[nagdu] Drop-offs

[Jenine Stanley]

Thanks all for the input on your drop off experiences. 

As many have said, they can be quite nerve wracking but ultimately, if done
well with appropriate preparation, they can be hugely helpful. 

Many people I've spoken with off list or otherwise have noted that the drop
offs were usually in familiar areas for the dog so some trusting of the
dog's choices of direction was involved. I know that was the case on my drop
off at Pilot. That particular drop off was in 1987 and with one instructor.
They didn't do it in my next class there several months later so I suspect
it was just that one person. We were dropped off along town Street. For
anyone who knows about Pilot, you are probably snickering right now. Town
Street is the street on which the school is located and on which the city
bus will drop you when coming back to the school. You need only cross to the
Pilot dogs side of that street. We had pulled around a corner for this drop
off. The instructor said to go to the corner, take a left and follow your
dog. It will stop at the school. We had no idea if there were going to be
other turns involved in this so we all went with it and soon found out that
we were only three blocks from the school. 

I can't imagine doing this with some of my dogs. I've been blessed with dogs
who are on one hand cunning and the other hand have what I can best call
senses of humor. Depending on the hour of the day, several of mine would
have kept right on going past the school because hey, it's open sidewalk and
let's go! 

OK, I will say that we did a mini version of this, "find out where you are"
thing in my last GDf class. We were at the back of the property, the
developed part of the back anyway, doing group obedience, something I
personally really like when on class. Once finished, our instructors pointed
us in the direction of the residence and said, "Find your way back. Just
tell your dogs inside." Most of us ended up back inside, maybe not at the
exact place we thought, but certainly in the same building. <grin>