[nagdu] German shepherds and cats

[Shannon L. Dillon]

I don't think a school is going to let a shepherd out that has a high pray
drive. I think that would probably be something that would make it fail as a
guide dog. All the schools I'm aware of have kennel cats that are intended
for dogs to get used to cats.  So once you bring the dog into your home,
you'll need to allow time for the animals to adjust to each other. But I
think that would be the case no matter what animal you brought into your
house if there is already an animal living there. But I don't think any
school is going to let a dog out that would hurt your cats. They can't have
a dog with a high pray drive that takes off after a cat or squirrel in the
middle of guiding you. They have to be able to ignore distractions.


-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of melissa R green
Sent: Friday, July 12, 2013 8:00 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] German shepherds and cats

Have you informed the school that you are applying to about your cats.
They can help to work this out.
So you won't get a dog that thinks the cat is prey.

Blessings,
Melissa Green and PJ
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Linkedin www.linkedin.com/in/melissagreen5674
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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kathy" <pigwidgin07 at gmail.com>
To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, July 12, 2013 8:45 PM
Subject: [nagdu] German shepherds and cats


Hello everyone.  This is Kathy in Seattle and I am in the middle of
applying for a guide dog.  I'm waiting for the home visits at this point.
 I agree that one should get the best dog (and breed) for your own unique
situation but I admit to being quite partial to german shepherds, mostly
because I grew up with and also owned collies and german shepherd mixes.
 For those of you who have or have had german shepherd guides, have any of
you had cats in your household?  How did that work out?  With the prey
drive that some shepherds are known for, I'm concerned about our kitties
becoming a midnight snack. :)  They are large Ragdolls and incredibly
sweet, and the last thing I'd want to do is to cause them loads of stress.
 I think in the long haul, they will love having a dog around because they
sort of act like dogs themselves.  But only if it doesn't eye them with a
culinary interest.

Thanks for the advice!

Kathy
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