[nagdu] Shepherd guide dogs

[Mardi Hadfield]

Hi every one, Mardi here. I also have a shepherd guide dog. He is not a
German Shepherd though. He is a Belgian Tervuren. Belgian Shepherds are
smaller, more fine boned than German Shepherds. Mine happens to be a little
too friendly.People always try to pet him and this distracts him. I keep
telling people that they are undoing his training by petting and
distracting him. They don't seem to care and they tell me that I am cruel
because I have to correct my dog to get him back to work mode. He does not
look "cute" to me and I don't understand why people would pet a strange
Shepherd dog. He stands 24 inches and has filled out now at 67 pounds.His
guide work is very good and he is excellent in traffic,to the point of
almost being psychic at times. He has saved my butt quite a few time in
traffic and at crossings. He enjoys working and he never eats food that is
on the floor in restaurants.He does not accept food from any one but me
unless they give him the right signal. He always lays under the table,when
there is room or right beside me. I think this is because I always make him
sit and wait until I give him the signal to go ahead and eat.I don't let
any one else give him food or treats. This summer I was hospitalized for an
injury to my leg. Johnny and Carla, my friends, took care of all my
animals. They called me to tell me that Shaman would not eat. I had to tell
Johnny to point to his dish and tell him OK. Sure enough,when  he did that
Shaman ate his food. He is a wonderful dog and he and I have bonded well.He
also likes Johnny and Carla a lot as they took care of him and spent time
playing with him while I was in the hospital.He goes nuts when they come to
my house. He barks and jumps and acts like a complete nut case until I get
him calmed down.But when I put the harness on he settles right into work.
He some times gets into the garbage if there is just something irresistible
in it,but it is because I left the door open.This does not happen often
though.I once left a sandwich with in his reach when I went to answer the
door. When I came back, the sandwich was still there. I was surprised as if
that had been Lily, my first guide (a Siberian Husky) the sandwich would
have been gone in a second! Of course Nala, my second guide also a husky,
would never have touched it either.I like Shepherds but Siberian Huskies
are my favorite breed. They both make excellent wheelchair guide dogs,but
they definitely have very different personalities.My dogs have all been
trained by me with the help of a private trainer. I don't know any schools
that train Huskies or Belgian Shepherds so I guess I will continue to train
my own dogs. Have a great day,  Mardi and Shaman.

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