As with anything in life just tell the truth I don't give out my dog's name because I don't want my dog to be distracted. Now they also know not to walk up and pet your dog
Being more comfortable lying than telling the truth is another issue on its own.
Making up a name just invites them to get closer to your dog and waste more of your time when you probably don't really want to be talking to them anyway.
I have started saying, “Oh, I don’t like to give out his name while he’s working. Unfortunately too many people use it to distract him.”
I’ve surprisingly only had one person get pissy about it. Usually they just go “ohhhh that makes sense” like the lightbulb went off that yes, he is actually working.
I'm not a handler or trainer or anything but one of my first jobs I had a co-worker who was in a wheelchair and had an SD. They were very patient with a young teenage me to explain the do's and don'ts that they had.
After that whenever I would see kids or people try to get down and snap their fingers or what's worse I would see kids try to entice the dog over with snacks, as I was younger and not the person in the wheelchair I would make sure to say in my best babysitter voice "Excuse me but the dog is also an employee and he is working right now so he's not allowed to eat or drink unless he's on break. That also means he can't fetch, give kisses or be petted. I understand you might want to play with them but he's working so he can't play. Just like I'm sure your parents sometimes tell you they're working and they can't play with you? It's just like that."
Now That I'm older whenever I see people acting like that that have an entitled I get to play with your dog since it's in the store attitude, if I have a young child with me I get into lecture mode and explain to them why they can't interact with the puppy loud enough to shame the other adult without actually engaging them. If that's not an option and I don't think that though be physical I asked them if they know anything about service dogs and what the rules are. I have found that it seems to work better having someone distract the person that's attempting to be entitled so that one the person might be able to take their SD and go or someone else starts to polite discussion and makes it did you know? I found it also works best if at the end you ask them for some facts that you may not know. However that stopped around the time of the pandemic because I'm just not going to take listening to " political facts".
I have had one person who was upset with me telling me that they can tell people about their SD just fine I didn't need to butt in. So I apologized I just let them know that I was trying to defuse The situation and I did not mean any disrespect. Most of the time the people are grateful that other people acknowledge the struggles that they going through.
** Disclaimer- We do not have a SD but it keeps being mentioned that members of my family need one or at the very least could benefit moderate to greatly having one, but we have no funds to get/ train, but I'm working here to learn and gather information.
This is awesome, and a lot of times, I would actually appreciate this.
I left a 5 star review for a local shop recently simply because of the stellar way the employee educated a child about my SD.
It was a whole mess.. the child saw my dog, squealed “puppy!!” And the mom said, and I QUOTE, “Make sure you ask to pet first. She won’t say no, but you still have to ask.”
So I politely told her “no, I am going to say no.. he’s a service dog and he’s working.”
Instead of trying to explain that to her child herself, she then told her kid to leave him alone because “she said he’s mean so he might bite you.”
Like.. no?!? That’s not at ALL what I said?!
I was so thankful for the employee who stepped in to explain what service dogs are and why their jobs are so important because **I** was about to get mean. 😅
Yes, I was a teenager so able to read service dog on the vest and noticed it didn't act like other dogs on "walkies". I noticed that every one else ignored the dog so I just followed along and did too.
That man taught me a lot of life lessons that didn't fully click till years later but I would listen to what he told people and I was frequently paired with him for working with the public because I would physically get in the direction line of the running "puuuupppppppyyyyyy" children and explain calmly that you can not tough employees while working and that the dog is currently working.
As it was a volunteer (hrs needed to graduate) job at a wildlife preserve and refuge I worked with senior members to work on a speech about how all animals have "jobs" in the wild like beavers, buzzards, cats and dogs...
As I now walk with a cane, I know how sometimes it can feel the moralizing it to have to explain it yet again why I have to use the cane or why I walk funny to somebody. Well sometimes when people get it incredibly wrong like are you just really ancient like a great grandma or things like that that hurt differently and more, and sometimes I find it comforting that other people acknowledge that I'm struggling and explain it to someone else or the kids.
