[nagdu] Wanting to Chase all moving animals, especially small ones...
Julie J.
julielj at neb.rr.com
Mon Apr 23 15:07:53 UTC 2012
Hannah,
I think the struggles you are having with Princess stem from a
discrepancy between what you expected and what you got. It could be
that what you expect is absolutely within normal parameters for a guide
dog and Princess isn't trained to that standard. Or it could be that
what you are expecting is not attainable or not at this point in the
partnership. Either way, it's clear that you are not happy with her
level of guiding.
If it helps I think everyone had ideas of what a guide dog would be like
before they actually got one; marvelous, ease of travel, less getting
lost, safer, faster etc. I'd also bet that most of us had some
surprises in the first year. I know for me I seriously underestimated
how much the dog would think on his own. that sounds silly. It's true
though. I never anticipated all the give and take that would be
involved. I never thought I'd stand on the corner and have discussions
with the dog about which direction we'd be going. I thought I'd say
left and the dog would go left. While that's generally true, there are
a million exceptions to why it isn't exactly true.
Do you have friends with guide dogs in your area? It might be helpful
to visit with some people in person and see how they work with their
guides. Email isn't always the best means of communication. We do tend
to talk about the more positive aspects of having a guide, although I
have noticed a trend in the past few years to be a lot more honest about
the less pleasant bits.
I guarantee you that each and every guide dog handler has had their
share of struggles, especially in that first year or so. Monty, bless
his heart, was a distracted horror for the longest time. In the very
beginning when I was still training him, he used to bounce up and down
when he saw another dog. I mean literally bounce up and down like
TTigger. He used to pick up all sorts of crap off the sidewalk, trash,
sticks, bugs, a snake once...oh and the dead bird. I remember walking
round and round at the park with him so we could come to an
understanding about the squirrels. Now he's pretty good about the
squirrels, rabbits and cats, but if one gets within two or three feet of
us, he will make a lunge for it. They usually don't get that close, so
it's a compromise I'm willing to live with. He doesn't pick up stuff
anymore and he's 99% better about other dogs. It took work to get there.
My experience is different though because I owner train. I expect
nothing in the beginning. You were expecting a fully trained and
trustworthy guide and you didn't get that. I think the question now is,
what are you willing to do? There are lots of options and people have
made many suggestions. I hope you find the path that is right for you.
all my best,
Julie
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