By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Hopefully by now you’ve met our furry coworker, Guide Dogs for the Blind puppy-in-training, Junie.
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And now we’re asking the experts the No. 1 question guide dog handlers and puppy raisers get: ‘Can I pet your dog?’
“Always ask first before you ever approach or want to pet a guide dog,” said Jane Flower the youth outreach program supervisor for Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Flower knows what she’s talking about, because her guide dog Pilaf draws a lot of attention with her cuteness!
And you could also say she wrote the book on etiquette.
“If somebody’s actively walking with their guide dog, that dog is, at that moment is actively guiding,” Flower said. “So, keeping somebody safe, keeping their handler safe as they’re walking through a space.
Some guide dog users report that it can feel isolating when people are more interested in their dog than in speaking with them, like Southern Arizona resident Christine Moreno.
“It would be really great if we were having some sort of interaction and they just spoke to me – to me, not the dog – as a regular person,” Moreno said.
Puppies in training to become guides do need to learn how to greet people.
Tucson puppy raiser Teri Tommet said it’s usually a welcome interaction.
“You know, most people are very good at asking, you know, if they can pet, and then we’ll just approach them again that you know, if you want to pet her, then you can help me train them,” Tommet said.
Keep in mind, it’s up to the handler.
“Some handlers, you know, may not let anybody pet their guide dog,” Flower said. “Other handlers love people to interact with their guide dogs.”
She said it’s appropriate to ask a handler to interact with their dog if they’re at rest, like sitting on a park bench or at a coffee shop.
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“You definitely don’t want to distract the dog or try to pet the dog when they’re actively guiding,” Flower said.
And distractions can include using a high-pitched voice or staring at the dog.
Tommet showed our colleague Ashley Bowerman how to greet her puppy-in-training, Brandy.
“Approach her very slowly. Don’t reach out your hand or anything like that,” Tommet said. “But as you approach her, once you get up to her then you can, you know, pet her.”
If the puppy starts jumping or getting excited, you should turn away.
But Brandy is 11 months old and knows how to behave, so she gets a reward.
Tommet said it can be mutually beneficial – you help train the dog, and you get a fun interaction with an adorable puppy.
As for working teams: “Nine times out of 10 people are going to be so courteous and they love to share their dogs with the public and talk about them because they’re proud of them and proud to be out there with them,” Tommet said.
Flowers and Tommet added that people sometimes ask if they can give the dog one of their dog’s treats, or maybe food from the table in a restaurant.
Again, always ask first, usually, the answer will be no.
If you’d like to learn how to become involved with training puppies to become guide dogs, you can click here.
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