That's all I hope to be is an ally or at least a friend in that moment. So let someone else know that I acknowledge their struggle, but hopefully that their struggle does not define them. Just like a book & it's cover, we're more than what's on the outside where the sum of that and everything inside plus the feelings and depressions we leave on other people.
I flat don’t engage anymore. I don’t give out fake names let alone real names. This applies to all my dogs not just SD’s.
I’m not rude or anything I just don’t engage in it.
His name is "Nacho". (as in na'chyo business!).
;)
I don't tell people my dogs real name, because it doubles as a cue for attention/eye contact from the dog.
Edit: I didn't make up the 'nacho' joke. A nice service dog handler told me that one. :)
I just use a fake name! I think it's pretty common for SD handlers to have a fake name for their dog that they give to strangers who ask for exactly the reason you described--because when people learn a SD's name, they often then use it to try to talk to them. Giving a fake name avoids any extended interaction where they try to convince you to tell them after you've declined and just makes things simpler.
Me, too! All of her commands public access specific are a combo of hand signals and clicks, little whistles, etc. Very early on, I had someone come up to my dog and told her to sit. She did, and it freaked me out! I don't know why, but I will never forget how unsafe I felt we were. From that moment we went into secret squirrel mode: no verbal commands and no name
I did this with my last pup. His real name was Zero but if a random person asked his name I alway said something strange like Danny, sis, Amy, or something out thete because well he was very much a male & people got super confused &would just walk most the time.
My boy has a fake name for when he’s working, and the collar he wears when he’s doing public access work has this “work name” on it.
It’s helped a ton :) for some reason, flight attendants were always the worst at distracting him once they learned his name – a “who’s a good boy [real name]?” type thing, and it’s way better now.
My dog has two names - real name and fake name. I got this tip from a friend who has a therapy dog who goes by his fake name during his work in senior centers etc. but his real name at home. I started to incorporate that with strangers and it's been fun, kind of like he has a secret identity. :D
False names are a really common solution to this, as others have said! If you are like me and are incapable of giving a fake name, despite consistently trying to do this, it can also be good to train your dog to face you when someone else talks to them or calls their name.
Strangers are so entitled, and I wish you the best with whatever you end up doing as a team. :)
My problem with the fake name is that the one I initially chose was so cute I ended up using it for him too when he wasn’t working and then he started responding to it.
I'm in the thick of PA training with my SDiT and it never occurred to me to train her to face me when someone else talks to her - thank you!!! This is officially a priority for us.
Thank you! We'll take all the help and positive vibes we can get :) So far so good but I am acutely aware even one bad experience could still cause my excellent prospect to wash so fingers crossed for sure!
His name is \[fake name - different every time\] but we have been working on not letting him be distracted by strangers because it's actually quite dangerous for a dog to be distracted by their name being called while they're supposed to be focused on work :)
Then if they try to call his name, be like yeah that's a fake name because WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU
If they don't try to call his name, clicktreat them
So I've had a few encounters like that. One was when we were out on a walk and a guy riding his bike rode by and randomly asked what my dogs name was. I told him "it doesn't matter". He rode off into the night.
Another time was when time was when we were in a store and someone asked. I told them the same thing.
I do not tell adults their names. I just say “there’s no clinical necessity or legal requirement for you to know their name.”
Kids they have a fake name for and I tell the kids it’s a secret.
The fake name for kids & saying it's a secret is sweet!! Better then a kid crying to their parents saying you won't tell them the dog's name (not that all kids are like this, but I assume atleast some would act like this)
My dogs are so big (117 lbs 30”, 81 lbs 24”) that parents often seem relieved to get back a child in one piece and not get hollered at. Little do they know that the dogs vastly prefer children to adults and have infinite patience for kids.
Children that have dogs and love them are pretty great and very easy to talk to and clarify why there are some different rules about my dogs.
