[nagdu] conventions and dogs

Fri Jun 17 19:45:35 UTC 2011

Jenine,

That cane jumping must have come from Molly's poodle side.  Mitzi did
that, too, and a couple of times we ended up jumping over a cane
together.  /lol/  Wild and crazy fun.  Or something.

On Fri, 2011-06-17 at 11:32 -0400, Jenine Stanley wrote:
> 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
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> 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/tamara.8024%40comcast.net