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

Fri Apr 8 06:46:42 UTC 2011

The school I went to was the seeing eye, and the youngest dog I new of that went out in my class was just under 24 months. From what I understand the dogs don't even leave their puppy raisers until about 17 months. I don't know how other schools do it.

Jeff and Hansel
On Apr 7, 2011, at 5:44 PM, GARY STEEVES wrote:

> 
> 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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