Comment by lvspiff
Wife has a guide dog Labrador trained from a puppy incredibly well behaved and when on harness total worker focused and its interesting what she does and doesnt play with when not working. She has a stuffed animal that she sleeps with and never carries anywhere then another that she does. She loves a donut nylabone but not a bone shaped one. Shes also learned that there are toys she can bring over like a tennis ball to you that will distract YOU and therefor she can get a sneak of a lick off your plate. We’ve had to correct that a few times but she is just too smart she keeps learning new methods.
The change in behaviour when a service dog goes on duty (or off duty) is always fascinating. Most people I know, including myself, cannot focus instantly when starting work, nor can they relax immediately after work.
And service dogs do not even know the shift plan of the day. They just do the job. But maybe that’s their survival strategy, to use every available slot for relaxation because they don’t know when they will have to work again.
BTW what are the dog‘s usual working hours, how long can it stay focused while guiding?