[nagdu] Identifying dogs reaching a common ground

[Mardi Hadfield]

Bridget, I had no choice but to train my own guide as when I needed a
guide, there were no schools that trained guide dogs for wheelchair users.I
would not have been able to have a guide dog if I had not trained my
own.About a year after I trained my first guide, I read an article about
Southeastern Guide dogs training a dog for a man who used a manual
wheelchair.I think they were the first school to start training for
wheelchair users.My first guide was trained as a wheelchair mobility dog
before I trained her to guide me.Lily was 13 weeks old when I got her and
that is when her training began.I have continued to train my own guides
because I enjoy it and also because I have chosen to use breeds that the
schools do not train.I have chosen my dogs wisely but a few did not work
out.They were career changed, and I had to start over. It took over a year
to find the right dog.Shaman, my current guide was a rescue.Lili,Nala,and
Neechee were all purchased form breeders.Lily was the only young
puppy.Shaman was 10 months.Nala and Neechee were a little over a year
old.Nala, my second guide was just about as perfect as a dog can be.She was
the best guide I have ever had.I have worked very hard to make sure all my
dogs were well socialized and well trained.I make sure that they are clean
and well groomed when we go out.I also make sure that they are well
behaved.Their harnesses are also clean and well maintained.I take great
pride in my guide dogs.I once went to a Blind Convention in Phoenix,
Arizona, and was complimented on how well behaved and how well trained my
Siberian Husky, Nala was by a Seeing Eye Trainer, A Fidelco trainer and and
several other guide dog trainers. A lot of time and work went into training
my dogs. I did have the help of a private trainer on my first 2 dogs but
have trained Shaman and Neechee  my self.I think school trained dogs are
wonderful and I might some day get one.But I also think there is a need for
owner trainers,especially for other types of service dogs as many people
can not afford a school trained dog.I agree with what the other owner
trainers have posted on this thread,and I think we all make sure our dogs
meet a very strict standard because we know our dogs will be scrutinized by
others for being owner trained and not school trained.Bridget, I hope this
helps you to under stand that it is the training that makes the service
dog,not the harness or vest or ID.The dog is trained to do tasks to
mitigate a person's disability. If it is not trained to do the tasks that
mitigate a person's disability,it is not a service dog. Mardi and Shaman
and Neechee,SDIT.

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