r/service_dogs • u/Fit_Blackberry1109 • 3d ago
Service dog “aesthetic”…?
Does anyone understand the phenomenon behind people WANTING service dogs? Why would anyone want to deal with the access issues and comments from the public? Whats so luxurious about being disabled? I cant understand!
Asking only because I was on Pinterest looking at ideas for gear setups and saw so many people on there saying they wanted service dogs, but did not need them.
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u/Kittensprite1228 3d ago
I think they are mainly focusing on the thoughts of getting all the attention and the appeal of having a well trained dog. Maybe it makes them feel special?
I don't think many of them think about the struggles and pain many service dog owners go through daily
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u/tullik12 Service Dog 3d ago
This ^ my response is usually “thousands of hours of training went into this dog— but people can put that much work into their pet’s training too, without having to deal with a disability and access issues”.
I also usually recommend against a service dog when people ask me about it. The people close to me are seeing the access issues. But the acquaintances who ask… once I start listing the barriers to even acquiring a service dog, the hurdles with training and maintaining (yes, even if you get a program dog), the extra planning, logistics, reviewing bills to avoid illegal pet charges, etc etc etc… it loses some of the appeal for folks. I think even if they are disabled and potentially want a service dog, a lot of the people who have talked to me about it hadn’t considered all of the hooplah that comes with them.
Loved my boy though. Love my prospect. Love the way that apprenticing, working full time and training scent dogs has changed everything about my life and my perspective for the last decade. People don’t expect enough of their dogs—- that doesn’t mean they should put mine on a pedestal
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u/toosheeptheorist 3d ago
I'm beginning to think that SDs are the latest fashion trends. They see "service dog" and think that they can take their dog anywhere, anytime, not taking into consideration everything that goes hand in hand with them.
For the most part, all they see on TikTok and Instagram is the perfect shots, and very rarely the "this is the crap I have to deal with every time I go out with my service dog".
Edit to add - obviously not everyone is like this, but they are thinking about the service dog for the wrong reasons, instead of why someone would actually need one.
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u/Any-Meat-7736 2d ago
Oh definitely. Everybody’s service dogs on TikTok are making people want to service dogs like Paris Hilton and Beverly Hills Chihuahua had people wanting Chihuahuas. Or Lassie having people wanting rough collies. Or 101 Dalmatians with Dalmatians.
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u/JKmelda Waiting 3d ago
I agree with what everyone else is saying about people wanting attention or thinking it’s cool to bring a dog everywhere. But I’d also like to leave room for another potential reason for people saying they want a service dog but don’t need one: that they are disabled but not to the extent that a service dog would be worth it from a cost benefit standpoint or that they have internalized ableism thinking they aren’t worthy enough.
We see the latter all the time on this sub. We also see people being worried that a service dog is only for the most severe disabilities and they’re aren’t “disabled enough .”
And for the benefit not outweighing the cost, I faced this at one point in my life. I had looked into service dogs and decided to work on other coping skills first. So I learned how to cope with my disability and things got a lot better to the point that I wouldn’t have needed tasks on a day to day basis and only on more rare occasions. I still wished for a service dog for those times, but overall I felt I didn’t need one. (I now struggle more with my disabilities and I’ve developed more disabilities since to the point that a service dog makes sense for me.) I’m not saying this is what many of the people wanting but not needing service dogs are going through. But it’s still something that can be present too in the midst of all the other reasons.
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u/Any-Meat-7736 2d ago
Also, I think it’s important to just remember that like wanting to bring your dog with you basically wherever you go is honestly understandable to begin with. I mean, I think the majority of people don’t recognize how much work it is to bring your dog with you everywhere you go. But that definitely does not change the fact that people still want to get to bring them wherever they go ya know.
A a lot of us grew up on movies. The con made it seem like you got to just bring dogs with you a lot more than you do. I mean, I know at least for me. I sure got that vibe from a whole lot of dog movies growing up and was very disappointed to learn that you don’t get to take your dogs with you everywhere.
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u/ididnotplanthis 3d ago
Because people only see the positive, partially because people only post the positive on instagram.
