[nagdu] always taking the dog was guide dogs

[The Pawpower Pack]

Lyn,

I train all of the tasks myself.  Usually I have two dogs at a time.   
They both don't work at the same time.  Right now I have Laveau who is  
2.5 and who has completed guide dog training, is almost finished with  
hearing dog training and will then begin service training-- tasks like  
retrieving objects etc.

I have Mill'E who is 7.5 years old and who is trained in these areas.   
However Mill'E has some degenerative joint disease in her knee and she  
shouldn't walk much.

Laveau does all of the "outside work-- guiding, sound alerting and  
such while at work our out in public etc.  Mill'E takes over at home  
and does sound-alerting, retrieving, and other tasks.  I Sometimes (as  
in once a week or so) leave Laveau home and take Mill'E out.  This  
does two things.  It lets Mill'E do some guiding (which she loves) and  
it lets Laveau practice staying home alone.  I think that being able  
to stay home alone is a very important thing for a dog to know how to  
do and since she wouldn't normally get that chance, I make sure to  
keep up the practice.  When I take Mill'E out to work, I make sure  
it's a situation which doesn't require a lot of walking.  So if a  
friend and I went to lunch or on the days I'm at work and cleaning out  
my office she might come.  She's great at helping me clean; she runs  
stuff to the trash, retrieves the things from low shelves, etc.

I know this is not how most guide dog users do things For years I  
struggled to make my needs fit the traditional guide dog set up, but  
really this is what works for us and that's what counts.  The burnout  
amongst dogs who work for multiply disabled handlers is quite high if  
there is no other backup system in place such as another dog or a  
human PCA or caregiver.  I'm an independent cuss and don't like  
depending on people much so I find that this works for all of us.   
I'll probably have to start training my next dog once Laveau turns  
about six or seven or so.  That's a long time away thank goodness!


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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