@Kefira Exactly...
The best thing I was told to do was to pass the Canine Good Citizenship test and make sure he can perform his service tasks. He certainly has the temperament for working in public.
The trainer I am.. was.. working with suggested that I register with that site for the same reason: you get an ID (I have to take the picture and send it to them) and some documentation ... but any goom-bah can go on the site and "register" their dog. I actually expect my dog to behave in a certain manner and do the tasks he is being trained to do.
Some people just think it's "fun" to be able to take their dog anywhere with them. Boy Heidi, let me tell you! Taking a dog with you everywhere is a bit like taking a toddler with you everywhere. It's NOT fun. It's work for BOTH of you. (especially since mine is in training). Anyone who thinks that they want to take pet fido out grocery shopping and on all their errands for the day has not thought this through.
So... going a little far afield from the original topic here but...
All that said, it's WORTH it for me. The benefits are incredible. Char is learning to be very attentive to my emotional state. He's beginning to do things I haven't been training him to do. A couple of days ago we went to Target to work on his 'public access' stuff. Essentially, walking around, making sure he's in a good heel, that his attention is on me, that he's not snuffling at merchandise. If I stop to look at something that he isn't pulling or trying to wander off but rather sitting/standing/lying next to me while I 'shop'.I'm trying to teach him "watch my back" because it's almost impossible for me to look at a rack of ANYTHING for very long without feeling very vulnerable and having to stop and check to see if my ex is behind me. I have to be in a REALLY good place to do this work with him. It's exhausting. There's tons of small things I have to correct as we go through the store and I can tell if he's tensing up because of a little kid coming at us and that the interaction could be bad... etc etc etc..
This particular time, I went in without headphones (bad idea) and heard all the comments- good and bad about Char and me. People are stupid. They say awful hurtful things when they think you aren't paying attention. I managed to hold it together but once I was in the car I broke down into a puddle- the stress of working with him so intensely, the noise, the crowd, the little screaming children, and the rude comments made not to me but in my vicinity-.. whew. I guess I was ... triggered? highly stressed in any case. When I got in the car and I started bawling,(it took me by surprise) Char very quietly stopped sniffing out the windows, put his head on my shoulder (he was in the back seat) and would occasionally lick my ear/cheek till I started to pet him and could dial it back and calm down. Pretty much EXACTLY what I would need him to do if I were in a flashback/triggered.. He doesn't KNOW what's wrong and I cry just the same if I am triggered and headed for or in a flashback. So... yeah.. I'd say he's learning his task pretty damn well without me really having to do a lot of training in that realm.