[nagdu] Guide Dog Use at national Convention
Sheila Leigland
sleigland at bresnan.net
Thu May 23 03:36:46 UTC 2013
hi, that is a great post. I agree that there is no right answer but
knowing your dog is important and understanding that the stress level
will be different for both human and dog.
On 5/22/2013 5:58 PM, Julie J. wrote:
> In regard to leaving the guide dog at home...I truly believe it
> depends on each individual circumstance. Each dog is going to have
> it's strengths and weaknesses. Usually you figure out what they are
> in the first few months. If I had a dog that was stellar at off road
> travel, had good initiative, remembered previous routes and didn't
> mind long meetings, that would cover about 97% of my needs. If that
> same dog really hated loud music, like at a concert, I'd be perfectly
> happy leaving him home the extremely infrequent times I'd be around
> loud music. I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to attend a
> concert and I wouldn't want to be fussing with an unhappy dog all
> evening either. Leaving the dog at home keeps everyone sane and happy.
>
> Now if I had a dog who wouldn't mind his manners around food, say in a
> restaurant for example, I'd have a larger problem because I like to
> eat out. that is something I do frequently. Leaving him behind would
> be a much greater amount of time apart and a massive amount of
> inconvenience. However there are people who only eat out once a
> year. So for them perhaps leaving the dog behind when they go to a
> restaurant is a doable option.
>
> Like I said in my last message, I leave Monty with the dog sitter when
> I travel for more than 3 or 4 days. That's usually just once a year.
> He's working nearly every other day of the year so I think he deserves
> a dog vacation as much as I need my people vacation. It's all about
> finding the right balance for the individual person, the individual
> dog and that specific combination of person and dog.
>
> I have a guide dog because it increases my mobility options. I feel
> that a dog adds to my choices, not replaces the cane. I pick what is
> going to work best for me in any given situation. Usually that is
> Monty, sometimes it is a white cane and sometimes it is a human
> guide. Just because I choose one of these in some particular situation
> does not mean I don't need or value the others.
>
> If I used a guide dog 100% of the time and absolutely refused to go
> anywhere or do anything without him, I would have missed out on some
> amazing opportunities. I would not have attended my one and only
> concert, I would not have gone to Alaska and I would not be going to
> wilderness survival school this summer.
>
> Julie
>
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