[nagdu] conventions and dogs

Julie J. julielj at neb.rr.com
Fri Jun 17 14:49:21 UTC 2011


Hello all!

I was thinking with only a few short weeks to convention time that it would 
be good to discuss whether or not to take your guide along.   also if you 
have taken your guide to conventions in the past please share any hints that 
you have found helpful.

I took Belle to Dallas in 2006.  In 2008 I was between dogs.  Last year I 
opted to leave Monty at home.  This year I am going to the ACB convention in 
Reno and I will be leaving Monty here.

I have several reasons for choosing to leave Monty.  Here are a few.
When we travel he is always in work mode regardless of actually being in 
harness or not.  I don't see this as a problem for trips of a few days, but 
I worry about the accumulated stress of no down time over longer stretches. 
He will not chew on bones or play with toys for more than a minute or two. 
When given the opportunity to run in a enclosed area, he chooses to stay by 
me or watch what is going on around us. He is slowly getting better with 
this, but it is most definitely a work in progress.  He is a very serious 
guide.

When I'm on vacation or at a convention, I want to do what I want to do when 
I want to do it.  Maybe this is selfish, but I'm being honest.  If I want to 
go to a concert, go tubing down a river, sleep in late, have drinks with 
friends at 2 in the morning or whatever I don't want to have to worry about 
running the dog ragged or finding someone to dog sit.  I want to have a good 
time knowing that my dog is also having a good time.  I enjoy my vacation 
and I know Monty enjoys his time at the dog sitters home.  He gets to romp 
with other dogs, dig in the sandbox, splash in the wading pool and other 
doggie things he doesn't get to do that often.

My last reason has to do with being an owner trainer in a small town. 
Because of where I live there are some things that Monty has never 
encountered or been trained to navigate.  He has never even seen an 
escalator let alone knows how to work one.   He has never experienced crowds 
of more than 200-300 people.  the town I live in only has 7,000 people. 
Sure I could take him to a larger city and teach him these skills, but I 
have decided that is not the best option for us.  It would be like taking 
someone who has lived in a small rural community or on a farm and plunking 
them down in the middle of New York City.  there is going to be some culture 
shock.  Monty is my small town dog.  I don't think he would be at his best 
in a big city environment.

As always, these are just my thoughts and opinions.  It's what works for me 
today.  Tomorrow I may change my mind. *smile*

Julie





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