[nagdu] Smallest Guide Dog

[Jewel S.]

I don't know about small guide dogs (if only I could find a large
enough cat who would be suitable as a guide...*daydreams*), but a dog
like yours might be a really good therapy dog. People think therapy
dogs are just pets who visit at hospitals, nursing homes, and such,
but it's not true. Therapy animals (cats can do the work, too,
depending on the job) go through a lot of training and have to
understand the work they are supposed to do, just like service
animals. For example, when I was training my Bengal cat to be a
therapy cat (before she was stolen from me *sigh*), I took her many
places to get her used to many different people, sounds, and smells.
We went to malls, both outside and inside, and everywhere she went she
not only attracted attention, she demanded it sometimes. Sometimes she
would refuse to go any further until I led her over to a crying child
or a woman who seemed upset or lonely. She was very sensitive to
people's emotions, but she still had a bit of training to go. It was
good that I didn't need to leash-train her...believe it or not, she
took to the leash the same day I got her, as if she was born for it.
So, that was one task out of the way. Training her to do other things
took a bit more time. I taught her to do the basic obedience...sit,
stay (only for 5 minutes, but that's a loooong time for a cat), come
and heel, down (she insisted that down meant to flop on her side and
roll onto her back, despite my assurance that it only meant to lie
down...the rolling down really wasn't necessary, but she insisted),
and of course follow and up (patting a chair, table, my lap, another
person's lap, my shoulder or another's shoulder if they wanted, or
basically anything). I also worked on two special commands. The first
was rather selfish of me. Sybil loved to steal my pens and pencils. I
finally got tired of getting under the bed and under the fridge to
find my pencil when I needed to do homework. My pencil cup was
*always* empty. So I started putting one in my pocket, and
occassionally I would throw it and tell Sybil "go get my pencil" and
since her favourite game was Fetch, she sometimes did. I praised her a
LOT when she did, and eventually I was able to get her to bring me one
of the stashed pens or pencils when I asked her...only problem was
that she didn't distinguish between a pen and a pencil, and I wouldn't
tell her to do it again just because she brought a pencil instead of a
pen...so sometimes I did math in pen and did paperwork in pencil to
re-do later. Oh well..

The other was a "trick" to amuse people to make them happier. I put a
treat in one hand and put it behind my back, switching it back and
forth and getting the scent all over both hands. Then, I showed the
two fists to Sybil and told her to find the treat. She learned not to
sniff or nudge the fists with her nose. She would sit and pat one hand
with a paw. I would open it, and if the treat was there, she got it.
If not, she tried again after I switched it around again. Sometimes
she would follow a pattern (left, right, left, right, etc), and I
would finally just put it in the hand I knew she'd pick because I
didn't want her to get discouraged.

I also took Sybil to visit people for a short time at group homes,
doctor's offices (she couldn't go to a hospital until she was
certified, but the smells in a doctor office are similar), the park,
and many many other places.

If she had completed her training and become certified, she would have
been of great use in hospitals for physical therapy. Many therapists
use therapy dogs in their patients' treatments who need to build up
arm strength by playing fetch. Not everyone likes dogs, though, sadly.
So, Sybil playing fetch would be an alternative, and it would also be
good for fine motor skills of picking up her smaller toy. Her ease of
response to commands would be good for people who were learning to
talk again or who had speech therapy or who had autism or a similar
condition. I once introduced Sybil to a six year-old who had autism.
When he saw me tell Sybil to sit, and she did, he laughed and said
"Up!" and she jumped up on his lap. He was surprised but pleased. He
said sit, and she did, and we went through a few commands. It helped
him open up a bit.

Why do I tell you all about a therapy cat when you are talking about a
dog? Because a dog can do the same, I just haven't done it with a
dog...therapy dogs are far more common than therapy cats in fact. But
the dog or cat have to be very smart, willing to work, and be very
social. A sensitivity to the emotions and needs of the people around
them is a big plus, as many of the people who need help from a therapy
animal are sick or have need of more emotional contact, and sometimes
where a person can't do that, a cat or dog is the perfect comporomise.

You should check it out if you are interested. There are, as you know,
basic obedience classes you can take him to, but there are also groups
of therapy dogs-in-training and their handlrs who go places together
and talk about the training. They also sometimes get to go into
hospitals or nursing homes while in training...it's rare for a cat to
get to go, however, as many of the dogs don't like cats, even if the
cat loves dogs and acts like a dog *sigh*

Just a though,
Jewel

On 5/4/10, Bryan Brown <bryanbrown at solarus.biz> wrote:
> Does anyone know what the smallest guide dog is, and is   it even possible
> to train a small dog to do guide work? My wife and I have a little designer
> mutt called a "Bojack" it's a Boston Jack Rustle cross and she's amazingly
> smart "the dog that is"....  and well, so is the wife"
>
> I see a trend toward smaller guides in most of the programs, I myself prefer
> a largish dog, but the convenience of a "pocket sized guide" would be nice
> every now and then.
>
> My current guide is a long and lean GSD and he's only about 75-80 pounds but
> since the wife and I have bought a new house and space is abundant I think
> I'd like to have a big ole boy next time round.
>
> I remember hearing some where that some of the programs have trouble placing
> very large dogs because of limited living space. I've got plenty and I
> really like the idea of a huge goofy male  GSD, " you know" , one of those
> dogs that looks like you should be riding it instead of walking next to it.
> In my case the bigger the dog the better the advertising. I just wish I
> could figure out a way to fasten a billboard to him  without effecting his
> guide work.. People are going to look anyway, why not use it to my
> advantage.
>
> Ok, I guess I'm not sure where or why that question popped in to my head but
> if anyone has any input I'd be glad to hear it.
>
>     Bryan
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