[nagdu] German shepherds and cats

[Kathy]

Thanks Nicole, Shannon, and Marion for the additional replies.  You all
have made me feel a whole lot better about this.  I no longer feel like I
have to worry about it.  I do agree with you that it wouldn't be a good
policy for schools to allow a dog to graduate who wants to chase things.  I
think what got me thinking about it were some of the reasons I've heard a
lot of the schools are dropping shepherds.  But that has more to do I think
with the success rate per pound of puppy (which affects their bottom line),
versus the individual shepherd dogs who do make it through the program and
end up being very good guides.

Kathy


On Sat, Jul 13, 2013 at 4:52 AM, National Association of Guide Dog Users <
blind411 at verizon.net> wrote:

> Kathy,
>         My guide is a 110-pound German Shepherd and we have four cats
> living
> in our home. My boy likes to chase one of the cats, but I think it is
> because the cat likes to be chased by him! Most training programs
> desensitize their dogs to cats, so I wouldn't worry much about it!
>
> Fraternally yours,
> Marion Gwizdala
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kathy
> Sent: Friday, July 12, 2013 10:46 PM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> 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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