[nagdu] dog adaptability and expectations

Tamara Smith-Kinney tamara.8024 at comcast.net
Thu Apr 1 05:00:46 UTC 2010


Jenine,

Well said!  I have been thinking about Martha's questions and wondering if I
could come up with some sort of helpful answer...  You just nailed what I
was working toward better than I could have!

For the record, My definitive answer was, "Depends."  /smile/  Not helpful,
as it stands, but hey, points for honesty!  /grin/

Speaking of poodles!  Thanks for mentioning them in the list of breeds that
may have different requirements in terms of bonding time and time spent with
the bondee....  Or is that the one in bondage?

I simply adore my velcro girl, but I am not allowed to leave the house by
myself -- even with a cane -- for so long as 15 minutes without having a
superglue poodle to come home to.  Yikes!  /grin/  This is why I only
"really" pracitce with the cane when she is at the groomers.

So today, I walked along the side of my house outside the backyard gate,
sans cane, but wcarefully trailing my way, even managing to step off the
sidewalk around our house...  No sidewalks anywhere else to work with, but
we have an awsome sidewalk around three quarters of the perimiter of our
house, so I practice with what I have available.  Anyway, I walked
carefully, trailing, along the side of the house, around the corner and out
of sight of the dogs, had a brief conversation with the DD, turned around
(carefully!) and stepped onto the sidewalk exactly right (yay me!) and
trailled carefully and successfully back to the gate and the dogs....

I said I was careful, didn't I?  I showed you even!  I was *careful*!  /lol/

I suppose that if I'm not allowed to leave the house all by myself with my
cane for 15 minutes, I shouldn't be surprised that I'm not allowed to set
foot outside the gate without it even to just walk around the corner of the
house and out of sight for 30 seconds.  /lol/

I am a bad, bad girl, and Mommy is very angry!

So it is good to hear an "official" shource mention that poodles are not
best left alone for long periods.  /grin/

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Jenine Stanley
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2010 5:45 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: Re: [nagdu] dog adaptability and expectations

Hi Martha, 


As someone who works for a guide dog school and interviews people during the
application process, I can tell you that I feel your thinking is a bit
misguided, pun unintended.  


Guide dog schools in general do not believe that blind people cannot handle
sudden change. If anything, we worry about the dog being able to handle such
change and maintain the expectations of the handler, especially during  that
first year together. Some dogs adapt well to change, sudden or gradual.
Others do not. As a rule we give general advice while on class and tailor
that to your specific dog. Some dogs of certain breeds also need more time
to bond and take direction from their new handlers. I'll go out on a limb
here and say that Poodles and Shepherds need that extra time, even if lying
at your desk, with you, not separated from you in a crate. Even if it's
walking down the hall to the restroom, it all goes toward bonding time. 


Of course some dogs of those, and all breeds, just take it in stride and are
happy to see you and work for you when you come to get them. 

Although crating your dog during your working hours is far from optimal in
the view of most guide dog schools, people who work in factory or other
situations where the dog isn't safe in the work area, also must do this. As
long as you can take the dog for relief breaks during that 7 to 8 hours,
maybe even a short walk during the lunch period, it should be fine if the
dog is OK being left alone. That all depends on your dog though. 

Personally, with or without a dog, I think there's nothing wrong with
acquiring additional orientation and mobility skills. The better you are at
being able to direct your dog and interpret situations, the better a team
you will be. 

I would advise you, if you feel comfortable, to contact your school and
speak with your instructor about your particular dog. He or she might have
some insights about how the dog behaves when left or some advice about how
to handle any particular habits of your dog. It's not that other blind
people can't give you advice. It's just that your instructor probably knows
that dog better than anyone but you at this point. 

Hope that helped. 

Jenine Stanley
jeninems at wowway.com


-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Martha Harris
Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 10:11 PM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nagdu] dog adaptability and expectations

Hi Everyone,
I have been working with my lab Dee since November of last year, and in May,
I will have her for six months. I am going to BLIND Inc. where she will be
crated for 7-8 hours per day. However, I will walk as often as I can to the
center, which is 1.3 miles or so each way, plus work in the evenings and on
weekends. Many guide dog users say I will "ruin the dog," and it is not good
to make a dog change routine so drastically because it takes six months to a
year to become solid. However, I think learning the discovery method will
help us be a more solid team because I will be able to travel with
confidence to familiar and unfamiliar places. Is it expectations preached by
the guide dog schools because they don't believe blind people can handle
sudden change? Is it that some guide dog users have less confidence in
themselves and don't believe change is good for them or their dogs, or am I
way off base thinking like this?

Martha
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