[nagdu] When is the Connection Too Much?

Wed Jan 11 19:44:06 UTC 2012

Tami,
I always say us and we.  Like Ben's song says
"I used to say I and me,
Now it's us,
Now it's we."

It's part of why it's such a great, mushy, guide dog song.

I have to watch it and remember not to say "we" when it was only me.  Like
you, I don't worry about it too much.
Tracy

> Will and Toni,
>
> Using the dog's name in a professional signature line does seem a bit
> unprofessional, although there may be cases where it's not a big thing,
> depending... Maybe. I'm not thinking of anything right now, but norms
> for some professions are more relaxed than for others. Every now and
> then I get a wild hair and think it would be cute to put Mitzi's name in
> my personal signature or something. Then I remember that it would be too
> easy to forget to use the right signature on business or serious
> correspondence... So I take precautions there for my own
> absent-mindedness. /smile/
>
> If a guide dog user chooses to allow their dog free run of the house
> when company comes over, well so do a lot of dog owners. It depends on
> the dog, the handler and the guest, and I think Toni laid that out
> really well. If the dog is mugging the guests or snarfing food off the
> plates at the dinner table or even on the couch... Well, if I were the
> guest I would not be too eager to drop by again. Especially if the
> behavior was not handled by the handler. /lol/
>
> Mitzi has the run of the house when we have guests over, so I remind her
> of "company manners" when it's a formal gathering as opposed to a drop
> by from a really good buddy. /smile/ When it's our special friends, they
> have their own preferences, which she respects, so I smile happily and
> proudly at her and figure it's all good if everyone is happy. /lol/
> Poodles are funny beasts that way, not like dogs at all it can seem, but
> I've decided I quite like that.
>
> So she is now teaching the puppy good company manners, with support from
> the house humans. Way cool. Daisy had learned to be really good with
> company for the last couple of years of her life, but she did need
> watching to keep her from loving them too much once she decided they
> were okay. /smile/ Mitzi is a very charming hostess, with her poodle
> grin and little dance and tail action. So it's fun watching the puppy
> learn from her and develop her own way of interacting with company.
>
> Where I wonder about myself with my attachment to my guide is when I
> realize I talk to her all the time... Then I heard from other guide dog
> users that they just go around talking to their dogs without realizing
> it. Also, I've noticed how that affects Mitzi and her understanding of
> what her work is about and all. It really strengthens our bond and
> working unity... Also, I realized I was talking, literally, to hear the
> sound of my own voice. For echolocation. /lol/ So Ive been retraining
> myself to use the echolocation without the constant chatter. I backslide
> to the point where I annoy myself when lose more vision or if I'm really
> tired or stressed in a complicated environment. Working on it! I make a
> conscious effort to use the clicker, which does great. Even when I'm
> using the cane. /lol/ I've never really taken to the finger snap, and I
> also use that with Mitzi to remind her to mind her manners when she's
> ancy. The tongue sound escapes me, more so when I'm tired and stressed
> and likely to run off at the mouth over nothing, so... The clicker it is!
>
> Oh, I've also noticed that I've fallen into referring to Mitzi and me as
> "we" in some contexts. We walked to the store. We went to the mall... I
> can never decide if I've gone goofy to do that or if it's natural
> because we're a partnership and are doing these things together as a
> team. I have decided not to worry about it. /grin/
>
> Tami
>
> On 01/10/2012 04:44 PM, Toni Whaley wrote:
>> Bill,
>>
>> I personally think it's inappropriate to use the dog's name in a
>> business
>> letter. Regarding having the run of the house, I think that depends on
>> the
>> nature of the dog. If the dog tends to be overly friendly especially
>> when
>> food is around, I think the dog should be in a crate or on a tiedown.
>> Onn
>> the other hand, if the dog doesn't really care about company and tends
>> to
>> stay out of the way or disappears, I think it's OK. Of course, there's
>> the
>> problem that the guests themselves may be more of a problem than the
>> dog;
>> that is, getting the dog too excited. I've had dogs of both types. I've
>> also
>> tended to keep my dog out of sight on Haliween. evening, both to prevent
>> the
>> dog from getting too excited and running out the opened door and/or
>> scaring
>> some of the children.
>>
>> Toni
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf
>> Of William Burley
>> Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 7:10 PM
>> To: NAGDU
>> Subject: [nagdu] When is the Connection Too Much?
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>>
>>
>> I hope everyone is well.  I had an interesting discussion today with a
>> longtime guide dog user.  She brought up the fact that some handlers
>> seem to
>> take their relationships overboard with their guide dogs.
>>
>>
>>
>> Some examples she gave were:
>>
>>
>>
>> .         Including the dog's name in a professional e-mail signature
>>
>> .         Allowing the dog to have run of the house, even when guests
>> are
>> there
>>
>>
>>
>> She gave some others but I am drawing a blank now.  I have not
>> experienced
>> the two examples above but could see her point.  Have you guys dealt
>> with
>> someone you thought took their relationship with their guide to an
>> unhealthy
>> level?
>>
>>
>>
>> Will
>>
>>
>>
>> William Burley
>>
>> William.burley3 at gmail.com
>>
>>
>>
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