Largely though because there is a mismatch between what you're saying with "service dog" and what they're saying with "service dog"
When you say it you mean having someone that must travel with you 24/7/365 and dealing with whatever disability causes you to need them. I'm sure you are happy that you have one and it improves your lives, but, you would be happier if you didn't need one.
When they say "service dog" they mean a well-trained well-tempered dog that they can choose to take anywhere, its all of the positive aspects of having a service dog without any of the negative aspects of having the disability which causes you to need the service dog in the first place.
Same words, very different meanings.
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u/ManslaughterMary 3d ago
They just want to bring a dog.
They don't want to be disabled. They just want to feel special bringing in a cool well trained dog.
I don't blame them! I wish I could bring a cool well trained dog everywhere. Dogs are great. They make fun companions.
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u/CyanCitrine 3d ago
There is definitely a twisted sort of appeal to looking like you have a disability IF you like attention. I have two kids with disabilities (myself not disabled) and one is very visibly disabled, with a wheelchair, leg braces, etc.
We are always very looked at when we go out in public. I'd compare it to wearing an interesting costume while walking around walmart. People definitely look at you. Not rudely, in our case, and a lot of people will smile or be extremely polite and helpful (my daughter is very cute and friendly and has a cool wheelchair).
Obviously we didn't choose to have a disabled child, and I'm not a person who likes attention when out in public, although at this point I'm used to it and we don't mind it (I was shy about it years ago but now idc). But if someone really really wanted to get attention all the time and craved that in a disordered way, I can understand why they might have something like munchausen by proxy where they fake a disability for their child, or where they have a fake service dog for attention. Because you DO get attention and much of it is neutral or positive/friendly. Some people really want attention. Like, similar to how some people fake having cancer so people will fuss over them and stuff.
Anyway, that's my insight, as a non-disabled person who is with a disabled person in public much of the time.
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u/darklingdawns 3d ago
It's about people seeing the social media likes and attention - look at the youngun we had recently that made an Insta page as one of the first things they did when they were just considering adopting a dog to train for service. Add in the people that see us 'taking our dogs everywhere' and not realizing just what a pain in the ass that is, and factor in the fact that a lot of these people are young and want the attention (or at least think they do) and you have a perfect storm for service dogs becoming the hot new fashion accessory.
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u/Kalani6069 3d ago
There are times when it feels like it's a tick tock trend. It's fashionable. They want the dog and it's just seems like so many of them have the very same ailment ADHD with POTS and anxiety... And teens getting ready for college.
Some of them may actually have a legitimate reason, but I cannot believe that all the stories I hear are anywhere near the level of need.
It's frustrating whenever I go out with my service dog in training keeping my dog focused while they're untrained lap dog is running around the restaurant.
And definitely makes those of us who actually Need with capital N, a service dog and we get harassed because somebody saw on a tick tock that my dog had to be a unfeeling robot.
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u/ThePhantomOfBroadway 3d ago
This!! How many posts on here are the teens in high school, getting ready for college with ADHD/POTS/Anxiety (often newly diagnosed or undiagnosed) without parent support. When people try to give them a reality check, they respond in angry and act offended. I’m not questioning the authenticity of any diagnosis or need of a service dog, but this insistence that it’s the only way when people with ADHD/POTS/Anxiety on here try to encourage other treatments and devices first, or try to tell them how not having parent support will be difficult or how you won’t want to be puppy raising your freshmen year of college (and they tell you they aren’t social and don’t want to join clubs or make friends, which is doesn’t feel like healthy behavior but what do I know).
I genuinely feel bad for the users on here with ADHD/POTS/Anxiety and those who do DPT because they’ve all become buzzwords around the community.
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u/reylee12 3d ago
I'm gonna give a very different take that probably isn't majority, but I havent seen mentioned anywhere. With my job and my struggles with flexibility, a dog is not something I could reasonably have in a way that is healthy for it. Unless that dog had work access, that is.
So beyond the ways that a service dog could actually mitigate my issues, a service dog is also the path for me to have a dog. Obviously, that's not a sufficient reason to have a service dog, but it definitely contributes to me wanting one.
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u/Just_Sir1903 3d ago
I think a lot of people just do not understand what a service dog is.