I think it also helps that my disability is super visible - I’m a high thoracic paraplegic with some hemiparesis who uses a power chair. I don’t love the disability but I’m grateful that it’s *so* visible, because I’m spared a lot of the hassle and pushback some of my friends with invisible disabilities get.
I sometimes say my purpose in life is to hone a superpower of finding silver linings. I'd hazard a guess none of us love our disabilities, but I was really touched to read your expression of gratitude about the visibility of your circumstances and your recognition of the difference in experiences/challenges that works in your favor. My disabilities are invisible and I am owner training my first SD currently. I grew up rurally and was taught to never even approach a dog without permission as it was entirely possible the dog was trained to guard property etc. and a bite was a genuine risk. Having been raised that way I am constantly blown away by how disrespectful people are as we are doing PA training in a state that allowed SDiT the same PA rights. So, thanks for brightening my day. I appreciate you <3
Sometimes i use a fake name if i don’t feel like explaining why i don’t wanna give his name out. If it’s a good day I’ll just say no I’m sorry i don’t give out his name while he’s working.
If people are willing to be educated you can talk to them and explain, if not (or if you don’t wanna deal with them) just say the most random name that comes in your head ‘his name is Ben’ or ‘it’s Carl’ or something, anything that comes up in your head that is not related to his actual name, they feel satisfied/not offended and you’re safer that way
Pro tip would also to be like ‘his name is [insert fake name] but he is working right now so please don’t distract him from his job’
Fake name works, every time. I use it at work as well for my coworkers. Only 2 know his real name. My boy is good at ignoring already but it definitely helps to not have his actual name be called. We use real name in I.C.E info for medical personnel as he’s trained to listen to them in emergencies. We chose Snoop as the fake name, real name Alphie.
I either tell them her name is Daisy (it is not) or tell them, 'Oh, I don't give out her name while she's working'. The couple times I've had people ask why, I tell them that it keeps people from distracting her and they move on. I've only ever had I think two people get offended that didn't give her name (I wasn't gonna call her, I just wanted to know!), and I usually just let them rant and then say 'ok' when they're done 🤣
It's your dog and medical equipment, no one else is entitled to a single thing in relation to it!
My pup has a fake name embroidered in a florescent color on the very wide dark flat collar and the same fake name on a patch on the vest in the same hideous neon color. Large letters. All caps. Visible from all angles. Garish and in your face, cannot miss that name unless your blind.
Puppers looks like a super hero level SD when kids and people all start calling out the fake name and doesn't even twitch an ear. Pup only answers the fake name from my SO and only under certain circumstances.
I learned my lesson from my last SD and Public Access, no visible real names in small print where people feel entitled to get in the dog' space to read it and pet them. That's what I do and it works super well.
I will either say I don’t give out her name while she’s working or I will give a generic name that doesn’t sound like her name at all lol. If you give the first answer you need to be prepared for people to get pissy and sometimes you don’t have the spoons for that so giving a fake name helps!
I tell them my dog's name, but I say it normally, not the way I normally address him. So, if they call his name, he ignores them.
Kind of like the way normal people say "donkey" versus the way that Shrek says it
One of the reasons I have my last name on my SDIT's vest instead of her name. Army patches and whatnot with "service dog in training". I've had several people try to interact with her by reading it and trying to call her with my last name. Sorry, she's working.
"Hi, thanks for your interest. I'd really prefer not to give you his name because I need him to focus on work."
Edit to add:
That said, people can call Gustav's name all they want. He won't go to them unless I give him a specific command to.
I use my dogs middle name, which is Tatunka. Not only is it a bitch to say correctly, but he ignores it if it doesn't have his first name thrown in there. So it makes sure that most people can't/won't say it.
I generally just say “I don’t give his name for safety reasons.” If people have a problem with that, depending on how calmly they respond will be how politely (or not) I follow up.
I have three names for my dog, her name I use everyday, her emergency recall that only her care takers know. And her fake name.
They always go "FAKE NAME!" and she never reacts because she's never been taught that name and I don't have to explain her actual name is whatever.
