[nagdu] Age of Qualifying Guide Dogs

Chantel Cuddemi jawsgirl87 at gmail.com
Fri Feb 21 15:55:09 UTC 2014


Hey all,

At Pilot Dogs, I received Motley at the age of 17 months. 

He's a poodle and, depending on the poodle, they mature faster than other
breeds, from what I was told.

Chantel and Motley.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of minh ha
Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2014 11:35 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Age of Qualifying Guide Dogs

Nicole,

I don't think this is true, if it is then it must be a very rare
occurrence. When I received Viva, she was 20 months old and the other
dogs in my class were around that age. I know people who have attended
class recently and their dogs were also around the 20 month mark. I
really do think it depends on the dog and how fast they mature.

Minh

On 2/20/14, Nicole Torcolini <ntorcolini at wavecable.com> wrote:
> From what I heard, GDB is now placing dogs at 17 months. I really hope
that
> they change this. If they don't, then I will probably ask if they have any
> older dogs when I go for my next dog.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Raven Tolliver
> Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2014 7:58 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Age of Qualifying Guide Dogs
>
> 15 months? Whoa! That is playing with fire.
> When I made the assembly line reference, I was referring to the way guide
> dogs themselves are evaluated and trained at certain schools. It is more
an
> assembly line for the dogs than the people. The matching process at any
> place better be as meticulous as possible. I would expect that from the
> worst schools.
> I guess I am very sensitive to the age issue because I deal with
adolescent
> and adult dogs of multiple breeds on a regular basis. I've seen firsthand
> the difference 6 months can make.
> I am also passionate about this issue, because I am hearing what I call
> horror stories about these young dogs being sent home with people.
Resource
> guarding, mouthiness, unnecessary retrieving, horrible leash manners, and
> flat out refusal to work some days and then eagerness to work others.
> Schools telling people their dogs will "grow out of it." Well, I sure hope
> so! It's just too bad they couldn't wait till the dog was well-refined
> before they handed it over.
> I'm not sure how new or traditional this is, schools putting out dogs so
> young, but I know that in other countries, schools don't dream of issuing
> adolescent dogs, and other assistance dog programs don't either, and for a
> multitude of good reasons. I think the economy might have something to do
> with this. Just maybe? The earlier you put dogs out, the less money you
> have
> to spend providing for them, especially when you have a large breeding
> stock, number of litters or gdits on the docket.
> This is not to bash any school or to undermine the relationship or
> stability
> of any of the little ones working out there. However, the differences in
> age
> are quiet noticeable, and the consensus is out.
> Some programs and trainers choose to ignore that, and they are doing a
> number of dogs and handlers a great disservice. Not everyone, but a great
> number, for sure.
>
> On 2/20/14, Daryl Marie <crazymusician at shaw.ca> wrote:
>> oh, Jenny is a wiggler!  My husband has nicknamed her "wiggles".  I
>> don't mind so much if she's out of harness and old friends come and
>> say hi.  But when she meets new people, I always remind her "manners"
>> and it seems to calm her down. it's cute!
>>
>> Daryl
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Deanna Lewis <DLewis at clovernook.org>
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thu, 20 Feb 2014 07:37:09 -0700 (MST)
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Age of Qualifying Guide Dogs
>>
>> Pascal was 19 months old when I received him in 2009, and he was one
>> of the youngest dogs in our class. Most of the other dogs were about 22
> months old.
>> He has always been very mature, and very well behaved. He didn't want
>> to lie down on floors or get underneath tables, for the first few
>> months. And, he seemed to mature at lot once he hit 3 years old. He
>> has never been one of those wiggly labs, you know the ones who get so
>> excited their whole body wiggles! LOL One of my co-workers just got a
>> dog that is only 15 months old. She is very puppy like!
>> Deanna and Pascal
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sherry
>> Gomes
>> Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 5:37 PM
>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Age of Qualifying Guide Dogs
>>
>> I think the same could apply to labs. My current guide is a reissue,
>> so she was three when we trained together. what a difference! I don't
>> want my next guide to be 18 months old as so many are when graduating.
>> Two years old is the youngest I'd want and I'd jump to have a reissue
>> again. Though having said that, Bianca, who was about 2 when we
>> trained and is 13 now is still young at heart and full of spirit and a
>> sort of happy puppy mentality. Olga, my working guide is 8 and has a
>> very old soul. I'm sure she was always that way even when she was a baby.
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tami Jarvis
>> Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 12:01 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Age of Qualifying Guide Dogs
>>
>> Ooh! Research! Poodles are said to mature later, both physically and
>> mentally, and I did find that with mine. She really came into her own
>> between 3 and 4. Then again, I've heard of a few people getting really
>> young poodles that seem to work out well. Okay. Off to read. /smile/
>>
>> Tami
>>
>> On 02/19/2014 10:22 AM, "Leye-Shprintse Öberg" wrote:
>>> BS"D
>>>
>>> Raven,
>>>
>>> * "... I did some research and found a study on Seeing Eye dogs that
>> concluded that goldens and GSds are more successful as guide dogs if
>> they're formal guide training is longer than the standard 4 months.
>> This is because these dogs mature around age 2, not 1.5 or 1.75 years,
>> which is when many schools seem to be pushing dogs through. Here's the
> link to the abstract.
>> http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1558787806000256  ..."
>>>
>>> I think this is very interesting. I know that SRF:s
>>> Ledarhundsverksamhet
>> (Guide Dogs Sweden) took the decision that the dogs needed to be
>> between the age of 2 and 3 years when they did the qualifying test
>> some years ago. The dogs here generally get around seven months of
>> training by a guide dog trainer. Anyhow, they think this has led to
>> more stable partnerships; I've any statestics tough.
>>>
>>> Kind regards,
>>> Leye-Shprintse and Hera <3
>>>
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>>
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>
>
> --
> Raven
>
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recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity:
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