[JennaPenny]

Originally Posted by Mayzoo

For a service dog, there is a plus to being adorable. They have to be VERY well socialized for both people and situations. It is vital they never growl, bark, or nip at anyone out in public, and they cannot show any protective or agressive traits at all. They are not to supposed to even whine in public. If they cannot have these traits trained out, they are effectively disqualified from being a service dog. They must allow another person to come up to you and hug you, touh you, and all of that without even a flinch. If you were to be injured or need medical care, they cannot inhibit the EMS team from caring for you in any way. They must also be trained to cope with hospitals as they are to come with you should you need medical care, even in the ER. The hustle, bustle and noises cannot adversely affect them.

While in training, I let anyone pet Mario that wanted to to help get him in the right mind set of complete non-aggression. I made sure I picked him up and told him "say hi" prior, and when I put him down, I told him "back to work" to help him learn when to focus and when to act cute. "Four on the floor" is work mode, and in my arms is cutie mode hahaha.

LOL! Thank you. I've read up on some of this, and heard a lot from our trainer, but it always helps to see that in black and white!