The following excerpt is from The Golden Bridge:  A Guide to Assistance Dogs, pp 203-204, by Patty Dobbs Gross

Etiquette for the Assistance Dog Team in Public

An assistance dog should not interfere or inconvenience the public in any way.  There are people who don’t like dogs, are afraid of dogs or allergic to dogs.  Many people have never seen a dog working in public and are quite startled when they sit down in a restaurant and see a dog lying under the table, or standing next to them in a small elevator.  Its very important to leave a good impression with the public.  We want to insure the rights of all  people with disabilities to continue to work with assistance dogs in public access situations.

An assistance dog should:

• Lie quietly while the handler is dining without grooming itself or scratching.
• Be allowed to toilet only in areas where people do not sit or walk, and the handler should have a method for cleaning up and disposing of droppings immediately.
• Move purposefully next to its handler while working, staying between 12-18 inches from the handler’s side unless it has been cued to perform another taks.
• Work comfortably and reliably, giving its handler focus when necessary.

An assistance dog should not:

• Be allowed to wander in public.
• Initiate social contact without its handler’s permission.
• Sniff, beg, or eat from the floor in a restaurant or public setting.
• Bite, snap, bark, whine, or growl, causing a disruption or danger to the public.
• Block the areas where the public will be walking.
• Press against, jump on or sniff people.

Working in public access situations with a specially trained assistance dog is a privilege and a joy.  A combination of the right dog with proper training of both dog and human partners will create a successful working team.

Written by Shari Dehouwer, founder of Discovery Dogs in San Rafael, California in 1995.