[nagdu] Shepard Guide Dogs

[Doug Parisian]

Cindy, my first dog was a Shepherd and that guy could walk me through the 
eye of a needle without touching the sides!  Too bad the back yard breeders, 
with little or no understanding of genetics, ruined the American breeding 
stock by focusing on appearance alone.  I believe that is in part at least, 
why many schools turned to other breeds.

My subsequent dogs have been, a yeller lab, a black lab, a retriever, and a 
little yellow lab devil dog who I just retired in June.  Haven't yet 
committed to dog number six; I have no place for a dog to have some free 
run.  I've always had either a yard or easy access to safe play places. 
I've trained all my dogs to come off leash, despite ominous warnings from 
patronizing schools and a few trainers.

Doug: Shepherd's pie anybody?
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cindy Ray" <cindyray at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2011 7:40 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Shepard Guide Dogs


> Don't kid yourself. Shepherds get attention, too, at least until they 
> snarl at someone. And I only had the one that did that. I longed for one, 
> but as an instructor told me once, they have to decide they want to work 
> for you. Neither of the ones I had did that, though the second one came 
> closer. I would have loved one, and I've seen some mighty fine ones at 
> work, too, but I wonder if these others are just a little more prepared 
> for it personality wise sometimes. However, it isn't really so much the 
> breed as the individual personality. I would love one because they have 
> such a fluid gait.
>
> All I've said except for my experience and the gait is purely conjecture.
>
> Cindy
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/eggmann%40shaw.ca