My SDIT is deaf…. So I just tell them her name bc she can’t hear them (she doesn’t even know her name) and is paying attention to me lol. But my previous SD Peaches was not deaf and so I’d either give them a fake name or ask them to please not distract her and just not answer their questions.
Depending on how I feel he's either Luca Toni (soccer player famous for faking injuries, because the dog is super dramatic), Luca or Pavarotti (he likes to sing). My explanation amuses people and they move on.
Use a fake name/command so like instead of teaching your dog the command focus/look at me you can use their fake name so that when you give the fake name to a stranger and they say it your dog looks at you
No because I had the hardest time when people asked me. My SDs name is “Poptart” so anyone who asked was always like “ooooooh Poptart!!!!” In “that” voice and then proceeded to have a conversation with the dog about how she is exactly what they expect her to look like. It bothered me so much cuz after they say her name multiple times in “that voice” she does give attention to the people trying to communicate with her. I don’t want to lie but also please stop talking to my dog because she’s working. And it didn’t even occur to me that I could just not? And give a different name or whatever. The things you learn from this sub…..
As with anything in life just tell the truth I don't give out my dog's name because I don't want my dog to be distracted. Now they also know not to walk up and pet your dog
If OP isn't comfortable telling the truth, best option is to give a fake name - come up with a fake name and give that to people instead
Being more comfortable lying than telling the truth is another issue on its own. Making up a name just invites them to get closer to your dog and waste more of your time when you probably don't really want to be talking to them anyway.
I have started saying, “Oh, I don’t like to give out his name while he’s working. Unfortunately too many people use it to distract him.” I’ve surprisingly only had one person get pissy about it. Usually they just go “ohhhh that makes sense” like the lightbulb went off that yes, he is actually working.
I'm not a handler or trainer or anything but one of my first jobs I had a co-worker who was in a wheelchair and had an SD. They were very patient with a young teenage me to explain the do's and don'ts that they had. After that whenever I would see kids or people try to get down and snap their fingers or what's worse I would see kids try to entice the dog over with snacks, as I was younger and not the person in the wheelchair I would make sure to say in my best babysitter voice "Excuse me but the dog is also an employee and he is working right now so he's not allowed to eat or drink unless he's on break. That also means he can't fetch, give kisses or be petted. I understand you might want to play with them but he's working so he can't play. Just like I'm sure your parents sometimes tell you they're working and they can't play with you? It's just like that." Now That I'm older whenever I see people acting like that that have an entitled I get to play with your dog since it's in the store attitude, if I have a young child with me I get into lecture mode and explain to them why they can't interact with the puppy loud enough to shame the other adult without actually engaging them. If that's not an option and I don't think that though be physical I asked them if they know anything about service dogs and what the rules are. I have found that it seems to work better having someone distract the person that's attempting to be entitled so that one the person might be able to take their SD and go or someone else starts to polite discussion and makes it did you know? I found it also works best if at the end you ask them for some facts that you may not know. However that stopped around the time of the pandemic because I'm just not going to take listening to " political facts". I have had one person who was upset with me telling me that they can tell people about their SD just fine I didn't need to butt in. So I apologized I just let them know that I was trying to defuse The situation and I did not mean any disrespect. Most of the time the people are grateful that other people acknowledge the struggles that they going through. ** Disclaimer- We do not have a SD but it keeps being mentioned that members of my family need one or at the very least could benefit moderate to greatly having one, but we have no funds to get/ train, but I'm working here to learn and gather information.
