[nagdu] The Breed or the Dog

[Tracy Carcione]

Sometimes, what you want is not what you need.  Plenty of people want a
shepherd, but aren't really cut out to deal with one, for example.  It's
nice to get what you want, but it's more important that it suit your
needs.

"You can't always get what you want, but you find sometimes you get what
you need."
Tracy
> 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
>
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