[nagdu] Issuing dogs at 18 months - is it too young?

[GARY STEEVES]

Hello:

Yes, my school did say that this was the case. Generally all the poodles that went out in my class were older than their lab counterparts. Bogart was almost 20 months when I got him. I'm not sure what maturity  means. I certainly have seen him calm down over the past year.

today was our first day at work after I was away for 9 days and he was left with my boss, her husband and their 2 dogs. He seems to b  coping just fine. A bit distracted guiding but, hey, he is a poodle afater all. Hopefully my boss will be able to look after him again when I go to hawaii in May.

Gary

----- Original Message -----
From: Sarah Clark <goldflash9 at sbcglobal.net>
Date: Tuesday, April 5, 2011 8:30 pm
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Issuing dogs at 18 months - is it too young?
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>

> I was told by someone at one of the schools that poodles tend to 
> mature more slowly than the labs, so they tend to stay in their 
> puppy homes longer and they take longer to go through 
> training.  Has anyone else heard this?
> 
> Sarah & Miguel
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tamara Smith-Kinney" 
> <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the 
> National Association of Guide Dog Users'" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2011 6:07 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Issuing dogs at 18 months - is it too young?
> 
> 
> >Rox,
> >
> >Way to go Laveau!
> >
> >So Mitzi poodle was trained in terms of having the skills down 
> by 18
> >monmths, but I chose to let her go to 24 months before I 
> considered her
> >graduated.  She did do some full working trips and handled 
> it very well, but
> >I didn't want to put a full-time guide dog burden on her 
> because I was
> >concerned about her maturity and how much it might strees her 
> and how that
> >might affect her future work...
> >
> >Then again, I was 8very* aware that my poodle pup was burdened 
> with a total
> >newbie self-taught -- and still working on it -- handler, so 
> asking her to
> >take full respsonsibility under those conditions seemed a bit much!
> >
> >Reviewing that period of our lives together now, I'm thinking 
> that I could
> >have let her work progress with her knowledge much more 
> rapidly, assuming I
> >knew what I know now.  And what I hope to know by the time 
> I do it all over
> >again in a few years.  /smile/
> >
> >She was still really, really puppy at 18 months, though, and it 
> was tough
> >for her to work for long periods without showing signs of 
> having had too
> >much...  One reason I keep thinking dobie is that they do 
> seem to "grow up"
> >more quickly than poodles, while having some of those same 
> character traits
> >I really adore in Mitzi.  Even mellow poodles like Mitzi 
> are wound pretty
> >tight, much like their curls.  /lol/
> >
> >Of course, Mitzi has DD hooked on poodles, so I may find myself 
> doing the
> >whole poodle thing all over again, just 10 years older.  
> I'd better start
> >catching up on my rest!  /grin/
> >
> >Tami Smith-Kinney
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-
> bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> >Of The Pawpower Pack
> >Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2011 4:43 PM
> >To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> >Subject: Re: [nagdu] Issuing dogs at 18 months - is it too young?
> >
> >Steve,
> >
> >I totally agree with you here.  Bristol was a program 
> trained dog
> >issued at 18 months.  She was very matured and retired due 
> to medical
> >reasons.  The dog I had gotten before that was issued at 
> 24 months and
> >was very immature.
> >
> >I start formal harness training around 12-14 months and usually my
> >dogs are finished between 18-20 months.  My border collie, Gracy
> >didn't really grow up until she was 4, and she retired when she was
> >7.  Laveau was born mature, I think and she guided me 
> around Boston
> >(which was a totally new city for her) when she was 15 months 
> old and
> >her work was flawless.
> >It really just depends on the dog, I think.
> >
> >
> >
> >Rox and the Botanical Barkers:
> >Bristol (retired), Mill'E SD. and Laveau Guide Dog, CGC.
> >"The only problem with troubleshooting is, sometimes, trouble shoots
> >back."
> >http://www.pawpowercreations.com
> >pawpower4me at gmail.com
> >AIM: Brissysgirl
> >
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> >
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