[nagdu] Guide dog school that offers guide dogs tochildren between the ages of 11 & 17 years old.

[Julie J.]

I wonder how much is the kids really wanting a guide dog and how much is the 
parents deciding for the kids.  I mean that is what parents do, decide what 
is best for their kids and making that happen.  Perhaps the parents are 
scared to let the blind teen out to go and do things that teens do.  Perhaps 
the guide dog helps the parents feel that their kid will be safe.  I suppose 
that could be beneficial to the kids, allowing them to do regular kid 
things, but I also think that the mindset behind that thinking is really 
harmful to the parent child relationship and to the kids attitude about 
blindness.

I have a 16 year old son and I work with teens daily.  Most of them don't 
know what they are doing this evening, let alone what their lives will be 
like in 5 years.  How would it be possible to know if a guide dog fits into 
those plans? So much changes during the teen years, interests, hobbies, 
activities...it would be extremely difficult to find a dog who could roll 
with that many life changes.  I also worry that getting a dog that early 
hampers the teens ability to develop their self identity.  Having a dog 
changes your life.  You have to weigh everything you do with the use of the 
dog, should I take the dog? where will I put the dog? what do I do if the 
dog acts up?  where will I take the dog to relieve?  An adult has more life 
experience and can more easily figure out the answers to these questions. 
I've been camping, on a train, to the county fair, I know what to expect and 
how the dog could fit into those situations, but a young person is probably 
experiencing all of those things for the first time or the first time with a 
mature mindset. Sure we all take our guides to things that we've not 
experienced before, but not on a daily basis.  that level of problem solving 
would be stressful and overwhelming for a teen.

It's hard being a parent, trying to raise independent, responsible kids, 
protecting them while balancing that with allowing them the opportunity to 
make mistakes they can learn from.  I've always been opposed to parents 
getting a pet dog to teach their kids responsibility.  I feel that getting a 
guide dog to teach  independence is an expansion of that thinking and a huge 
mistake.

I don't know, maybe there are kids with this level of maturity, independence 
and responsibility.  I can't imagine that many of them are younger than 16 
though.   And why is it horrible to wait until you are 16 to get a guide 
dog?

Julie