[nagdu] Keeping hold of that leash

Nicole B. Torcolini ntorcolini at wavecable.com
Sun Mar 8 04:38:38 UTC 2009


Yes, Lexia decided to taste a teacher's coffee once.  She was talking to me, 
not watching her coffee cup, when she felt it shake.  Looking down, she 
found Lexia tasting her coffee. Since Lexia had already contaminated the 
drink, I let Lexia do it again so that she could get corrected for it; she 
had already stopped the first time by the time that we caught her, and you 
have to catch them in the act if the correction is going to be meaningful.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jenine Stanley" <jeninems at wowway.com>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 07, 2009 3:14 PM
Subject: [nagdu] Keeping hold of that leash


Oh I wouldn't feel too badly about the accidental dropping or losing track
of a leash. I've seen some people who definitely should know better, people
in pretty high positions within blindness organizations and even one who
serves on the board of a guide dog school, routinely lose track of their
dogs. It's a tad embarrassing and I am sure I put way too much pressure on
myself not to do it as a school employee. <grin>

One thing I've done since my Pilot Dogs days is to put my leg through the
leash when seated or when say standing at a counter. I can step on it but
that doesn't always keep it with me. With my leg through it, the dog can
move and the leash won't slip out from under my leg.

I realize that some leashes are shorter than the GDF one. I think I measured
ours at 4 feet long when fully extended. That's from the edge of the leather
part on either end, not counting the metal clips.

Someone told me the TSE leash is about 3 to 3.5 feet long and other schools
have leashes varying between 5 and 6 feet long when fully extended. I know
my Pilot leash, which died an untimely death after being submerged in the
Atlantic for an hour or so, was 6 feet when fully extended.

The shorter leashes make it harder to step on them but you can step into
them and though the leash may be up around your knee, or thigh, at least
it's not going anywhere unless someone unhooks it.

All that said, your dog can still get up to mischief while being held
tightly and smartly to you.

Swap, who is normally a very good boy scout type dog, was secured neatly to
my side, or so I thought, recently while I took out money to purchase a
coffee at a stand in the lobby of man office building. Soon I heard someone
behind me saying "I don't think you're supposed to have that, Doggie."

Oh no. You know that dread you feel when you hear doggie.

Swap had discovered, perched atop the trash can to his left, a brand new
discarded muffin wrapper, nice and sticky with muffin residue. He had it by
the barest corner as if to say, "I'm just holding this while you get your
coffee. Then I'll eat it once we find a seat, OK?"

Not OK, dude.  He was mightily disappointed.

 Jenine Stanley
jeninems at wowway.com


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