There are a lot of really great things that come along with having a service dog, but there's also some kind of weird things that happen to you. Hey guys, today we're going to talk to you about the pros and cons of having a service dog. So all of this is just for my personal experience. Obviously your experience is going to vary. We're going to start with pros. I would say the number one thing, of course, is that fairbie gives me freedom. It's awesome to be able to know that I can go and do things, and I don't have to feel insecure about, you know, what if something happens? You know, is it going to be weird if I start having a panic attack or if I just associate? Obviously it's still strange if you're out in public and that happens, but it really helps to know that I have somebody there to help bring me back to Earth really quickly, so it doesn't feel as lonely or as alone, and it doesn't feel as scary. So along with that, also if I'm safety. I know fairbie's not going to do anything to anybody, but it makes me feel really safe to know that she's standing behind me, and that I can tell if somebody comes up behind me, she does a blocking task for me, so I like that a lot. It just makes me feel safe. Once again, that's not anything that's really actually keeping me safe. I know that, like I know that she's not going to do anything to anybody, but just knowing that she's behind me and that I can see if her tail starts to move or whatever, really matters a lot to me. So, freedom and safety are my number one pros. Another great thing about having a server-starch is she helps me avoid triggers, so she helps me whenever she knows that I'm starting to get irritated, or if she can tell that I'm starting to like, like I said, I'm going to go dissociate. She'll start to touch me and you know, get my attention and get me to refocus and focus on her instead. So that's really awesome. It's also nice just to know if I'm in a situation that I don't want to be in, or that's starting to get uncomfortable for some reason, even if it's not to the point where fear be can tell them uncomfortable. If I just know like this is going to go bad, I can use her as an excuse to get out of stuff. So that's awesome. You know, if you need to walk away from a conversation or whatever, it's really cool just to know like, hey, my dog needs to go out. And a subtle cue that I can use for her for that is she will alert to me whenever I scratch because she has a self-harm behavior interruption. So if I need her to interrupt something, then I can just subtly like, you know, scratch. And she'll start making a big deal, you know, about it. She'll scratch me and or paw at me, whatever I call it, scratching. But technically she's just like paw at me. And then if I don't respond to that, she'll nudge. And then if I don't respond to that, she'll jump. So it's awesome because I can use that, you know, to get myself out of stuff. If I know that something's going south and I'm just like, I need to go. So since having my service off, I've actually gotten out a lot more than a normally with it. And I think this is a pro because it's made me feel like I need to get out and expose her to things. So I'm constantly looking for things that would be a good training experience for us. So for me, that's a pro because I feel like she's, she hasn't really encouraged me, but just knowing that I have got to train her, you know, it's on me. And I've got to expose her to stuff. So for me, that's a pro because it's made me feel like I need to get out. It's made me actually get out. So I think that's an awesome pro. Now we're going to move on to cons. I think the number one con is people staring you. Yeah, it is uncomfortable and it's intimidating if you're not used to that. At this point, I'm a lot more used to it. So it's not nearly as upsetting or scary as it was at first, but at first it's very, very upsetting. People take pictures of you or try to take videos or they'll be on FaceTime. Like I've experienced this quite a few times. People will be on FaceTime places. And then they like turn it around and like want to, whoever they want to go to, like, see. And then there's the person who's standing there in front of you. Oh my god, dog. And then the person on a phone, like, you know, making a big deal too. Honestly, okay, at this point, it really depends on the day. For me, like, for the most part, it's not as upsetting as it was. It's still awkward, but at the same time, like, I have a lot of more confidence and fairbite at this point because, you know, we've been doing this a longer time than, you know, than before, obviously, time has passed. So even though it's still annoying sometimes, I'm also still able to take it with, you know, take it with a grain of salt, so to speak and say, okay, I know people are excited to see a dog that is just part of having a dog with you as people are going to look and they're going to be excited, especially if it's, you know, a place a dog wouldn't normally be. So for the most part, it's not a big deal anymore when people do that, just because her focus has gotten a lot better. And I've kind of come to expect, like, obviously, if