[nagdu] The Breed or the Dog

[Nicole Torcolini]

There were really dogs that were tearing up things? Was this just in the
beginning of the class, or was it the whole time? If the dogs were behaving
as you described, then, JMHO, they probably should not have been guide dogs.


-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Raven Tolliver
Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 3:06 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] The Breed or the Dog

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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