[nagdu] Age of qualifying guide dogs

[Mardi Hadfield]

  Hi every one,Mardi here. I really don't think that age has a lot to do
with how well a guide works after their initial training. I will however
concede that most dogs would benefit from a longer training period.I raised
my first guide dog,Lily from a 13 week old puppy.I trained her as a
wheelchair mobility dog first and then later as a guide when my sight
failed me.She was a wonderful dog and worked well from the very
beginning.She was retrieving things by name for me at  4 and a half months.
By that time her obedience was almost perfect.Lily was a fast learner and
eager to learn more as soon as she mastered what we had been working on. I
purchased Nala from a breeder at 1 and a half years.Nala only received 4
months of training as that was all she needed. She loved to work and she
was the best guide dog I ever had with out a dought!!!She saved my life
more times than I can count. Once she woke me when a fire broke out in my
house, when one of my fish tank filters shorted out. If she went to a place
once,she knew how to get there and I would just ask her to take me to that
place and she did.I went to a friends home once by bus,actually it took 2
buses to get there. I missed the last bus home and I was not sure that I
knew the way home.I can't read the street signs any more so I gave Nala her
head and asked her to take me home and she got me home with no trouble.
Nala was one of those one in a million dogs. She was truly a wonder dog and
I will probably never have another like her.I got Shaman at 10 months and
he got about 6-7 months training.He was rescued from a shelter. He had his
ups and downs but he turned out to be a very good guide. I still think he
has ESP when it comes to traffic checks.He is a is a somewhat hyper dog,
but I think that is his breed.Shaman is a Belgian Tervuren.Lily and Nala
were Siberian Huskies.Neechee is a Siberian Husky and I got her from a
breeder at a year and a half. Neechee is a very calm dog,very similar to
Nala's temperament and she had about 4 months of training which was
interrupted  when I had a heat stroke last summer. I worked her mostly in
stores for a while and some night work after that,so she really got about 6
months training all together.She has become a wonderful guide and is in
some ways similar to Nala.So, my dogs have all started training at various
ages and had different amounts of time training. All of them have become
great guides and I really think it depends on the dog rather than the age.
I also think the bond you have with a dog also has a lot to do with how
well the dog works with you.          Mardi and Shaman and Neechee.

-- 
http://wolfsinger-lakota.blogspot.com/
http://wolfsinger2-thegoldendragon.blogspot.com