[nagdu] Letting Someone Else Work Your Dog

Mon Apr 25 15:14:19 UTC 2011

Shannon,

That makes perfect sense and has kind of been my approach.  My velcro dog
was superglue when she was young, so I had to turn around and train her to
let one or two trusted friends see to those basic needs and take her out in
case something happened to me.  I also had to work with a dog walker we knew
from our playground to take her to the park to run, for the same reasons,
since she really needed that a lot.  She still does, but not like she did
then.  /smile/

So it always seems to me that it's a matter of creating balance.  I love how
close she is with DD by now and how much she trusts him, because I don't
have to worry about whether she will allow someone to let her out the door
in case I can't.  /smile/  Silly poodle!  

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of solsticesinger at gmail.com
Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2011 11:56 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Letting Someone Else Work Your Dog

In terms of feeding and relieving, I'm pretty militant about doing those
things myself, especially in the beginning. Once the bond has been
solidified, I allow one or two people to feed her from time to time. I think
this is a good policy as there might be times when I'm physically unable to
do those things myself, and I want my dog to feel comfortable should such a
situation arise.

Shannon and Caroline

On Apr 24, 2011, at 9:44 PM, "Brittney N. Mejico"
<brittneymejico at verizon.net> wrote:

> what about having someone else feed or relieve your dog I heard having
others do those things messes up your bond with your dog to? Do you think
that's true?
> 
> -----Original Message----- From: Melissa Green
> Sent: Saturday, April 23, 2011 5:32 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Letting Someone Else Work Your Dog
> 
> I think that some of the schools feel that if someone works your dog that
> the bond will be affected that you have with your dog.
> I think that there would be times that someone might need to work your
dog.
> 
> Blessings!
> Sincerely,
> Melissa Green
> When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete,
> everybody will respect you
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Julie J" <julielj at neb.rr.com>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, April 23, 2011 9:04 AM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Letting Someone Else Work Your Dog
> 
> 
>> I let a friend work Belle around the block to see what working a guide
was like.  I tried to let someone work Monty, but he was having none of it.
Like others have said it depends on the dog, the person and the situation. I
think just like everything else if it's done responsibly, I don't have an
issue.
>> 
>> With my own dogs though, I would be concerned that the other person
wouldn't know how to work them.  Since I've owner trained, the particular
set of hand gestures, verbal commands, foot placement and sequences of
behaviors is probably different from the standards taught at a program.
Unless I spent some considerable time teaching all of that to the other
person, I don't think they'd get the results they were looking for.  I
suppose the same could be said of a person who has never worked a dog before
or a person whose dogs came from a different program.
>> 
>> It's interesting that in some countries guides are given to couples
because they don't have enough dogs to go around.  Both individuals are
trained with the dog and each works the dog, swapping back and forth
frequently.  No idea what happens when both people want to go somewhere at
the same time though!
>> 
>> Hope the accident wasn't too painful.  Feel better soon!
>> Julie
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Buddy Brannan" <buddy at brannan.name>
>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Saturday, April 23, 2011 9:38 AM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Letting Someone Else Work Your Dog
>> 
>> 
>>> Hi,
>>> 
>>> I expect most of us have, at one time or another, test driven someone
else's dog for one reason or another. Though, certainly, whether and who
depends a lot on the dog, the person, and lots of things that really don't
apply to car ownership. I do agree, though, that this decision, like so many
others, rests with the guide dog owner. Which is to say, I think it's
perfectly acceptable for us to be empowered to make bad decisions, too,
although I of course never make that kind.
>>> --
>>> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
>>> Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Apr 23, 2011, at 8:21 AM, Cindy Ray wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Ouch, Marion, sorry to hear of your accident. As for working a dog, I
wouldn't most of the time myself, though I might let someone try it as you
did. But I did once work my ex-husband's dog. I had had a dog for a while
but she didn't work out. His dog was very fond of me, and I was suffering
from wondering if I ought to go back and try for another dog. My husband
thought I should test drive his dog. He said he wasn't really concerned
about any fall out from it. I said, should I take him around the block? And
he said, heck just go anywhere with him, you're a good user. We did walk,
and the dog quickly matched my strie (Chuck is tall and I am short) and we
had a marvelous walk around downtown Lawrence. I no longer questioned
whether I ought to go back and get another dog.
>>>> 
>>>> Cindy
>>>> 
>>>> On Apr 23, 2011, at 6:20 AM, Marion Gwizdala wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> Dear All,
>>>>>  I wanted to comment on the provision that many training programs have
in their agreements concerning allowing someone else to work your dog. I
frequently compare owning a guide dog to owning a vehicle, including the
right to own the harness just as car owners own their keys. Similarly, if
someone owns a vehicle and allows another to use it, that is fully within
their rights, provided that person is a licensed driver and is either
covered by the insurance policy or is somehow otherwise insured. Here are my
thoughts on allowing another to work my dog.
>>>>>  When I went to convention in years past with one of my previous dogs,
I would allow someone who had never worked a dog "test drive" one of mine. I
had no fear that the training program from which I received my dog would
interfere with this, as I have ownership. Through this experience, I have
introduced many people to the joy of working a guide dog. Now, I would
probably not let a novice work my current guide dog, as he is a lot to
handle.
>>>>>  On Thursday, I fell and fractured my tibia; I am non-weight bearing
for the next two months. My dog was going stir crazy, so my wife took him
out and worked him. She will also be taking him to school with her on
Monday. Merry is a seasoned guide dog handler and is very competent to work
Sarge. In addition, Sarge needs to work. In fact, he is insisting on it!
(grin) Merry will be working him regularly while I recover, keeping his
skills up and giving him much needed exercise. I have absolutely no fear
posting this message to a public list because I know GDF will not interfere
with my choices. This is not true of other programs who seem to be looking
for reasons to take a dog away just to reinforce their ability to do so and
keep their consumers in line through fear and intimidation.
>>>>> 
>>>>> fraternally yours,
>>>>> Marion Gwizdala
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>> 
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>> 
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> 
> 
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