[nagdu] Soul Searching

[Tina Thomas]

Hello Cindy- 
I'm so sorry you had some difficulties with your dog. Conventions can be
very stressful for handler and dog. There were times where I observed
handlers being very hard on their dogs when it wasn't necessary and I did
say something to those handlers. Also, I didn't see much of the trainers
from any particular school as in the past. I remember in 2010 they had a
greater presence. Maybe it was because a lot of  the dogs became ill at that
convention and the handlers were struggling. I was one of those handlers
whose dog became very ill and if it weren't for Lucas I don't think I would
have gotten through that convention. So don't be so hard on yourself, you
delbt with your dog's issues the best you could. 
Tina             

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Cindy Ray
Sent: Saturday, July 07, 2012 8:11 AM
To: the National Association of Guide Dog Users NAGDU Mailing List
Subject: [nagdu] Soul Searching

Well, the convention is over. I went. It was fun meeting you, Mark. But
there were really some serious dog problems with my dog. Sad.
I have always known he had issues with dogs, but I thought I had made some
progress with it. But at convention he just came totally unglued. Nothing
really bad ever happened, because I was on alert with him. It was tense
though, and when he did what he does--growl and bark--people reacted as you
might expect they would. He frightened them, and mostly they thought I did
not have control of him, and they didn't mind saying so. I finally did seek
out TSE. I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get the GL on him, after the
visit with TSE, I did figure this out. But I have learned two things from
this. I need to do something. I was offered a visit a long time ago; I
didn't think it was necessary because I did and do know most of the things I
might be able to do to help. I need to try them by way of going out more
with him. But I will call for help because I believe that there are some
things someone who can see notes about what your dog is doing or the other
that you could miss. So I will call for help.
Second, Lukas said his eyes seemed a little dilated. He thought I might want
to have the dog checked for cataracts. He is of an age now where this might
be a possibility. After that, I have decided that, unless there are huge
changes in the dog between now and the next convention, I won't take him
again. I enjoyed the convention, but I did not enjoy the sense that folk
think I am a bad handler, and though I had the largest amount of control
over the dog, I do et this. I won't put myself through that ever again. I
have never taken a dog to convention that had this serious of issues, and I
think I've been in denial about the dog's issues with other dogs. So that's
it. Yesterday when we were walking to the ticket counter at the airport,
there was a dog in front of us that we were following. My dog did fine until
we were just about there and then he did his bark/growl thing. It was a dog
with whom he had tangled earlier in the week a couple of times. What was
that? I just don't know because up until that moment he had been coexisting
with that dog well.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I hope all have a good
weekend.

Cindy Lou
p.s. I just have to say it was fun helping at the NAGDU Table.


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