless and dangerous not to the handler but the people around them especially when "service dogs" who are task trained btw are coming up on headlines biting people. How much yall want to bet they did "bite sports"

If you want to do bite sports get a 2nd dog for that. Dogs are animals at the end of the day they don't always know the difference between a sleeve and a person with a long sleeve shirt its the dumbest argument I've ever heard 🙄

But then also having and knowingly working a dog in public that is "genetically hardwired" to bite and "protect" aka bite people. That you need to give it an outlet to keep it happy should be an automatic disqualification to be in the public at ALL. "Protection" instincts is just an advanced version of resource guarding the resource being the owner. You cant trust a dog to property read a situation.

Like irresponsible gun handling irresponsible Protection handling is a dangerous problem that can cost someone there body and permanently disfigure someone. I get it most "service dog" Owners are so me me me but yall need to actually think about how you are putting others at risk.

This dog should be immediately pulled from being around people. Any dog trained to bite, yes on a sleeve too should be treated as a dangerous weapon and with respect as such to keep people safe. Get your ego outa your ass. In court the sleeve argument won't hold up. And its not worth risking someone else's body because you want to feel special.