[nagdu] AT PILOT :)

[Tami Kinney]

Hannah,

Oh, good for you for deciding what is best for you. I am glad you are on 
the waiting list for the tech training program so that you can get that 
under your belt before going to school, too!

If you don't know much about dogs, your trainer is your best friend 
while you learn how to care for and then work with your new poodle. 
Well, your trainer had better be your friend! /lo/ You will learn to 
manage the dog's basic needs like food, water, bathing and grooming, of 
course, as well as basic safety protocols. Of course, you will also be 
bonding with and learning your dog, too, and beginning to get familiar 
with walking with her/him guiding you.

So I'm a notorious questioner of rules for the sake of rules, but I also 
have had plenty of experience with dogs... Many of the rules the 
programs and trainers give their soon to be grads are to ensure that 
those without prior dog experience will do well with their new partners 
and that the partners will do well with them. So, while guide dog users 
all over the country will faint that I am saying this... Learn those 
rules and follow them.

Otherwise, remember that your dog is a living being, with feelings and 
emotional needs as well as physical. Since it's a poodle, forget that it 
is a dog. /lo/ It is a person, just ask it! Some poodles can be slow to 
bond with a new human, but once it does... You belong to that poodle, no 
question. /smile/ The secret key to poodles, I have heard and completely 
agree, is to convince them that you are worth listening to and working 
with. Once you click, that poodle will give you the world just to make 
you happy. Thank the poodle graciously and respectfully /lol/

Of course, your trainer will know your particular poodle very well, what 
motivates it, what signals it expects, etc. As you come to learn the dog 
and your bond forms and deepens, it will become more natural.

Congratulations again!

Tami

On 01/09/2012 10:22 AM, Hannah Chadwick wrote:
> Hello All,
> Happy new year, and may 2012 bring you lots of great things. I'm starting my
> year off with a poodle from Pilot Dogs, and am in Ohio right now as I write.
> I did not get time off from my training center, but I believe this is for
> the best for both the dog and myself. I'm on the waiting list for the
> training center, and I think I have a pretty good chance of getting back in
> by March.
> Anyways, I got to Pilot last night, and so far, we've been doing the basics.
> I don't know much about dogs so any advice or tips would be greatly
> appreciated.
> Cheers, Hannah
>
>
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