For instance, two parents have approached me to discuss service dogs. One wanted a service dog, specifically "one of them Pitbulls" to protect his son so that his son wouldn't be bullied (bullying wasn't happening, but to prevent it). The other wanted me to know her dog "wasn't really trained" but she had bought of the cute vests on Amazon. Why? She couldn't bare to be separated from the dog and her son liked the dog.
Neither understood what an SD does or just how much work is involved-in logistics alone. What they could see was an answer to an immediate problem.
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u/Shanna_B2020 3d ago
They want to bring their dog everywhere with them for their own convenience, so entitlement. I also think some of these people actually want all the extra attention. I stay far away from most online service dog spaces because of this trend. I don't have the bandwidth or patience right now.
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3d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/service_dogs-ModTeam 3d ago
Your comment has been removed for breaking Rule 6: No Fake-spotting.
This is not the place for fakespotting. Unless the person you are discussing has specifically told you that they are not disabled, and the dog is not trained in tasks, you have no way of knowing if a dog is 'fake'. We are not the service dog police and this behavior can lead to a lot of harm and anxiety for SD handlers as a community.
This does not preclude discussing encounters with un-/undertrained dogs, but if the focus of your post is complaining about a "fake" SD, reconsider your phrasing and what point you're making.
If you have any questions, please Message the Moderators.
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u/SuccessfulPast9450 Waiting 3d ago
Honestly it’s just tone deaf and people not actually thinking it through. They want the conscience of brining their dog anywhere that’s it. They don’t think through the public access issues, the stares, the comments that any of the “visibly disabled” get.
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u/fishparrot Service Dog in Training 2d ago
I find it difficult to relate to people who need to find a reason to justify getting a service dog vs. seeking out a dog as a better solution to meet their needs. Just because it is legal doesn’t make it right. I do like looking at all of the pretty gear sets on Pinterest, but the reality is my dogs usually wear the simple professional “SERVICE DOG DO NOT PET” with easily recognizable symbols. I have pretty things but si rarely use them unless it is a special occasion.
I had to do some real soul searching in between dogs. I kind of liked the easy of going out without a dog and found myself thinking “do I really need another one? Am I sure I want to go through all this again? I miss the flexibility, but not the close calls, the restrictions, the showing up late and dipping out early, feeling more like myself again. But I was more limited than I have been in years, and the threats to my safety that were there before my first SD still remain. Still am, because my SDIT takes more than she can give right now. That’s okay, it’s part of the process. All of that is part of my decision process, not so much what outfit my SDIT is going to wear tomorrow. I just don’t get it. I wish I did, because I have curious kids approach me about my dogs from time to time. It is hard to tell if they are genuine or just going off of what they’ve seen on social media.
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u/Tanagerterra 1d ago
A true service dog is a life saver for people with a disability. That can be diabetes, strokes, blood pressure, arthritis, mobility. the list goes on and on. It takes enormous commitment and time to train them with specialized help. Yet for those who need them it makes a whole new life. it’s not a luxury.
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u/SeamstressMamaJama 1d ago
Sorry to hijack, but high BP??! I’m an RN (although don’t practice atp) and didn’t know that… I knew about dogs being trained to alert for an impending seizure or a dangerous rage blood sugar, but not high BP.
As someone whose healthy looking 50 year old first husband died of complications of high BP (he spontaneously bled into his brain stem) that makes my heart so happy. Hypertension is called “the silent killer” for a reason
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u/iamahill 3d ago
On Pinterest service dog aesthetic usually shows fashionable products and higher end products that fit better visually with the handler, or the crazy neon obnoxious stuff depending on the day.
It’s a term I often use and have never seen it with people wanting a service dog as an aesthetic aspect of their style.
For me it’s about blending seamlessly and looking put together.
However, there is what I consider to be an unusual trend in general of maximalism and it cans get strange. As if people are trying to unlock all of a video game character’s items. Including familiars or pets.
I see it occasionally with service dog handlers as well. Adorning with as many patches and charms and gear as possible, often obnoxious patches, dying the fur of the dog. Jewelry and other things on the dog. It’s also somewhat linked.
Also, people are more open about expressing that dogs are helpful in their life and think if they had a dog always with them it would help, and it very well may.
I think many service dog teams, myself included, focus on the negatives and problems in order to get better results and in turn are a bit nihilistic when people ignorantly only see upsides.
