[nagdu] balancing needs was Preparing for training

[Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC)]

I agree with this.
Also, I found myself feeling as Tami does at about the five year mark. Age and work issues creep up on all of us. It's good to keep this in mind and have some checkpoints as we do need these dogs to work.
Hard to keep the job requirements in mind and the emotional distance when we do love them.


-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2011 11:04 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] balancing needs was Preparing for training

Hi Julie J.
I totally agree.  With a couple dogs, I found myself making ongoing
modifications to what I wanted to do and how I did it to suit the dog's
needs, until I finally realized I wasn't really doing the best thing for
either of us and retired the dog.  I try hard to keep in mind that the
bottom line is I got the dog to make my life better, and, if that's not
happening, then something's got to change.  And, once I've bitten the
bullet and retired the dog, we've both been happier. It's more facing up
to reality than being selfish.
Tracy

> Bibi,
>
> I don't know that I'd call it selfishness, but I get what you are
> saying.  Yes, I do this all the time.  I have a guide dog to make my
> life richer/fuller/easier.   I've been to national blindness conventions
> with and without a guide dog.  In the case of Monty, it's better that he
> not go, at least not at this time in his life.  He has difficulty
> shifting to an off duty mindset when away from home.  As a result he
> wears himself out after a few days.  I take him along to conferences and
> things that last 2-4 days, much longer than that and it's better that he
> stay with the dog sitter.  It helps a lot that he thinks the dog
> sitter's is super fun times.  I don't feel any guilt over leaving him
> there.  He has a good time and I do what I need to do.
>
> In the last months of working Belle I found myself changing my plans and
> routes to the point that my life was rearranged to her needs.  I'm okay
> with that in the short term, like when a dog is sick or new and just
> getting settled in.  However when there is no end in sight and I'm
> leaving the dog more than I'm taking him, it's time to rethink things.
> At that point it's not working out.
>
> And of course there are times when the handler does some craptastic
> thing and makes it so they can't work their guide. *smile*   Again as
> long as it's temporary, I think it can be worked out.
>
> I guess I don't look at it as selfishness, but more as doing what is
> right by both team members.
>
> JMO
> Julie
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 9/23/2011 11:35 PM, Criminal Justice Major Extraordinaire wrote:
>> hi, Cindy,
>> When I've attended some ACB/NFB conventions, I usually came across
>> many volunteers.
>> I was also told by a GEB instructor if need be, there wasn't a problem
>> with taking sighted guide when it was needed.
>> Same thing was said when I trained at Pilot.
>> On the my last day of convention which I stayed from Sunday night
>> through Wednesday night, Odie became tired out and he was really done
>> with it all.
>> It took a lot of encouragement from me to keep him going.
>> A few times on Thursday, I did take the opportunity to use sighted
>> guide to give Odie a break somewhat as I really didn't want to push
>> him further.
>> He did fine during thre first three ACB conventions, but by the time
>> we attended the fourth, he'd had enough of it and was done with all of
>> it.
>> I could have gone back to another convention, but for the expense, I
>> couldn't afford it anymore and figured that I had to think about
>> Odie's feelings before mine.
>> I wonder if it is just me, or have other handlers gone through times
>> of where they feel selfish and just think upon themselves and don't
>> think about the feelings of their four-legged furry partner.
>> After a while before Odie was forced to be retired medically as a
>> guide, I started to have that guilty feeling to where I was only
>> thinking about myself and not directly thinking about how he was
>> feeling.
>> Bibi and Odie
>> the happy spirited bounty labra wolf
>>
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>
>
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