08/15/2026
Having a service dog does not give you ownership of public space—or the right to decide whose well-behaved dog belongs there.
A few weeks ago, my post about service dogs got a lot of attention. Today, that conversation came full circle in a way I wasn’t expecting.
We took a group of dogs out to proof our training in C**n Rapids, Minnesota. We visited TJ Maxx, Sierra, PetSmart, and another store along the way. Throughout the day, we were stopped countless times by employees and shoppers complimenting us on how incredibly well-behaved the dogs were.
And that’s exactly why we do this.
Training in a controlled environment is one thing. Taking those skills into the real world—with shopping carts, strangers, noises, tight aisles, other dogs, smells, distractions, and unexpected situations—is where you find out what your training is really made of.
Our dogs were phenomenal.
But while we were in Sierra, we encountered a woman with what she identified as a service dog. To be clear: I saw no inappropriate behavior from her dog. The dog appeared to be doing just fine.
The issue wasn’t her dog.
It was the entitlement surrounding it.
She became visibly upset that our dogs were in the store. One member of our group was criticized for not being a “respectful dog owner” while simply walking behind her. His dog wasn’t approaching her dog, attempting contact, barking, lunging, or causing a disturbance. It was simply walking through the store under control.
Later, we could hear her complaining to employees that there were dogs in the store that weren’t service dogs.
Meanwhile, multiple employees told us that their store welcomes well-behaved dogs—not only service dogs.
She also took issue with the puppy I currently have in for a board-and-train being wheeled in a shopping cart, making the point that service dogs shouldn’t be in shopping carts.
Here’s the problem with that argument:
We weren’t claiming these dogs were service dogs. We didn’t need to. We were following the store’s policy and training well-behaved dogs in a place where they were welcome.
And here’s another important point: you cannot determine whether a dog is a service dog simply because it isn’t wearing a vest, patch, tag, or special equipment. The ADA does not require service dogs to wear identifying gear.
So imagine the irony of creating a scene over dogs you assume aren’t service dogs while simultaneously advocating for service-dog access.
Having a service dog does not give someone greater ownership of a dog-friendly business. It doesn’t give anyone the authority to police every other well-behaved dog they encounter. And it certainly doesn’t excuse treating responsible dog owners as though they are doing something wrong when they are following the business’s rules.
One of our people politely attempted to speak with her. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with the conversation.
That was unfortunate, because it could have been an opportunity for respectful education on both sides.
Instead, I’ll focus on what mattered most today:
The dogs crushed it.
They worked around distractions. They remained under control. They represented responsible dog ownership beautifully. And the businesses and members of the public who stopped to compliment them noticed.
That’s what proofing looks like.
That’s what responsible training looks like.
And yes—we’ll absolutely be back. We greatly appreciated the stores and employees who welcomed us and recognized the work that goes into producing calm, neutral, well-mannered dogs in public.
Good dogs aren’t created by avoiding the real world. They’re created by learning how to behave in it.
**nRapidsMN
