[blparent] leaving family to get a dog guide

Thu Jun 7 14:13:53 UTC 2012

I haven't read through this whole thread yet but have to chime in.  I too 
wish there was a better way then going away for three or four weeks to get a 
dog, but I understand the need as well.  This needs to be the bonding time 
with you and your new dog, who is going to come home with you and keep you 
and your children safe from traffic, drop-offs, etc.  I am working my fourth 
dog from TSE and with my third one I did home and away training, and will 
try to never have to do it again.  I was at TSE for two weeks and then 
trained at home for another week.  It was great training in my town and 
learning things with the dog what I was going to actually be using but ... 
After working the dog I had to come home, clean, cook, play with the kids 
... etc., and as some of you know those first weeks working a dog can be 
rather stressful!!  My daughter was 2 when I got my first dog and I missed 
her terribly!!  When I got my fourth dog I was doing foster care and all 
hell broke lose while I was gone!!  Just throwing my two cents in, I know 
it's hard to be away from your kids for that long, probably harder on you 
then them, lol!!  But it's also hard to be a Mommy while learning to work a 
new dog.

One more note, I love shepherds, they're my favorite breed of guide dog ... 
but make sure you ask and ask about temperment because shepherds don't 
always work well with little kids.  I had to retire a guide early and get a 
lab b/c my shepherd didn't work well with my middle son when he was a 
toddler.  Now the shepherd I have now is okay around my toddler, she tries 
to just stay out of his way, lol.

-----Original Message----- 
From: Tammy
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2012 9:29 PM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] leaving family to get a dog guide

Hi,

Your idea about our kid's training with us is a very good one except that
many of the schools don't believe our kids have any part in our training, to
the point where we shouldn't even be holding their hands or using a
stroller.  These are all ridiculous things for the schools to think, and
when I asked them what I was supposed to do with my child while I worked my
dog even at home after training, they said, oh carry him in a backpack or
have someone with you who can take him.  That of course is not what I did
because it was impractical,  I used a stroller and the dog got used to it
and got really good at walking with the stroller behind us.  Unfortunately
the school I went to did not give the dog enough credit, and also said I
shouldn't let the dog and my son interact.  I did listen to that warning and
was very careful to let them play in a very supervized limited environment,
where the dog could go in to his crate whenever he felt the need to do so
which wasn't often I can tell you.  But if we were allowed to train with the
dogs and our children the schools might get a really good idea some of the
pitfalls of certain matches and it might result in less home visits after
training ends.

Tammy

-----Original Message----- 
From: Jennifer Jackson
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2012 2:59 PM
To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] leaving family to get a dog guide

Actually I have always thought that a couple of the bigger schools should
offer a program once a year where our kids could attend with us. This would
let us work out any travel issues with our children while we have a trainer
there. Obviously some kind of child care arrangement would have to be made
for part of the day so we can focus on our dogs, but this just seems like a
workable plan. Especially for those people who live in a rural area and do
not qualify for in home training.

All that said, I did go for a dog when my oldest was four. I had planned to
hire someone to watch him during the day and make my husband juggle the rest
of the day. As it turned out, my mother found out about 6 weeks before I
left that she was going to laid off right before I would be gone and she
came and stayed at our home with him.

The child who complained regularly about having to walk to school apparently
complained the entire time I was gone about his grandmother driving him to
school. It was a little over half a mile one way to his school. She always
acted like I should appreciate the opportunity to exercise when I complained
about the walk in August. :) I did not ask her why she was not appreciating
that opportunity in October. I also went to one of the two week training
sessions. I think my son would have had a much more difficult time if I had
been gone longer, or if he had not been able to stay in his usual routine.

Jennifer

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Erin Rumer
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2012 7:49 PM
To: NFB blind parent listserv
Subject: [blparent] leaving family to get a dog guide

Hello list,

Thankfully, my current guide is only 4.5 years old and doing well, but I got
to thinking about when it does come time to get a new guide, what will that
mean for my family and particularly my son.  Assuming my guide now works a
nice long life and retires around the age of 10, my son will then be around
6 or 7.  I know that in-home training may be a possibility depending on the
circumstances, but have any of you gone through having to leave young
children with family or friends while off getting a new guide and if so, how
did your kids fair?  Working at GDB for 3.5 years before my son came along
gave me the opportunity to work with lots of folks coming through for a new
dog who have kids at home, but since I rarely got the chance to speak with
the grads after they went home, I never really got the full picture of how
the separation affected the kids, especially if the parent leaving was a
stay-at-home mom or dad.

Thanks,

Erin

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