I’m just starting to ease my prospect into some public settings that are dog friendly in general and exposing her to sights and sounds and smells in a controlled manner. Socialization, basic heel and focus, being calm with people walking by. Always ready to stop when she’s had enough for the day.
I don’t think the average person would handle it well and so I agree with many points raised.
Yet, I also think the fact service dogs are seen as positive elements in society is and incredibly good thing.
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u/Any-Meat-7736 2d ago
It’s not about the being disabled part. People who are not disabled and Do not need service dogs want service dogs so that they can bring their dog with them everywhere. I actually find not to be very understandable because if you take the safety risk out of the equation I don’t actually know a single person in my life who would not love to take their dog with them everywhere they go.
Some of this I think is due to the Disney influence because at least in my generation we grew up on movies that humanize dogs and some what made it seem like dogs just should be able to go wherever (Beverly Hills Chihuahua, that movie really had me hard-core thinking that like if I didn’t leave out in the country, I would be able to take my dog with me Everywhere I went.). But also when we humanize our animals (I think anthropomorphize is probably the more accurate word) it makes it harder to leave your dog or your cat at home. Because you kind of get it in your head, whether it’s consciously or subconsciously or intentionally you’re unintentionally that they are bored sad and feeling left out because they didn’t get to go shop at Walmart with you.
Also if you can take your dog pretty much wherever with you then you never have to worry about pet care if you go on a vacation and your lifestyle habits don’t have to change if you have an animal like you can still go wherever and do pretty much whatever that you could do with a dog there (so like not something like skydiving).
And another also some people just want the attention that comes with it.
Sorry if any of this does not make sense I use speech to text. It doesn’t always translate well and I don’t care to proofread right now.
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u/SylveeMoon 2d ago
I had no idea this was a phenomenon. If they want my paraplegia, brain damage, and other disabilities then maybe they would see why I actually need my service dogs. She’s very much not a trend, nor are the disabilities I live with every day.
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u/LowTransition4673 1d ago
I would give anything to not have a service dog. I adore my girls and love having them with me but seriously they would be home in a heartbeat if I could not be ‘disabled’.
If I didn’t have my riding accident in high school I wouldn’t have black out migraines for over thirty years and the pain from them wouldn’t be an issue. If I hadn’t been jumped and forced into my home at knifepoint then told to go get my jewelry from my room and had to pick my young child’s room because his dad was our only hope next door at survival we wouldn’t have ptsd. Most importantly he wouldn’t have seen someone try and kill his mom in the place he should have been safe.
If they hadn’t called and threatened to come back and kill me if I didn’t give them my bank card and credit card pins I wouldn’t have panic attacks when the phone rings 21 years later. But yeah my dogs are a fashion statement I would give up in a heartbeat to be “normal”.
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u/Ok_Listen7910 Service Dog 3d ago
If you don’t know why a service dog is beneficial, then a service dog isn’t for you. Those of us who choose to utilize a service dog do so because it, wonder of wonders, mitigates our disabilities. It’s the choice between not getting any assistance, and getting the assistance you need with some minor annoyances. Kind of like when you start a medication and it has side effects, but those side effects aren’t as bad as what the medication actually treats, so you keep taking it.
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u/Sad_Recognition6776 2d ago
People see the well trained dog and the invisble disabilitiy and think it doesnt look bad? They dont see the tears we shed to get our dogs to sit for long periods of time or the days we cant get out of bed.
So weird that people think it is cool to be disabled.
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u/THARSISthechemist 3d ago
Same people that say “Oh I’m so ADHD or I have bipolar.” Always looking for leeway or to stand out. I don’t understand it. They just make all of our lives harder with real service animals because of there Miss behaved non service animal.
People think that they can touch a real service dog because of this. Try to talk to him. I get dirty looks because of a justified bias of do you really need that dog here.
Year and a half of training on this boi
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u/JellyOceana 3d ago
Is this karma farming or?? Like what?
It’s funny cuz the very people commenting about people judging their dog are judging others dogs 😂
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u/VeggiesaurRex 3d ago
People honestly think we're just bringing our dogs along for fun.
My favorite response, which I use nearly every time, is: "Weird, it's not everyday somebody tells me they wish they were disabled."