[blparent] leaving family to get a dog guide

[Erin Rumer]

Yes, I don't know why I waited so long to get a soft crate but with my last
guide I purchased one from Pet Smart and absolutely love it.  It folds down
beautifully to fit in a closet or under a bed and traveling couldn't be
easier now, at least road travel.  I wouldn't probably fly with one since it
would have to be considered a checked bag so it wouldn't be worth it unless
I was staying some ware for an extended period of time.  My particular soft
crate has a strong mesh door and windows on the sides with shades that you
can bring down for privacy or darkness.  The top zippers open and shut as
well which makes giving the dog water or slipping them a treat really nice.
Another cool feature is that my crate has rings around the outside so you
could stake the crate down while camping or whenever outdoors.

Erin

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Peggy
Sent: Friday, June 08, 2012 5:44 PM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] leaving family to get a dog guide

Right, I had some crates and I'm sorry we didn't have room for them because
I could surely use them again right now.



-----Original Message----- 
From: Erin Rumer
Sent: Friday, June 08, 2012 5:37 PM
To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] leaving family to get a dog guide

Thank God for tie downs and crates when we need them.

Erin



-----Original Message-----.

From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Peggy
Sent: Friday, June 08, 2012 6:30 AM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] leaving family to get a dog guide

How true, but if I had a problem with a dog or wanted to keep them
seperated, I put up the baby gate and block the dogs from wherever the kids
are eating.  Or I really worked with my guides teaching them better, what
they knew already, they were not allowed to eat people food.  Every
situation has exceptions and I'm sorry to hear that this is yours.  I'd
rather clean up the food mess, ugh!!



-----Original Message-----
From: Jo Elizabeth Pinto
Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2012 11:04 PM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] leaving family to get a dog guide

It's funny till you get a dog who is allergic to everything.  Not to rain on
your parade, but it can be a real challenge to keep small children from
feeding a dog who gets sick every time she has even a few bites of anything
except her regular food.  My daughter has had it drilled into her head from
before she could even understand the words that dogs get dog food and people
get people food.  Now she tells everybody not to feed the dog when we go out
to restaurants.  Still, I think over the years there have been a few very
purposeful accidents, and since dogs can't be reasoned with as far as
knowing the consequences of eating what they shouldn't, my guide has been
only too glad to clean up the messes.  The drawback to that is, of course,
that I have to clean up the second round of messes, from one end or the
other, a few hours later.  The food problem, as I see it, can be one of the
biggest disadvantages to having a guide dog and a toddler in the same house.

Jo Elizabeth

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a
song."  Maya Angelou

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Erin Rumer" <erinrumer at gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2012 9:50 PM
To: "'Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [blparent] leaving family to get a dog guide

> Yes indeed!  Kids are excellent food dispensers for sure and the dogs
> aren't arguing one bit about it! GRIN
>
> Erin
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On Behalf Of Peggy
> Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2012 7:23 PM
> To: Blind Parents Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [blparent] leaving family to get a dog guide
>
> I didn't have to teach my dogs s&m, my kids shared their food
> willingly all the time so my dogs figured kids, shared food, the
> torture was worth it, especially my 2 labs!!  My daughter now
> confesses that she fed my lab Starr all the food she didn't want
> especially green beans, lol.  Gotta love those labs and food rewards,
> works great!!
>
> With my previous shepherd I had her for quite a few years before my
> son was born and when he became a toddler, she was getting older,
> toddler, older snappish shepherd, yeah that didn't work real well.
> Now my shepherd I have now is younger, my son is a toddler, and she
> tollerates him.  But I just wanted to throw that warning out there
> especially if any of you have never worked a shepherd ... sometimes
> they're not always the best pups to have when your children are
> little.
>
> I learned something very funny about my shepherd tonight, we were
> blowing up water balloons for my son to throw off the deck and pop and
> she went nuts, chasing them, catching them ... popping them, it was
> very entertaining!!
> Just buy some balloons and I can entertain my dog and kid all at the
> same time!!
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Erin Rumer
> Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2012 12:14 PM
> To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [blparent] leaving family to get a dog guide
>
> Yes, this is a huge reason GDB has moved toward only 2 week classes
> for new and retrain clients on their Oregon campus and 2 or 3 week
> classes on their California campus.  If someone needs to stay in the
> program longer they can do this without a problem or have immediate
> follow-up when they get home.
> The programs have been very successful and so many folks with jobs in
> and out of the home are very appreciative of the 2 week option for
> first time and retrain clients.
>
> I absolutely love the Labrador for a multitude of reasons but also
> adore the Shepard breed as well.  I'm glad to have a Lab with my
> little guy right now because even if I had a  shepherd who did great
> with kids, I would still be on guard a lot more since they can tend to
> be a little quicker to snap if provoked.  I'm right on top of my son
> with my Labrador but there have been times that I really don't know
> why my dog didn't snap at him because my son really nailed him.  I
> think that a lot of why my dog does so well with my son has to do with
> the fact that I've turned him into an S&M dog by giving the dog treats
> when the baby has hurt him.  I'd rather have a dog who thinks of
> goodies when the baby is grabbing his privates or sticking his fingers
> up his nose, rather than thinking about what measures to take to get
> this child away.  It's funny because when my son has hurt my dog, the
> dog comes running to me for food which I give him and then he runs
> right back to my son for more torture because it's worth the pain.
> Got to love food motivation. My son has gotten much better about being
> gentle with my guide in the past several months and he's getting old
> enough now at 19 months to where he gets time-outs for not being nice
> to his furry brother.  The dog in turn gets his own time-outs for not
> leaving my son alone when he has food or for running around like a
> wild beast when I've told him to calm and knocking my son over.  I
> tell ya, it's truly like having two kids at once in so many respects.
> GRIN
>
> Erin
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On Behalf Of Peggy
> Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2012 7:14 AM
> To: Blind Parents Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [blparent] leaving family to get a dog guide
>
> 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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