She has learned an excellent Service Dog Behavior – she will not go up to someone until I say “Say Hello”. It’s not something I’ve explicitly taught her but something that has come from our public education. While I don’t think people petting her in public will bother her—she choose the service dog role, and if she decided she didn’t want to do it one day, I would accept it.
I had the proof this evening at the Nordstrom holiday party – and she’ll snarf up any food she finds on the floor but people usually excuse that. I’m working on trash can behavior, but she just can’t resist one—especially filled with popcorn, which all the ones at Nordstrom was.
I do like the fact that I can choose that. I don’t think that having children hang on is a good idea. She’s only 15 pounds and while beagles are quite sturdy, life is hard enough on a working dog. Also, it’s against our district rules for her to interact with students and I also think if she did interact with our students, it would wear her out.
She does also serve as a therapy dog to the adults on campus who need one. Especially on staff development days.
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