[nagdu] conventions and dogs

Fri Jun 17 15:32:42 UTC 2011

Julie, 

I think knowing yourself and your dog is crucial to making any decisions
about a vacation or trip. If you've never traveled before, this is your
first dog or you just haven't been on an extended trip with this particular
dog, it's good to take stock of a few facts when deciding what to do and how
to handle convention. 

First, think about whether your dog does well in crowds. The difference
between an average crowd, say at the mall during the holidays, and a
convention of blind people in a crowd, is that the sighted people will
generally see your dog, make eye contact and move out of the way. This is
becoming less and less so though as people get involved with their phones
and such and aren't looking at anything but the screen as they walk. I was
in the mall last weekend and was nearly run over a number of times  by
people who apologized and said they were looking at their phones and didn't
see us. Scary. 

Canes in large numbers can be very daunting to some dogs and can really wear
your dog down after a few days. I know most people who use canes try to be
careful if they hear a dog but letting them know you do have a dog around
them is probably more helpful than not. 

My first NFB national convention was interesting in that Molly made a sport
out of jumping over canes. Granted, with her long legs, she could usually
step over many of them, but occasionally she did become air born. 

Does your dog relieve more when stressed? Remember that hotels are often
drier than your home or workplace so offer water often and relief breaks
more often. 

Also, I'm fairly sure that the NFB policy prohibits you from leaving your
dog unattended in your room so keep that in mind. 

I'd look over the convention schedule and see what you really want to do
while there. If there are things you just don't want to miss, and having
your dog working during that entire schedule could be brutal, then maybe
leaving him or her at home is best. 

I've only a few of the many things I consider. I actually have no choice.
<grin> Luckily my dogs have generally handled convention well, save for
Molly's dog issues, but then again, when matching me, that was taken into
consideration, even before I worked for the school. 

That doesn't mean the first day or so isn't rough, what with the dog
realizing it's at another convention with all of it's canine buds and people
to sniff. <grin> 
Jenine Stanley
jeninems at wowway.com

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Julie J.
Sent: Friday, June 17, 2011 10:49 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] conventions and dogs

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

_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/jeninems%40wowway.com
-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 10.0.1382 / Virus Database: 1513/3708 - Release Date: 06/16/11