[nagdu] dog adaptability and expectations

Wed Mar 31 15:28:24 UTC 2010

Martha, 

How is Dee about being left alone? How is she if you are not nearby but
others come into her area? 

I ask this because I think there is a difference between having a dog at
your desk in 3 to 4 hour stretches and having it out of your direct control
in a crate for that long. It's much easier to stop bad habits like barking,
whining or seeking attention from others if you are right there with the dog
than if it is crated away from you. 

Again, this depends on the dog too. If it were me, I'd start practicing by
either crating or restricting Dee and going into another room for longer and
longer periods of time to see her reaction. If she's fine, then she'll most
likely be fine during your classes. 

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: Wednesday, March 31, 2010 10:27 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] dog adaptability and expectations

Hi Jenine,
Thanks for the advice. When I did my interview with GDB, I told them I 
needed a dog who was a good traveler and could deal with new situations 
because I thought I would be moving in June-July to a new state for grad 
school. Instead, I am going to blindness training and putting it off for a 
year. I agree and think it depends on the dog. I never would have considered

blindness training and crating my other two guides because we just weren't 
bonded as strongly in the first year and other dog issues. Dee is a lab, and

she does well with change. During the first month after I got her, we went 
to school for two weeks, my mothers for a few days, a conference in St. 
Louis with 20,000 college students, to a friend's house for a week, and to 
school again, and she was excellent. I'm hoping this change will go as 
smoothly. Someone from GDB is coming next week, and I can talk to her about 
it then.

Martha
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Jenine Stanley" <jeninems at wowway.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2010 8:44 AM
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
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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