[nagdu] ownership was a couple questions

Fri Dec 10 21:10:56 UTC 2010

Wayne,

My poodle has that picky eater thing going on, too.  Or maybe I should say
that she doesn't just snarf up her food on schedule the way guide dogs are
supposed to.  Then she gets hungry, and it starts to affect her work, so
I've just decided to adapt and work around it.  She's better now at eating
breakfast when she knows we're going out, but if she can tell it's going to
be a boring morning, she just sniffs the bowl and wanders off.  She did
better with the 2 meals a day on schedule when we first moved in with Daisy,
because it was competitive eating, I guess.  This was a PITA for me, because
the competition could get out of hand and needed a stern referee.  Only the
players kept changing the rules at random, just to make things interesting.
/lol/  Oh, how I miss the good old days.  It's gotten to peaceful around
here at meal time, I don't know what to do. /lol/

Poodles have some of those other shepherd traits you mentioned, so you do
need to get one with a good, mellow (for a poodle) temperament, and you want
to be aware of it and watch it just as a GSD handler does with that breeds
tendencies.  And the dogs need socialization and training to suit their
temperaments or they can become nervous and even aggressive.  So I'm not
surprised that it was a poodle who was being obnoxious to your dog, only
that the handler didn't know better than to deal with it.  Not to judge,
just saying!

I have heard that many programs with poodles want to make sure a prospective
poodle handler will be up to the task before they decide to issue one, much
as I have heard with GSD handlers.  When I first heard that, it worried me,
because what if I wasn't good enough to handle a poodle?  OMG!  /lol/  Then
I would remember that I was doing that while thinking it, and she seemed to
be coming along well, so it was pretty silly of me to worry about it.  She
still did need to be watched and reminded most of the time back then, so I
didn't have much time to worry about whether I could handle her or not
because I was too busy, you know, handling her.

Anyway, sorry one of her kin was rude to your dog.  And in class!  Whaddaya
do?

When Mitzi's working life is over, if it seems best to me to go to a
program, I will request a shepherd as first choice, unless they do dobies,
then GSD drops to 2nd.  Unless poodles are available by then to people who
don't have allergy issues, because I am clearly crazy enough to want another
one.  /smile/  I will perfectly happy with a lab, of course, but for some
reason I like the so-called "difficult" breeds better.  I will have to
remember to specify a difficult lab.  /grin/

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Wayne Merritt
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 9:50 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] ownership was a couple questions

Some are picky eaters. My German Shepherd would choose to not eat her
meals early when I got her and when I talked with someone from the
school, they recommended I feed her once a day, which I have done. She
still can be a picky eater when we travel for some reason, but at home
it's gotten way better. Some dogs do have aggression issues, but I
think that partly that falls on the school and the eventual blind
owner and how much they know there dog and how much they let their dog
get away with. I've been around some dogs before at work that growled
at my dog the whole time I was in a classroom and the owner did
nothing about it. The dog I'm thinking of, a poodle, I think wasn't
socialized at some point in their life either, so that may have
something to do with it as well. I've been around other dogs, such as
Labs, who will role over on their backs to have their stomachs
scratched when they see someone that they go crazy over. I wouldn't
let any of my dogs do that, whether in or out of harness and spur of
the moment, but that's just me. Anyway, though some schools have
stopped training GSD's, you can still find them as guide dogs. If
you're interested in a sheperd, don't let their perceived behavior or
some preconceived notions stop you from getting one. Perhaps the
school, whichever one it is, can work with you on that.

Wayne

On 12/10/10, Jordan Gallacher <jgallacher1987 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >From the few people I know who have one, they are picky eaters, and can
> have
> aggression issues, which all dogs can develop, but it seems like German
> Shepards are more prone to that.  I still wouldn't mind having one since
> people would probably not to mess with it or me for that matter.
> Jordan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Wayne Merritt
> Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 11:08 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] ownership was a couple questions
>
> Jordan, out of curiosity, what problems do German Shepherds have that
> you are referring to here? Some of the schools drop German Shepherds
> from their programs if they seem to have hip displasia. What other
> things are of concern to you regarding having a German Shepherd guide?
>
> Wayne
>
> On 12/8/10, Jordan Gallacher <jgallacher1987 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I will say one thing Julie.  If german Shepards didn't have so many
>> problems, I would probably have someone train one for me.
>> Jordan
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf
>> Of Julie J
>> Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2010 9:29 AM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] ownership was a couple questions
>>
>> Jordan,
>>
>> Again what is right for you might not be right for someone else.
> Ownership
>> is a big deal for me for a variety of reasons.  I don't care about
quality
>> of training so much, because I feel like I could train the dog to do
>> whatever I needed.  Breed is a big deal for me.  Ownership and breed
> aren't
>> a big deal for others and training probably is. That's great.  i love
that
>> there are so many different opinions and ideas.  I think it's great that
>> there is something like 15 guide dog programs to choose from and if none
> of
>> those suits, you can owner train or hire a professional trainer.
>>
>> Julie
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Jordan Gallacher" <jgallacher1987 at gmail.com>
>> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2010 9:09 AM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] a couple questions
>>
>>
>>> Who owns the dog should not be something that is a big deal.  For that
>>> matter, the quality of the training and the quality of the dogs should
>>> come
>>> first.
>>> Jordan
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf
>>> Of Marion Gwizdala
>>> Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2010 2:53 AM
>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] a couple questions
>>>
>>> Terra,
>>>    One thing I strongly suggest is that consumers review the ownership
>>> policies of the training programs they are considering. Leader does not
>>> give
>>>
>>> ownership upon graduation. During the past year I have had at least four
>>> consumers who have contacted me telling me that Leader has either
>>> repossessed their dog or have threatened to do so. Both the Guide Dog
>>> Foundation for the Blind and The Seeing Eye, as well as some other
>>> programs,
>>>
>>> transfer ownership upon completion of training.
>>>
>>> Fraternally yours,
>>> Marion Gwizdala, President
>>> National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>> National Federation of the Blind
>>> 813-626-2789
>>> President at NAGDU.ORG
>>> HTTP://NAGDU.ORG
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Terra Syslo" <tlsyslo at yahoo.com>
>>> To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Monday, December 06, 2010 12:44 AM
>>> Subject: [nagdu] a couple questions
>>>
>>>
>>>> Hi. I am in the process to start applying to guide dog schools, and I
>>>> think
>>>> I have it narrowed down to 2 or 3 schools I'm looking at. Can anyone
> give
>>>> me
>>>> some information as to your experiences with Leader Dogs for the Blind?
>>>> I'm
>>>> also considering GDF and maybe Seeing Eye. Thanks for any info.
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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