[nagdu] Distracted by other dogs

[Sarah]

Golden Retrievers are the best.  We have a pet Pit 1Ull who is 
aggressive with other dogs but not with Labs and Golden 
Retrievers.  She's scared of our handicaped Lab.  I know she will 
gt along good with my guide dog because she is forced to kiss the 
cat so she'll get along with whatever dog I say she gets along 
with.

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:01:06 -0400
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Distracted by other dogs

Ben enjoys hanging out with other dogs, but I have to be careful.  
More
than once, someone has assured me that their dog is friendly, and 
then it
has snapped at Ben.  It's happened often enough that he's become 
wary of
strange dogs--not all, but some.  Must be a body language thing.
Luckily, my neighbor's golden is very friendly, and they can hang 
out
together and do dog things.
Tracy


 Julie,

 That is amazing advice and the playdate things have come into my 
mind
 several times.  I have just been a little afraid because my lab 
is such
 a friendly pup and everyone is her best friend.  Other folks 
dogs
 sometimes seem unhappy at the location we choose and unknown 
pups
 might cause bigger issues than I am already having.

 What I mean by this is, behaviors or aggression toard my dog 
might
 cause her to become agressive or not want to deal with certain
 situations while guiding.  Other people do not have this issue 
since
 they are just dealing with pets.

 Again, thanks and I will begin to look into this daycare or 
playdate
 idea.  She does seem to just want to play.  She is probably 
tired of us
 human variety all the time.  Smile!

 Warmly,
 Sheri



 On 9/19/12, Julie J.  <julielj at neb.rr.com> wrote:
 I agree with what everyone else has said about distractions 
while in
 harness, but...I wonder if there's something else going on.

 Guide dog puppies spend their first year essentially in a 
constant meet
 and greet with people, places and new things.  They attend group 
classes
 where they often interact with the other dogs, if not during the 
actual
 class then before or after.  It seems fairly common for there to 
be more
 than one dog in the puppy home.  Puppy playdates are not unheard 
of.
 then the dog goes off to the program for more training, where 
they are
 with a bunch of other dogs.

 Enter the blind handler and a new home.  Sometimes there are 
other dogs
 in the home and sometimes playdates are arranged, but mostly 
it's
 solitary work for the dog.  All the doggie socialization comes 
to a
 complete stop or is cut down to a trickle.

 I like dogs a lot and enjoy spending time with mine, but I also 
need
 people.  I need to talk and share ideas and do people things.  I 
wonder
 if dogs feel the same way?  they need some dog time to socialize 
in the
 dog way.

 All that to say I wonder if spending a Saturday morning at a dog 
day
 care with other dogs or arranging play dates with well behaved 
neighbor
 dogs could help?  Perhaps the slow increase in dog distraction 
over the
 past few months while in harness is a symptom of a need to 
interact with
 other dogs.

 I'm not saying that the distracted harness behavior is okay 
because it's
 not.  I'm just suggesting that meeting her dog needs out of 
harness
 might help her not to crave that interaction while in harness.  
I also
 freely admit that I might be totally off here and increasing dog
 socialization time out of harness will increase her interest 
while in
 harness too.  I don't know your dog and won't presume to know 
how she
 might react.  I do know that for my guide, Monty, it has helped 
a lot.

 all my best,
 Julie


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 --
 "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you 
doing
 for others?'" Dr.  Martin Luther King Jr.

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