[nagdu] conventions and dogs

[Julie J.]

Tami,

I don't know if my reasoning is well thought out.  It makes sense to me, 
which probably means everyone else is scratching their heads. *smile*

Monty loves the dog sitters.  When we pull up in the driveway he makes the 
most pitiful moaning noises.  Actually it's a lot of the same when his toys 
roll under the couch.  He's pathetic! He knows where all the fun stuff to do 
is and he runs to those areas first.

Julie


-----Original Message----- 
From: Tami Kinney
Sent: Friday, June 17, 2011 1:59 PM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [nagdu] conventions and dogs

Julie,

As usual, I enjoy reading your well-stated reasoning. Unless we win the
lottery in the next week or two, I am spared of making the decision with
Mitzi poodle, but I like to weigh the pros and cons of taking her to
convention just to stay in practice. We're just not managing to find a
way to get out and do real work for her, so I suppose this year it would
have been too much to take her.  Then again, if I were able to plan to
go to convention, I would also no doubt be putting more time -- and
would hopefully have the financial resources -- to solve my problems in
getting out to practice her more advanced skills and my O&M in more
challenging (and fun!) environments.  I could evaluate her performance
and have a clearer picture of how she might do now that she's an
experienced adult professional. /smile/

We'll be going to a local guide dog user event in the middle of July,
after a vacation in a place where I can get out and give her more work.
In a town of 12,000, so not exactly like doing Portland, but we won't be
hopelessly rusty!

Have fun in Reno while your country dog has fun at the sitters! /smile/

On Fri, 2011-06-17 at 09:49 -0500, Julie J. wrote:
> 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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