we pass people, they're probably going to say something and if they don't, then, you know, it's like, oh my gosh, no one's anything cool, but it is kind of, you know, it can be annoying, and depending on your personality type, you know, it might be more or less annoying for you. Personally, I just find it to be like part of life now. Like, I expect, I just expect that people are going to look. So along with people taking photos of your dog that are kind of, you know, unwanted by you, the other con that goes along with that is obviously you're in the picture because you're long as close to you. And depending on, you know, how you feel, you might not look exactly the best, and you might not want your picture on the internet or wherever they're sending it. So that goes along with people staring and just coming up to you and trying to strike up a conversation about their dog, which, like I said, I'm not necessarily saying this is cons. This is just stuff that will slow you down. And for the most part, I'm talking to you, obviously, you guys know, I like to talk. So it's not a huge deal, but sometimes it is, because sometimes I need to be somewhere. Like, sometimes we get on the grocery store on our lunch break, and you know, I have obligations. I've got to get back. And I don't want to be rude to people and be like, oh really? So you want to tell me about your dog? Well, I'm busy, sorry. It kind of puts you in a weird place, basically. So another thing that is kind of a con is people will try to come up and talk to your dog or either touch your dog. I've not had adults actually try to touch her, but I have had kids like try to come near her before. We're not doing that. So situations that I feel like happen more with us are people try to talk to her and tell her like, oh, I want to eat you. Oh, I want to actually look at you. Oh, my hands are shaking. And stuff like that to her. And of course, she's adorable. And I know they want to talk to her, but it's kind of awkward. At first, especially, it was really awkward, because I had to be like, no, she has to focus. Now, I honestly can just say, oh, thank you. And like, we'll keep walking. She doesn't pay attention to people anymore. So that's where we are now. Obviously, whenever she was younger and we were first starting this, it was like, upsetting because she would be like, oh, hi, too. Because she didn't know. But now she does know. So it's a lot easier on that. But it is still awkward because, you know, it's just awkward. Another con is some people can be angry about you having a dog somewhere. I've only experienced this one time, but I know this is something that happens. And also, you can have access issues. So if you want to go somewhere, someone might try to tell you, well, you can't come in because your dog would you. Some people don't know the law. Some people think you need to have like a registration, which you don't in the US. I have not had this experience. So I can't say like how it went. So that can be kind of a con. If you have someone being hateful to you, like, we had somebody yell like clear-crossed Walmart to like, say, that I shouldn't have my dog in the store or something. And I don't remember exactly what happened. I'll link the video to it, though, up here for you guys because she like yelled at us. And also sometimes people will get angry if you won't let them pet your dog or if you won't let them have a picture of your dog. Sometimes people will get mad and be like, well, why not? And then they'll want to, you know, be a little bit of an adji with you on that. Once again, I've not experienced anyone who was really, really angry about it. This is something that everyone has a summer star experience is, you have to actually kind of pre-plan a little bit differently than you would. If you were just leaving on your own, you have to make sure that, you know, they have done their business all side before you go. It can be, you know, a little bit tedious, like if you had things you need to do, but your dog, for some reason, has an extra stomach, like, you know, you will have to change your plans, obviously. And then depending on your weather where you are, you know, you may need to take extra time to do things like put on your dog shoes, their coat, their sunglasses. If they have really short hair, they might need sunscreen, you know, just extra stuff that you wouldn't have to normally do if you weren't having a dog with you. Another con for us was at first, whenever I started taking fairy places, and I was kind of in that, I think we're ready, but I'm not quite sure. In that case, is I felt really scared and intimidated. And so I didn't have the confidence in myself yet, or in hurry yet, for that matter. And so it was intimidating. I hope you guys have enjoyed our pros and cons, like I said, this is specific just for our team, and our experience, your experience might be different. Leave a comment, let me know your pros. That would be a fun thing to share. Also, I'll link a video up here for you guys. I'll link something, server-stalk training really here, and a subscribe button up here, and we will see you soon. Bye guys.