[nagdu] Give the Dog a Break!

[Sherry Gomes]

Conventions stress me out, which is why I don't attend them.  But the last
similar thing I went to was a GDB alumni reunion I was required to attend
for my job.  My dog was a tough solid guide, but she also had some serious
dog anxiety, so she definitely got breaks, but they were mutual breaks,
because I needed them too.  it was the experience that made me decide to
retire her, because I didn't want to put her through it again.  And for me,
now that I don't work at GDB and have to attend things like that, I can
avoid conventions and conferences altogether.  Crowds stress me out.



-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Shannon Dyer
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 10:01 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Give the Dog a Break!

Hi, all.

For me, it's dependent on the particular situation my dog is working in.
Things like conventions can stress her out, and so, I do give her down time.
Generally though, as I just go about my daily routine, she works all the
time. If she's sick, I don't work her, unless bringing her with me would be
better than leaving her home alone.

My first dog had seizures. She didn't have them often, and they were petit
mal. However, after she would have one, she would become very sleepy. So,
obviously, it wasn't safe to work her.

Shannon and Caroline
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On Oct 12, 2011, at 11:31 AM, Buddy Brannan wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> I think we need to know our dogs. 
> 
> Some dogs may require some downtime. Some dogs thrive on the challenge. I
think that we ned to be mindful of our dog's feelings and moods, and if it
looks like the dog needs some downtime, then it's up to us to be cogniscent
of this and let him take a load off and reest. Contrarywise, I don't think
we need to give our dogs a break just because it's break time, if the dog
seems eager to work. 
> --
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
> Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY
> 
> 
> 
> On Oct 12, 2011, at 11:02 AM, William Burley wrote:
> 
>> Good morning.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> I was having a discussion with a fellow guide dog user this morning at
the
>> bank.  We somehow talked about whether you should give your guide a break
>> from work every now and then.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> The person's opinion was no as she stated she uses her guide all the
>> time.even when the dog isn't feeling all that well.  She said that she
just
>> won't work it as much.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> My opinion is that we should give our dogs a break pretty regularly.  By
>> this I don't mean leave your dog four days a week or anything, but I do
feel
>> as though the dog does need a break from work.  Their work is more than a
>> little stressful, even for the most experienced team.  In those instances
>> where the dog is ill, then I really believe you should give it a break.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Beyond the reasons that a dog should learn to be alone at some point as
well
>> as de-stress, leaving the dog at home here and there will allow us to
keep
>> our cane skills up to par.  I think people become overly dependent upon
>> their guide.even though this is easy, through experience.  But that dog
is
>> just like us and needs a break.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> What are your thoughts?
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> William Burley
>> 
>> William.burley3 at gmail.com 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Facebook and Twitter:  wburley3
>> 
>> Skype:  William.burley69 
>> 
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> 
> 
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