[nagdu] owner training

[The Pawpower Pack]

Jessica,

I agree with Julie in that the selection process is the hardest part  
of owner training.  Not only do you have to look at many dogs, but  
once you find a suitable pup you need to spend money on tests in order  
to make sure the dog is physically sound.  For me this involved a trip  
to the regular vet for him to check things like heart and lung  
function, joint health, etc.  Then I take my dogs to a canine  
ophthalmologist and he checks to make sure the dog's eyes are healthy  
and that the dog can see.

Once you've gone through the selection process alone, you've already  
laid out a pretty significant amount of time and money.  Keeping in  
mind that this dog could wash out at any time and that you have more  
hard work ahead.

My current dog, Laveau, is a female Doberman mix.  I got her when she  
was around one year old.  I had every intension of obtaining my next  
dog from a breeder and had already talked to many.  On the day I met  
Laveau, I went to the shelter more to satisfy a friend than anything.   
Again, I looked at lots and lots of dogs.

Laveau is very unusual because she had already been trained in  
foundation behaviors-- sit, down, stay, loose leash walking.  She had  
been at the shelter for five weeks and was about to be euthanized.  I  
did a great many tests with her and even then I was uncertain.  Not  
because she did anything "wrong" my uncertainty stemmed from me  
worrying that she'd not like guide work or otherwise not want to do  
the work.  I got her in mid June of 2008 and we finished proofing the  
last of her traffic skills in February of 2009.  So that was about  
eight months.  Keep in mind we were a bit ahead of the game because  
she already had her basic obedience.

Between the months of June and February I had no life.  I spent money  
on nothing but the dog.  Equipment, more vet check ups, obedience  
classes to socialize her with other dogs, on transportation to expose  
her to buses, streetcars and the like.  I also spent all of my free  
time working out training plans, reading about others training plans,  
documenting our experiences in training and actually training her.  At  
first she didn't go anywhere with me and we spent time working within  
six or eight blocks of our home.  Then she started accompanying me  
into places where pets were allowed.  Sidewalk cafes, pet shops,  
hardware stores, strip malls, etc.
Every morning before I left for work, I walked Laveau and did training  
work with her.  I am lucky because my husband worked from home and  
stayed with her during the day.  After I got home from a long day of  
work, no sitting on my butt watching tv or surfing the web.  More  
walks, more training.  The weekends were our time to explore new  
places.  I went to sidewalk cafes and taught her how to lay quietly  
under tables.  I sat at bus stops and taught her how to position  
herself.  We spent time at the park learning to work around small  
children and dogs.  I had no life outside of this dog and dog training.

Eventually she was able to come to work with me and started going  
places where pets aren't allowed.  We took and passed the CGC (Canine  
Good Citizen) test which doesn't have anything to do with guide or  
service dog skills but it says that the dog is socialized enough to be  
around dogs and people, and can carry out simple foundation behaviors.

So here we are, almost two years later, and I don't regret a moment of  
it.  She's a fantastic dog and she does great work.  However owner  
training is a lot of work, and it took a great deal of dedication on  
both our parts.

Good luck.

Rox and the Kitchen Bitches
Bristol (retired), Mill'E SD. and Laveau Guide Dog, CGC.
"It's wildly irritating to have invented something as revolutionary as  
sarcasm, only to have it abused by amateurs." -- Christopher Moore
pawpower4me at gmail.com

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