[nagdu] Destroying Things, Energy, and Barking was RE: The Breed or the Dog

Thu Sep 19 04:12:08 UTC 2013

Ugh. And I don't like the idea that the handler encouraged the dog to be
destructive. Once in a long while, I will let Lexia tear up a paper bag that
has treats in it as a birthday gift or something, but I certainly don't
encourage anything else like that.
The dogs having a lot of energy makes me think of something else. Did that
school let the handlers play with their dogs with toys, and did they have
somewhere for the dogs to run? Although not for all dogs, JMHO, even during
training, just the work of one day is often not enough for a dog to get all
of the energy out, so the dogs kind of need to do something else, whether
that is running in a fenced in area or playing with a toy or something else.
What do different schools have? GDB has a large fenced in area in which the
dogs can run. The rule was one dog at a time, and no toys.
Also, out of curiosity, when you went around to the rooms, were the dogs on
tie down? GDB, at least when I went, gave short tie downs. There were hooks
attached to the wall. When our dogs were not with us on leash, they were
supposed to be on tie down, which did not keep them from making noise, but
it did keep them from jumping.
Also, out of curiosity, what do people think of barking? Personally, I would
not a dog that barked a lot, even if it was only out of harness. Over the
six years that I have had her, I think that I have heard Lexia bark about
five times.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Raven Tolliver
Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 8:29 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] The Breed or the Dog

Hi Nicole,
There was one lab who tore up his crate pad, and the school took it away.
But now that I think about it, that was surely a sign of stress, as
destruction of property on a dog's part usually is. Dogs don't do that just
to be spiteful. Also, the dog did it for a few days, then his handler
started encouraging him, so it got worse.
But there were some dogs who just appeared to have bad leash manners,
pulling very hard on their leads. And other dogs were very vocal, which is
not a bad thing altogether, but it's something that definitely annoys me.
There were a couple dogs that, just while people were sitting around, would
whine and bark.
Also, most of the labs were just very in-your-face. I went around to
everyone's room for them to sign a birthday card, and by the way people's
dogs were acting, you'd have thought I smelled like smoked turkey. They were
just so much excitement, enthusiasm, and energy all the time! And it was too
much for me personally.

On 9/18/13, Nicole Torcolini <ntorcolini at wavecable.com> wrote:
> 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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--
Raven

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