I recently had a situation in an airport in taking my dog through TSA. I travel across the country several times a year with him so he is very accustomed to it, does great in the airport, ignores people, doesn’t bark, etc. He’s friendly but doesn’t like being picked up by strangers. I’ve always thought this was a very reasonable boundary for a tiny dog to have and I do not let people pick him up. Usually when we go through TSA, they make us go through the metal detector separately, I will put him in a sit stay, walk through, and then call him through after me. This time, the TSA agent had me send him through to her first and then come through. When he came through, she immediately grabbed him and tried to pick him up. This startled him and he tried to run towards me, but she grabbed his back legs to stop him. He then snapped at her. It wasn’t a bite, just a warning snap, and the TSA agents laughed because he’s tiny, but I was embarrassed and apologized profusely and also felt terrible for putting my dog in a stressful situation. But I was thinking about it and wondering if it would be a good idea to get him used to being picked up. If there were ever some kind of emergency and someone else needed to grab him, it might be a good idea. But I also think it’s fair for a little dog to not want to be picked up and I want to respect his agency as much as I would with a big dog. What are people’s thoughts on this? (And to clarify, I have no hard feelings for the TSA agent, she was just doing her job and it was entirely on me to manage that situation, which I didn’t do well)
submitted by /u/gorczynska
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