[nagdu] Not all equal

[Hannah Chadwick]

Tracy,
I would have to agree with you on this. I think that most first-time dog
users decide on the school often by the way campuses look, the people, the
breed, etc. I'm beginning to realize that the most important factor is the
dog and the training he/she receives from the school.
It seems to me like the larger schools have more resources and therefore may
do better overall; for example GDB has their own breeding program which I
think is definitely a plus.
Anyways, I could go on and on, but people will have to decide in the end
what they want from a school.
Hannah

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Tracy Carcione
Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 10:12 AM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nagdu] Not all equal

Hannah said the other day that she was starting to wonder if all the schools
were equal, or something to that effect.
I don't think they are all equal.  One can get a great dog from all of them,
and one can get a rotten dog from all of them, but I am convinced that one
has a better probability of getting a great dog at some more than others.
We can disagree on which are best, of course.  Me, I feel confident that I
have a high probability of success with GDB or TSE. Steve would say Leader,
and Jeanine would say GDF.  Everyone has an opinion.
Further, different schools offer different things.  I want a dog who does
excellent traffic work.  I wouldn't accept a dog if we hadn't had at least
2 or 3 traffic checks in class.  My dogs have saved my butt too many times
from cars I didn't hear until the dog had already done his or her stuff.
And some schools have a more robust follow-up.  Some of the small ones can
only do phone follow-up for people outside their area.  Some people are fine
with that, and some want the option of having a trainer come in person to
help with serious problems.  I'm in the latter category.  I remember a time
when it was hard to get GDB out to New York to help me, and I've always
wondered if it might have made a difference with the dog I had to retire
early.  Probably not, but I was glad when something changed and they were
able to send someone out more quickly.
I just wanted to say this, for the benefit of people considering getting a
dog, and for first-timers having a hard time.  We have to be inclusive and
accepting of everyone.  An arrogant, "my school is the only good one"
attitude is extremely annoying.  I know that firsthand--quite a few TSE
graduates have that attitude, and it annoys the heck out of me.
But I'm still convinced that some schools are better than others.  I don't
know how to measure it, and I may even be wrong, since others' opinions as
to which is best differ from mine, and that's fine.  Maybe the only way to
choose is to ask a lot of questions, and talk to people, and read the list.
But choosing a school by whichever one accepts the application first, or by
which one has the rare breed one fancies, or by which one is located in an
area one would like to visit, might not always be the best method, though of
course dumb chance sometimes works out fine. I chose GDB my first time
because a friend and I visited it, and I liked the vibe.  I liked the
campus, and the people we talked to.  Not much to go on, but it worked out.
But we didn't have the internet then, for better or worse.
Tracy



_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/sparklylicious%40gmail.co
m