[nagdu] The Breed or the Dog

[Raven Tolliver]

Nicole,
I think a service dog user has just as much a right to be picky about
their working dog as any other person would be about selecting their
pet dog. Whether people like it or not, certain breeds tend to have
certain mannerisms and characteristics that are desirable to some,
acceptable to others, and undesirable for certain people. Now, there
are always exceptions to the rule, and dog personalities that don't
match the stereotypes. However, if I have temperament and personality
requirements for a dog, and there are particular breeds that tend to
not match up with those standards, then I will not be likely to choose
those breeds. I am not budging on what I am willing to handle and deal
with because for the next one to ten years, or even beyond, I have to
live with that dog when it's in and out of harness.
There are thousands of working-type dogs out there, and more than a
dozen schools. And if I had and wanted to put forth all the time,
energy, effort, and money, I could personally search for, choose, and
train or have trained, the breed I desire.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being picky. I was picky my
first go round, and I got exactly what I asked for. After being
exposed to so many goldens throughout my life, I had no doubt in my
mind that this was the breed of dog that matched me perfectly. When I
found that GEB had the dog for me, and I finally met him, I was more
than pleased. I saw the way the other labs acted in class on numerous
occasions, and was grateful that I was not the person going home with
those dogs. While the dogs were in people's faces, being forceful,
licking them, jumping up in their laps, vocalizing frequently, tearing
stuff up, pulling hard and speeding down stairs, I had this low
energy, calm, laid-back, docile creature. Maybe there was a second
choice dog in the kennels for me that was a low energy, gentle
labrador, but I'll never know. But I believe that the next time I
apply for a guide, there will be another golden waiting for me in a
kennel somewhere.


On 9/18/13, Nicole Torcolini <ntorcolini at wavecable.com> wrote:
> All the discussion about different breeds has caused me to think about
> something. Often, we know what it is that we want in a dog. We then try to
> generalize that to a specific breed or set of breeds, saying I will take
> these breeds and I won't take those breeds. However, I think that,
> sometimes, we get so caught up in the whole breed thing, that we miss the
> whole point. When I went to GDB in 2007, I told them my breed, color, and
> gender preferences, but I also told them that, if they found a dog that
> they
> thought was for me, even if it was the lowest on my list, that I would take
> it because, for me, I would rather get a dog that was right for me and not
> quite the breed that I wanted than get a dog that was the breed I wanted
> but
> not for me.
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-- 
Raven