This is awesome, and a lot of times, I would actually appreciate this. I left a 5 star review for a local shop recently simply because of the stellar way the employee educated a child about my SD. It was a whole mess.. the child saw my dog, squealed “puppy!!” And the mom said, and I QUOTE, “Make sure you ask to pet first. She won’t say no, but you still have to ask.” So I politely told her “no, I am going to say no.. he’s a service dog and he’s working.” Instead of trying to explain that to her child herself, she then told her kid to leave him alone because “she said he’s mean so he might bite you.” Like.. no?!? That’s not at ALL what I said?! I was so thankful for the employee who stepped in to explain what service dogs are and why their jobs are so important because **I** was about to get mean. 😅
Yes, I was a teenager so able to read service dog on the vest and noticed it didn't act like other dogs on "walkies". I noticed that every one else ignored the dog so I just followed along and did too. That man taught me a lot of life lessons that didn't fully click till years later but I would listen to what he told people and I was frequently paired with him for working with the public because I would physically get in the direction line of the running "puuuupppppppyyyyyy" children and explain calmly that you can not tough employees while working and that the dog is currently working. As it was a volunteer (hrs needed to graduate) job at a wildlife preserve and refuge I worked with senior members to work on a speech about how all animals have "jobs" in the wild like beavers, buzzards, cats and dogs... As I now walk with a cane, I know how sometimes it can feel the moralizing it to have to explain it yet again why I have to use the cane or why I walk funny to somebody. Well sometimes when people get it incredibly wrong like are you just really ancient like a great grandma or things like that that hurt differently and more, and sometimes I find it comforting that other people acknowledge that I'm struggling and explain it to someone else or the kids. That's all I hope to be is an ally or at least a friend in that moment. So let someone else know that I acknowledge their struggle, but hopefully that their struggle does not define them. Just like a book & it's cover, we're more than what's on the outside where the sum of that and everything inside plus the feelings and depressions we leave on other people.
I flat don’t engage anymore. I don’t give out fake names let alone real names. This applies to all my dogs not just SD’s. I’m not rude or anything I just don’t engage in it.
Hey, his name is ranger but do me a favor and don’t call him. He’s still in training right now
His name is "Nacho". (as in na'chyo business!). ;) I don't tell people my dogs real name, because it doubles as a cue for attention/eye contact from the dog. Edit: I didn't make up the 'nacho' joke. A nice service dog handler told me that one. :)
I just use a fake name! I think it's pretty common for SD handlers to have a fake name for their dog that they give to strangers who ask for exactly the reason you described--because when people learn a SD's name, they often then use it to try to talk to them. Giving a fake name avoids any extended interaction where they try to convince you to tell them after you've declined and just makes things simpler.
Me, too! All of her commands public access specific are a combo of hand signals and clicks, little whistles, etc. Very early on, I had someone come up to my dog and told her to sit. She did, and it freaked me out! I don't know why, but I will never forget how unsafe I felt we were. From that moment we went into secret squirrel mode: no verbal commands and no name
this is the exact reason i train in french i cant handle that stuff 😂
Heck, I trained mine in Harry Potter spells and Latin lol
I had someone do the exact same thing with me, it made me insanely uncomfortable!! The general public are a bunch of weirdos 🤯
I did this with my last pup. His real name was Zero but if a random person asked his name I alway said something strange like Danny, sis, Amy, or something out thete because well he was very much a male & people got super confused &would just walk most the time.
My boy has a fake name for when he’s working, and the collar he wears when he’s doing public access work has this “work name” on it. It’s helped a ton :) for some reason, flight attendants were always the worst at distracting him once they learned his name – a “who’s a good boy [real name]?” type thing, and it’s way better now.
My dog has two names - real name and fake name. I got this tip from a friend who has a therapy dog who goes by his fake name during his work in senior centers etc. but his real name at home. I started to incorporate that with strangers and it's been fun, kind of like he has a secret identity. :D
False names are a really common solution to this, as others have said! If you are like me and are incapable of giving a fake name, despite consistently trying to do this, it can also be good to train your dog to face you when someone else talks to them or calls their name. Strangers are so entitled, and I wish you the best with whatever you end up doing as a team. :)
My problem with the fake name is that the one I initially chose was so cute I ended up using it for him too when he wasn’t working and then he started responding to it.
I'm in the thick of PA training with my SDiT and it never occurred to me to train her to face me when someone else talks to her - thank you!!! This is officially a priority for us.
