[nagdu] stress, how much is too much?

Thu Nov 15 21:35:58 UTC 2012

Lyn,

It was actually just that one conference where he was really stressed.  
Since then he has shown lesser signs of stressoff and on at seemingly 
random times and locations.  I'm sure there is something that makes 
perfect sense to him, older women in flowered hats with red purses or 
something I'm just not getting.  But he seems pretty much back to normal 
now.

And Monty's not the sort of dog who will ever decide on his own that he 
doesn't want to work anymore.  I'll have to make that decision for him. 
I'm hoping for 2 to 3 more years and a gradual transition into retirement.

Julie

On 11/15/2012 3:05 PM, Lyn Gwizdak wrote:
> Hi Julie,
> That sucks that Monty is stressing at conferences.  Yeah, that is 
> typical stress behavior that i've seen in many guide or service dogs 
> over the years.
>
> Does Monty show this at anything else or jusrt at conferences, hotel 
> stays, and such?  If he just does this during things like that 
> conference and is happy and comfortable working in your other working 
> situations, then I'd probably just leave him with a sitter when you go 
> to a conference.  But, if this spreads to all his working situations, 
> then he may be telling you he wants to retire.  i've seen dogs do this.
>
> Dogs wanting to retire can happen at any age.  At a certain point that 
> varies from dog to dog, they may just want to stop working.  Some dogs 
> never want to stop working!
>
> Hopefully, things will work oout for Monty.  I know you put alot of 
> time and work into his training.  Good luck to you and my thoughts are 
> with you.
>
> Have a happy Thanksgiving.
>
> Lyn and Landon
> "Education creates tolerance towards diversity."
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Julie J." <julielj at neb.rr.com>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, November 12, 2012 11:26 AM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] stress, how much is too much?
>
>
>> Thanks!  Those are reactions to stress that I wouldn't have thought 
>> of. It makes sense though.  I like to go to bed early when I've had a 
>> rough day.
>>
>> I think it's important, especially for the new handlers, to recognize 
>> stress/anxiety at it's first signs.  then the situation can be 
>> managed or extra encouragement provided to the dog before the problem 
>> escalates into a huge ordeal.  I think knowing when your dog has had 
>> enough and what to do about it is very important stuff.
>> Do the schools provide a seminar or something on noticing stress 
>> signals from you dog?  What about how to calm a stressed dog?
>>
>> Julie
>>
>>
>>
>> On 11/12/2012 11:35 AM, Tracy Carcione wrote:
>>> Sometimes, if we're away at a festival or convention, and Ben has 
>>> worked
>>> from morning to night for a couple days, I can tell that he's wants a
>>> break.  If we're out late, he starts looking toward the door, or 
>>> turning
>>> forcefully towards our room.
>>> During class at TSE, on the weekend before the third week, he just shut
>>> down.  He wouldn't get up when I called him.  He tried to crawl 
>>> under the
>>> bed and hide when I picked up his leash.  It was very upsetting.  But I
>>> learned then that his reaction to stress is to sleep.  If I let him 
>>> rest,
>>> leave him in peace for a while, he's back to his usual self.
>>> Tracy
>>>> I'm wondering how your dog's show that they are stressed and how 
>>>> much is
>>>> too much?
>>>>
>>>> a bit of background...a few months ago I went to an all day meeting 
>>>> out
>>>> of town.  This involved about 8 hours of car travel there, an 
>>>> overnight
>>>> hotel stay, the all day meeting, another hotel stay and the car ride
>>>> home.  Monty has done all of these sorts of things before and since.
>>>> Before this weekend he showed few signs of stress and they were minor.
>>>> However for some reason still unknown to me Monty had a tough time 
>>>> this
>>>> particular weekend.  His signs of stress included: looking at 
>>>> everything
>>>> incessantly, startling at noises, lip licking, difficulty relaxing  at
>>>> relief breaks, shaking and pulling like a crazed maniac in harness.
>>>>
>>>> For me his signs of stress were pretty high.  If he had continued at
>>>> that level I would have stopped working him.  We have struggled off 
>>>> and
>>>> on for the past few months with smaller episodes of stress/anxiety.
>>>> Overall things have improved dramatically.  Occasionally he will do 
>>>> the
>>>> lip licking and the looking at everything, but he's not at a level 
>>>> that
>>>> I feel is risky to his or my health or  safety.
>>>>
>>>> Recent messages to the list and my own situation caused me to think
>>>> about and ask the questions: How much is too much?  What would 
>>>> cause you
>>>> to quit working a dog completely? What would cause you to quit 
>>>> working a
>>>> dog in a particular situation?
>>>>
>>>> Julie
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
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>>
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