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Elissabat
Hummingbird
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Joined: 21 Aug 2017
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Posts: 19
Location: Grove

21 Aug 2017, 11:11 am

I have a dog who is being trained by myself and a trainer I've hired. The trainer is wonderful. She really helped my dog connect with what I need him to do and learn a lot. When taking my dog out I get worried that people are going to mess with him. Very few people these days seem to have respect for service animals. I don't bring my dog to work because I know kids are always running around and it can be hard to make them understand not to touch my dog. He gets very confused by things like this. The worst incident I had was when I was waiting to pick up my boyfriend. Outside the building a little girl came up and tried to pet my dog despite his harness. She was well over ten but looked like she might have had a disability. I told her several times as politely as I could to please stop because she was scaring him. I wound up picking up my dog but she kept reaching for him. I am haphephobic(fear of physical contact) so this set me off. The girl was all over me. I ran away to my car almost knocking her down in the process. I felt bad but I just sat in the car with him until my boyfriend came out. The girl's mom had been inside the whole time, it felt like I shouldn't have bumped her like that, but she was practically climbing on me and it seems like someone should've been watching their child, especially if she's special needs. My boyfriend spoke with her mother, I was too upset to get out of the car. Should I have to go about my daily life without my service animal because I'm scared of other people's reactions? My trainer has gotten him to learn how to help with my haphephobia as well. He now puts his body against anyone who gets too close to me and gently pushes them back(he's a pomeranian he can't really shove you) he just politely nudges you away. The girl was trying to pick him up and give him food. Now I'm afraid to take him anywhere. I've spoken to my boss about bringing him to work and he said it would be fine but now I'm too scared. Any suggestions?



AspieUtah
Veteran
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Joined: 20 Jun 2014
Age: 61
Gender: Male
Posts: 6,118
Location: Brigham City, Utah

21 Aug 2017, 11:24 am

Regarding the girl: My first response to her touching a service animal would be calm and gentle (Please don't touch my dog; its upsets him"), my second response would be as firm and clear as my instructions to the dog ("Don't touch my dog!"). The third time (or more), I would leave without saying another word. It wasn't your fault. If anyone asks about your behavior, remind them of the cost of training a service animal, and ask them if they would like to pay for the animal's training.


_________________
Diagnosed in 2015 with ASD Level 1 by the University of Utah Health Care Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinic using the ADOS-2 Module 4 assessment instrument [11/30] -- Screened in 2014 with ASD by using the University of Cambridge Autism Research Centre AQ (Adult) [43/50]; EQ-60 for adults [11/80]; FQ [43/135]; SQ (Adult) [130/150] self-reported screening inventories -- Assessed since 1978 with an estimated IQ [≈145] by several clinicians -- Contact on WrongPlanet.net by private message (PM)


Elissabat
Hummingbird
Hummingbird

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Joined: 21 Aug 2017
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Posts: 19
Location: Grove

21 Aug 2017, 12:21 pm

Yeah it just happened so fast. I was trying to be calm because I knew she didn't really understand. She just immediately tried to pick him up and it was his first time going somewhere with me. The dog was scared because he hadn't been in training very long he was not used to people at all. He's a lot better now with people. He mostly avoids them. In this case the dog was jerking his leash to get away because he wouldn't let her pick him up and then she just kept grabbing at him so he was twisting all around me. His trainer worked out the issues with that but I'm still afraid of people. I don't think it's the dog so much as it is my not being able to handle the situation.