[nagdu] Question about fenced in yards

Wed Mar 12 16:40:26 UTC 2014

Hi Danielle,

Congratulations!  When will you be going to guiding Eyes?  I will be
heading there in June.  This is a great question to ask the trainers.
I agree that keeping the dog on a long leash is best.  Personally, I
don't like the retractable ones because they can get rapped around
you, and they hurt!  But you will get a long leash from the school
when you go, and those are pretty good.  Some dogs are runners, and
others aren't.  My retired guide was when she was younger, and I still
don't trust her outside without a leash, though we did work on it
quite a bit as she got older.  Other dogs won't want to run from you
or will have very good recall.  You'll just have to feel out your dog
and figure out your own comfort level with letting your dog run free
without a fence.

On 3/12/14, Julie J. <julielj at neb.rr.com> wrote:
> I would absolutely keep your new dog on a long leash or flexi until you are
>
> 110% sure he/she has a rock solid recall, and then use caution.  My
> understanding is that most of the guide dog programs advise strongly to not
>
> let your guide off leash ever.  I'm not sure what training the dogs get in
> off leash recall and obedience.
>
> Some dogs can be off leash in a manner you are describing and some just
> can't.  I currently have one of each.  My current working guide has an
> amazing recall.  I live in a very small town and do have a portion of my
> yard fenced.  However the garden and most of the yard is not fenced.  He
> comes out with me to those areas frequently.  the area of the yard big
> enough for games of Frisbee isn't fenced.  My husband is a farmer and I take
>
> Monty out to the farm fields when the weather is nice.  I trained him to
> come to a whistle because sometimes there are motors running or the wind is
>
> blowing like mad and the whistle works better than me yelling for him to
> come back.  I put bells on his collar so I can keep track of him also.  He
> never, never gets to run off leash in an unfenced area without a person to
> supervise.  The only kind of bad thing he'll do is to jump into the farm
> pond.  It makes for a mega muddy mess, so I don't like him to do it.  There
>
> are cows  in the pasture adjacent.  He has only given them a glance.  the
> cows will occasionally snort or stomp a foot, but they don't seem overly
> agitated.
>
> Now contrast that with my older retired guide, Belle.  she used to bolt out
>
> the front door at every opportunity.  We sorted out that issue with
> intensive training, but I still don't trust her when we are bringing in
> groceries or the like.  She is absolutely not trustworthy off leash.  She
> only gets to run off leash in fenced areas.
>
> HTH
> Julie
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Danielle Burton
> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 9:19 AM
> To: the National Association of Guide Dog Users NAGDU Mailing List
> Subject: [nagdu] Question about fenced in yards
>
>
>
> Hi, everyone. I have just found out that Guiding Eyes may have found a good
>
> match for me. I am eriting on the final word from the instructor. I do have
>
> a question though. When I'm not at school I live at home with my parents. We
>
> live on a farm with a garden and pasture for cattle. We live right by the
> road with no sidewalks. Also, we do not have a fenced in yard. Should I keep
>
> my dog on a long leash while outside? We have 2 Austrailian Shepherds
> outside as well. I would like for my dog to have some time to be a dog with
>
> other dogs we have but I am worried about not having a fenced in area. Any
> advice would be appreciated.  Sent from my iPhone
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-- 
Julie McG
National Association of Guide dog Users board member,  National
Federation of the Blind performing arts division secretary,
Missouri Association of Guide dog Users President,
and Guiding Eyes for the Blind graduate 2008
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
life."
John 3:16