# Bubastis pits Seeing-Eye Dogs; Confirms Asshole Status **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 22, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-pits-seeing-eye-dogs-confirms-asshole-status/345672 "2006-02-22T19:30:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-pits-seeing-eye-dogs-confirms-asshole-status/345672/101 "2006-03-02T17:46:40Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > We have to keep raising our kids as well as we can. > > Jim We do? :eek: Um, I’ll be right back. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-pits-seeing-eye-dogs-confirms-asshole-status/345672/102 "2006-03-02T18:32:32Z")
> [@Chotii](#): > > I think she was lying to them. I’m reasonably sure that any trained CD would a) be wearing an official vest or collar and b) have better manners than to scrounge like that in a public building. But, I at least asked the employees to wash down and disinfect the places the dog had been licking. I love dogs. I do not love them licking things in the grocery store. Our puppies have done some embarrassing things in some places - not when they were older, though. However I agree with you, unless the person was not sighted, and thus couldn’t tell, she should have corrected the dog immediately. There was a pit thread a while back about a girl who wanted her “service” ferret to be able to go with her to class. It appeared the ferret got service status from some mail order place in Texas. I’ve never run into a fake service animal, but I can certainly appreciate how untrained ones can ruin it for real service animals. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-pits-seeing-eye-dogs-confirms-asshole-status/345672/103 "2006-03-02T19:18:55Z")
> [@SisterCoyote](#): > > Have you been around full-grown shepherds? If on a sit, their heads easily clear most tables. My parents’ shepherd was able to rest his chin on the table (before they trained him out of it) without any effort. If the tables in the restaurant were close enough together, as the OP implies, then the dog wouldn’t need to be in a chair or have a really long neck. While the following may not have anything to do with how things are done in Irleland, I would like to point out that most guide dog schools try to match the size of the animal with the size and strength of the animal’s partner/master/teammate. Having said that, I can’t recall if **bubastis** described the Shepherd as a particularly massive specimen. More importantly, the standard posture for a resting guide dog in public (IME) is not “sit,” but “down” (as in lying down, curled up as comfortably as possible, on the floor). Even in a restricted space, this does not result in an appreciably larger footprint. ---
**Author:** ![SisterCoyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@SisterCoyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SisterCoyote)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-pits-seeing-eye-dogs-confirms-asshole-status/345672/104 "2006-03-02T20:25:22Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > While the following may not have anything to do with how things are done in Irleland, I would like to point out that most guide dog schools try to match the size of the animal with the size and strength of the animal’s partner/master/teammate. Having said that, I can’t recall if **bubastis** described the Shepherd as a particularly massive specimen. More importantly, the standard posture for a resting guide dog in public (IME) is not “sit,” but “down” (as in lying down, curled up as comfortably as possible, on the floor). Even in a restricted space, this does not result in an appreciably larger footprint. Right - which gets back to the first post I made in the thread about the dog needing to be on a down-stay rather than a sit-stay. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-pits-seeing-eye-dogs-confirms-asshole-status/345672/105 "2006-03-02T20:32:39Z")
> [@SisterCoyote](#): > > Right - which gets back to the first post I made in the thread about the dog needing to be on a down-stay rather than a sit-stay. :smack: Yes, that _was_ you, wasn’t it? This thing is really petering out. Hey **bubastis** , had enough? ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-pits-seeing-eye-dogs-confirms-asshole-status/345672/106 "2006-03-02T20:50:42Z")
Why is it that some service dogs should not be petted? Because a single person petting it would actually be bad, or because it’s important that it not be surrounded by dozens of children petting it, as it otherwise would? ---
**Author:** ![SisterCoyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@SisterCoyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SisterCoyote)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-pits-seeing-eye-dogs-confirms-asshole-status/345672/107 "2006-03-02T21:18:01Z")
**kaylasdad99** no blood, no foul. 😉 > [@MaxTheVool](#): > > Why is it that some service dogs should not be petted? Because a single person petting it would actually be bad, or because it’s important that it not be surrounded by dozens of children petting it, as it otherwise would? Because it’s a distraction for both the dog and the owner. Mostly for the dog, though. It would be like you trying to concentrate on your job while people stroked your back and sides the whole time.\* \*Obviously, this does not apply to anyone whose job description includes having their backs and sides stroked. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-pits-seeing-eye-dogs-confirms-asshole-status/345672/108 "2006-03-02T21:21:28Z")
Yes, it’s kind of a slippery slope issue, wrt the dog being able to remain focused on its primary responsibility, to be there for the service of its master. If the dog gets pats and pets and fraternization from others while on duty, it might get confused about who it is supposed to be seeking positive feedback from. On preview, what **SisterCoyote** said. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bubastis-pits-seeing-eye-dogs-confirms-asshole-status/345672.md?page=5)