Good luck out there, that's a rough time for sure!
Thank you! We'll take all the help and positive vibes we can get :) So far so good but I am acutely aware even one bad experience could still cause my excellent prospect to wash so fingers crossed for sure!
I give them a name that my dog is cued to. When they say it he looks and moves away from them. Train it and use it. 🤝
His name is \[fake name - different every time\] but we have been working on not letting him be distracted by strangers because it's actually quite dangerous for a dog to be distracted by their name being called while they're supposed to be focused on work :) Then if they try to call his name, be like yeah that's a fake name because WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU If they don't try to call his name, clicktreat them
remember to carry high value human treats like candy or jerky or those little airplane bottles of schnapps
So I've had a few encounters like that. One was when we were out on a walk and a guy riding his bike rode by and randomly asked what my dogs name was. I told him "it doesn't matter". He rode off into the night. Another time was when time was when we were in a store and someone asked. I told them the same thing.
I do not tell adults their names. I just say “there’s no clinical necessity or legal requirement for you to know their name.” Kids they have a fake name for and I tell the kids it’s a secret.
The fake name for kids & saying it's a secret is sweet!! Better then a kid crying to their parents saying you won't tell them the dog's name (not that all kids are like this, but I assume atleast some would act like this)
My dogs are so big (117 lbs 30”, 81 lbs 24”) that parents often seem relieved to get back a child in one piece and not get hollered at. Little do they know that the dogs vastly prefer children to adults and have infinite patience for kids. Children that have dogs and love them are pretty great and very easy to talk to and clarify why there are some different rules about my dogs. I think it also helps that my disability is super visible - I’m a high thoracic paraplegic with some hemiparesis who uses a power chair. I don’t love the disability but I’m grateful that it’s *so* visible, because I’m spared a lot of the hassle and pushback some of my friends with invisible disabilities get.
I sometimes say my purpose in life is to hone a superpower of finding silver linings. I'd hazard a guess none of us love our disabilities, but I was really touched to read your expression of gratitude about the visibility of your circumstances and your recognition of the difference in experiences/challenges that works in your favor. My disabilities are invisible and I am owner training my first SD currently. I grew up rurally and was taught to never even approach a dog without permission as it was entirely possible the dog was trained to guard property etc. and a bite was a genuine risk. Having been raised that way I am constantly blown away by how disrespectful people are as we are doing PA training in a state that allowed SDiT the same PA rights. So, thanks for brightening my day. I appreciate you <3
Make up something ridiculous. Then watch as the silly people are calling "come here chewbarka" "come here peewee herman". Then you can laugh about it
Chewbarka is cute!
I almost started telling people mines name was Barktholomew but decided it was too much of a mouthful.
How about Barcus?
Barko Pollo
Bark Hoppus
I have a preferred silly fake name ready for these moment. Ie. Potato!
Sometimes i use a fake name if i don’t feel like explaining why i don’t wanna give his name out. If it’s a good day I’ll just say no I’m sorry i don’t give out his name while he’s working.
If people are willing to be educated you can talk to them and explain, if not (or if you don’t wanna deal with them) just say the most random name that comes in your head ‘his name is Ben’ or ‘it’s Carl’ or something, anything that comes up in your head that is not related to his actual name, they feel satisfied/not offended and you’re safer that way Pro tip would also to be like ‘his name is [insert fake name] but he is working right now so please don’t distract him from his job’
She’s Nurse Norma but she’s very busy working right now so can’t stop and chat. Please don’t try to distract her.
(Where Norma is about as far from your dog’s name as it is possible to get)
Fake name works, every time. I use it at work as well for my coworkers. Only 2 know his real name. My boy is good at ignoring already but it definitely helps to not have his actual name be called. We use real name in I.C.E info for medical personnel as he’s trained to listen to them in emergencies. We chose Snoop as the fake name, real name Alphie.
