[nagdu] bad to worse

[Tracy Carcione]

Hi Lora.
I'm really sorry to hear about your troubles.
I think you really must call Leader and pitch a fit.  An email is not
enough at this point.  They have to get someone out to help you.  Don't
let them convince you it's your fault, or that they can solve it over the
phone.  Some things have to be looked at in person by someone who
understands guide work.
IMO, Leader owes you big time.  They gave you one dog that didn't work
out, and now they've given you another who is sickly and is having
trouble.  They ought to make every effort to make things right.

You asked how the first year is supposed to go.  It can be rough, but it
shouldn't be dangerous.  The worst problem I've had with Ben is that
sometimes he would diagonal a crossing--cross both streets at once.  I
called TSE and told them to send someone out to have a look.  They did,
and told me why it was happening, and gave me some ideas as to how to
prevent it happening again, which seemed to have worked.  TSE is close to
me, so it's no big deal for them to come out, but I believe they would
have come out wherever I was to fix a serious problem in the street. I
don't think they could have fixed it over the phone, as the problem
involved cars pulling into the crosswalk, and the solution involves
holding my shoulders in a slightly different way.  Both of those things
needed to be seen to be understood.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that I got a dog to make my life easier.
 If that's not happening, if the dog is making my life much harder, and it
doesn't look like getting better, then retirement has to be considered.
I had a dog who was having a lot of stress working in the Big City.  I
tried to find ways to de-stress him, but, when we almost fell on the
subway tracks for a second time, I realized it was time to give up before
either or both of us got killed.  And, once he retired, he and I were both
much happier.

Leader should really be helping you out, with vet expenses, because the
dog was sick when you got him, and with training help too, if the dog is
pulling you out into traffic.  Give them a call, set aside any shyness you
may feel, and make some entirely reasonable demands.
Good luck.  Hope you can work things out.  Be careful.
Tracy

> I was walking to school and Trice took me out into traffic 3 times in a
> mile. I thought he was guiding at first because there is alot of cars on
> the
> side of the street and such but he kept on walking across the street in
> the
> middle of the block. I just emailed my trainer so we'll see what she says.
> I
> know that me being frustrated isn't helping Trice any but I've had
> problems
> since training. Sigh he's becoming a safety risk.
>
> Is it common that dogs just decide to do their own thing like that? What
> is
> first year of working with a dog supposed to be like?
>
> --
> Lora and Trice
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