Re:There is a Horse in the Apple Store
by Mz on Saturday September 04, 2010 @09:58AM
(#1662701)
My understanding is that guide animals (and drug-sniffing dogs) are intentionally starved for affection and only showered with loving attention for doing what is needed of them. That is how they are kept useful. Showering them with affection and positive attention at other times actually destroys their usefulness as a guide animal. Or so I have heard.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:There is a Horse in the Apple Store
by ajdecon on Saturday September 04, 2010 @02:56PM
(#1663172)
As I understand it: guide animals are generally trained to know when they're "at work" and when it isn't. When "at work", the guide animal is not given affection because it needs to be focused on its task. This is why seeing eye dogs have "don't pet me" signs on them: any kind of affection is a distraction from the necessary task of helping the owner.
When not "at work" (usually there is some signal), it obviously depends on the owner; but most of the disabled people I know pamper and love these animals to death, and they are extremely well treated. They are simply only showered with affection in private, when not expected to be focused.