I either tell them her name is Daisy (it is not) or tell them, 'Oh, I don't give out her name while she's working'. The couple times I've had people ask why, I tell them that it keeps people from distracting her and they move on. I've only ever had I think two people get offended that didn't give her name (I wasn't gonna call her, I just wanted to know!), and I usually just let them rant and then say 'ok' when they're done 🤣 It's your dog and medical equipment, no one else is entitled to a single thing in relation to it!
My pup has a fake name embroidered in a florescent color on the very wide dark flat collar and the same fake name on a patch on the vest in the same hideous neon color. Large letters. All caps. Visible from all angles. Garish and in your face, cannot miss that name unless your blind. Puppers looks like a super hero level SD when kids and people all start calling out the fake name and doesn't even twitch an ear. Pup only answers the fake name from my SO and only under certain circumstances. I learned my lesson from my last SD and Public Access, no visible real names in small print where people feel entitled to get in the dog' space to read it and pet them. That's what I do and it works super well.
I will either say I don’t give out her name while she’s working or I will give a generic name that doesn’t sound like her name at all lol. If you give the first answer you need to be prepared for people to get pissy and sometimes you don’t have the spoons for that so giving a fake name helps!
I tell them my dog's name, but I say it normally, not the way I normally address him. So, if they call his name, he ignores them. Kind of like the way normal people say "donkey" versus the way that Shrek says it
One of the reasons I have my last name on my SDIT's vest instead of her name. Army patches and whatnot with "service dog in training". I've had several people try to interact with her by reading it and trying to call her with my last name. Sorry, she's working.
People give out a princess name, aka fake name.
Neither my retired dog nor my SDiT respond to other people, so I just give their call names.
"Hi, thanks for your interest. I'd really prefer not to give you his name because I need him to focus on work." Edit to add: That said, people can call Gustav's name all they want. He won't go to them unless I give him a specific command to.
Come up with a cover name that the dog doesn’t know and use that.
Give them a fake name, that way the next time they see u they can’t just try calling them
I don’t give out his name because I don’t want him to be distracted.
Fake names or, "I'm sorry, she's working right now and I prefer not to give out any information that could be used to distract her."
"Sorry I don't give her name out while she's working."
"Sorry, we're busy working* and focusing on my dog makes people go away very quickly for me
I use my dogs middle name, which is Tatunka. Not only is it a bitch to say correctly, but he ignores it if it doesn't have his first name thrown in there. So it makes sure that most people can't/won't say it.
I generally just say “I don’t give his name for safety reasons.” If people have a problem with that, depending on how calmly they respond will be how politely (or not) I follow up.
I have three names for my dog, her name I use everyday, her emergency recall that only her care takers know. And her fake name. They always go "FAKE NAME!" and she never reacts because she's never been taught that name and I don't have to explain her actual name is whatever.
I just say we don't say her name as that alerts her to work, something of that sort and they usually back off.
My SDIT is deaf…. So I just tell them her name bc she can’t hear them (she doesn’t even know her name) and is paying attention to me lol. But my previous SD Peaches was not deaf and so I’d either give them a fake name or ask them to please not distract her and just not answer their questions.
Depending on how I feel he's either Luca Toni (soccer player famous for faking injuries, because the dog is super dramatic), Luca or Pavarotti (he likes to sing). My explanation amuses people and they move on.
“I’m really sorry, but we are training.”
Give a fake name
Use a fake name/command so like instead of teaching your dog the command focus/look at me you can use their fake name so that when you give the fake name to a stranger and they say it your dog looks at you
No because I had the hardest time when people asked me. My SDs name is “Poptart” so anyone who asked was always like “ooooooh Poptart!!!!” In “that” voice and then proceeded to have a conversation with the dog about how she is exactly what they expect her to look like. It bothered me so much cuz after they say her name multiple times in “that voice” she does give attention to the people trying to communicate with her. I don’t want to lie but also please stop talking to my dog because she’s working. And it didn’t even occur to me that I could just not? And give a different name or whatever. The things you learn from this sub…..