[nagdu] Dog Breeds

Charlene Ota caota at hawaii.rr.com
Tue Feb 3 09:45:56 UTC 2009


I've been thinking about this one and am really torn as to how to answer it.
Granted, it seems that there are some breeds of dogs more suited to guide
work than others and I think that's probably pretty bovious.  However,
within a particular breed, you can't really generalize too much about the
character of the dog because dogs of the same breed can be quite different.
I've seen people really get stuck on wanting a certain breed of dog and they
just can't seem to get past that, but somehow I think it might be good to
stay a little more open-minded and allow the trainers who have been working
with the dogs and know they well to make hopefully a good choice and give
the dog a chance no matter what breed it is.

It had been 20 years since I returned my shepherd due to severe allergies,
and I have such wonderful memories of him and what a great guide he was.  I
sincerely felt that he surpassed the two golden retrievers and the black lab
that I had had before that.  Granted, I only had that black lab a couple of
months and she had to be returned.  When I finally decided to get a dog
again, now it's 20 years later, and I knew realistically that I wasn't in
any position to run after a Shepherd like mine had been and keep up with all
his energy. I honestly felt like I was really settling for a lab this time,
that surely a lab couldn't be as smart and hard-working and on and on as my
Shepherd had been. Now, after a year with Irish, I've had to eat my words
many times.  My boy is such a smart, resourceful, hard-working boy and he's
been so patient and careful and made me feel very comfortable walking with
him, bad knee and all. I used to think labs just ate and played and weren't
very serious about working but that was my own prejudice that I acquired
from somewhere, not exactly where. He's a very loyal dog, very focused on
his work, and very well-behaved.  Granted, he knows what time of day it is
when it's dinnertime and snack time, but you know, he can't let his breed
down! (smile!)

Often, trainers spend a fair amount of time with all of us in order to
figure out which dog fits which person, whether they're male or female, lab,
shepherd, Golden, etc.  Though we may like certain breeds or have personal
preferences, I'd just really encourage people to keep an open mind and give
the dog a chance.

Charlene

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Nicole B. Torcolini
Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 2:37 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] Dog Breeds

Okay, this one is just out of curiosity again. Out of all of the breeds of
dogs that you have used, which did you find worked the best? Do you think
that it was that particular dog or that particular breed?

Nicole
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