[nagdu] Guide Dog Age and Retirement

Tue Jun 18 00:39:36 UTC 2013

Monty does get excited when I pick up the harness, but he doesn't really put 
his head in himself.  Belle, would run and hide under the dining room table 
when I got her harness out.   To me running the other way at the sight of 
the harness is a clear signal of not wanting to work, or at the very least 
that there is a problem with the harness.  I think the thing that would be a 
really clear signal that something was amiss, is if the dog had always come 
to the door, ready to go, and then stopped doing that.  A behavior change 
like that would concern me. Never getting excited to go wouldn't be a sign 
that anything was wrong, as long as that behavior was typical for that dog.

HTH
Julie

-----Original Message----- 
From: Julie McGinnity
Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2013 11:47 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Guide Dog Age and Retirement

Hi Gary and all,

My dog Brie never ran into her harness.  In fat, it was a struggle to
get her out of bed in the morning to go to class.  I talked to the
trainers at my school, and one of them helped me with that issue.
When I told her that Brie never got excited to see the harness, she
said that some dogs are like that.  They want to work, but they don't
get excited about it.

Brie is a Labrador, but she is more stubbern than most labs.  I wish
she was more excited to do her job.  It kind of worries me that she
doesn't wag her tail while in harness unless I praise her or give her
a treat.  Most the dogs I see at convention seem to continuously wag
their tails.  :)

On 6/13/13, GARY STEEVES <rainshadowmusic at shaw.ca> wrote:
> Hi Tracy:
>
> Thanks for your note. Yes, I have always thought it bizarre this whole 
> thing
> of the dog putting his own head into the harness for me. Maybe part of my
> school's paternalistic approach. I just recalled reading on here before I
> got Bogart about those who have dogs that run for the door as soon as you
> grab their harness. You know how it can be, we all think our dog is
> different and everyone eles's is normal. :)
>
> Appreciate your  thoughts.
>
> Gary
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Tracy Carcione <carcione at access.net>
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 05:21:00 -0600 (MDT)
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Guide Dog Age and Retirement
>
> Hi Gary.
> Just FYI, I've been to 2 schools, and neither of them expected the dog to
> jump into his harness.  The emphasis your school puts on it surprises and
> amuses me.
> Ben has always had to be badgered to get up and go to work.  He too needs 
> to
>
> "make his point".  Sometimes, we sing him that old song "Charlie Brown".
> "He walks in the classroom, cool and slow.  Who calls the English teacher
> Daddy-o?  Charlie Brown, he's a clown ..."
>
> Slowing down means working slower--going from working at a trot to working
> at a stroll. There's a limit for me of how much I can slow my pace and 
> still
>
> be comfortable.  Also, in The City, there's a general pace of pedestrian
> traffic, and I don't like being the old lady holding things up, with 
> people
>
> always pushing past me.  So, when Ben's pace slows too much for me, and he
> can no longer take the length of walk I like to take, I'll apply for a
> young, vigorous dog, and Benny can retire to the life of ease.  At least, 
> I
>
> hope that's how it will go, and that our time together won't be cut short 
> by
>
> illness.
> Tracy
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "GARY STEEVES" <rainshadowmusic at shaw.ca>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2013 3:30 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Guide Dog Age and Retirement
>
>
>> Hello all:
>>
>> This is a topic I'm keenly interested now that I have my dog and he is
>> aging. Bogart is still young at 5 but, being that he is my first guide
>> dog, I'm trying to learn more about what the end of his career will look
>> like. A term I keep hearing here is "slowing down". What do people mean 
>> by
>>
>> that.Bogart is a dog who likes to work but he doesn't excitedly run for
>> his harness. In fact, when I put it in front of him and say in my 
>> happiest
>>
>> voice "harness bogart, harness" he often turns his head as far away from
>> the darn thing as he can. I have a 30 second time line where I keep
>> happily coaxing him to put his harness on before I just put it on for 
>> him.
>>
>> He usually comes around after he has felt that he has made his point. :)
>> Remember, he is a poodle. So I'm curious of what signs to look for when 
>> he
>>
>> gets older. Bogart works in a city but also gets a lot of exercise
>> enjoying the foothills on our frequent walks/hikes.
>>
>> I guess I'm looking for clues to help him be able to work as long as
>> possible by how he lives his life now.
>>
>> Cheers
>> Gary
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Darla Rogers <djrogers0628 at gmail.com>
>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Sun, 09 Jun 2013 23:01:33 -0600 (MDT)
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Guide Dog Age and Retirement
>>
>> Dear Ava,
>>
>> It may be getting close to retirement for your dear Coco, but there
>> are no real answers to this; different dogs slow down at different rates,
>> and I have been told by a couple of schools, dogs who work in very
>> confusing
>> usually urban environments tend not to work quite as long.
>> I would try not to worry too much unless you know you want another
>> dog as soon as you retire Coco; if this is the case, ask the schools you
>> apply to how long they will hold on to your application materials; this
>> could be a great way to get a tasks out of the way when you are thinking
>> more clearly; you're not retiring her right now; you are merely putting
>> yourself in a movable position to get another dog.
>> Ultimately it is your choice, but if you have any real medical
>> concerns, I would have her musculoskeletal system checked thoroughly and
>> her
>> eyes and ears.
>> Darla & Precious Roxy
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
>> avapup.7 at gmail.com
>> Sent: Sunday, June 09, 2013 5:42 PM
>> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [nagdu] Guide Dog Age and Retirement
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I have a question I hate to ask, but I guess my curiosity overrides my
>> not
>> wanting to know.
>>
>> How old were others' guide dogs when they first began to slow down a bit,
>> and how old were your dogs when you retired them? Does anyone have a
>> guide
>> dog who is still working (or has been in the past) at 9 years or older?
>>
>> My Lab guide Cocoa is 9 years old, and I know she is slowing down a bit.
>> Though she still loves to work, her energy level is slowly dropping, and
>> I
>> am nearly certain she will retire perhaps by the end of this year, maybe
>> early in 2014.
>>
>> My first dog retired at 6, but from a minor medical condition that didn't
>> affect her quality of life a bit, just meant guiding wouldn't be the best
>> idea.
>>
>> Is 9 young for a Lab to begin slowing down? Is 9 or 10 young for a Lab to
>> retire? I will do what is best for Cocoa, and when retired, she will
>> still
>> stay with me at home, though I may wait to apply anywhere for a successor
>> dog until (a long time from now) when she passes on, I'm not sure.
>>
>> I just don't know -- 9 sounds so young, yet so scarily old, for a big
>> dog.
>>
>> Thanks.
>> Ava and Cocoa
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
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-- 
Julie McG
National Association of Guide dog Users board member,  National
Federation of the Blind performing arts division secretary,
Missouri Association of Guide dog Users President,
and Guiding Eyes for the Blind graduate 2008
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
life."
John 3:16

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