[nagdu] relieving at airports was Denver airport

Thu May 29 02:19:02 UTC 2014

Hi Kristen and all,

Go in a regular bathroom?  It does sounds as if someone in Denver needs some
educating.

It is not the responsibility of anyone else to take your dog outside to
relieve.  One possible option would be to take you outside inside the
security area, but there may or may not be people to do this, and the kind
of area on which your dog is use to relieving may not be available.

I think it is appropriate to make one additional observation.  In my
experience most guide dog schools discuss preparing to take a dog on a trip.
We discuss with instructors how to cut down on water before traveling.  We
are also told that it might be wise to not give our dogs a meal before
traveling if the dog is prone to needing to relieve.  All this is to say
that with proper preparation a healthy dog should be able to go six to eight
hours without relieving.

We can make life more stressful by assuming that our dogs need to go out at
every stop.  By doing this the dogs come to expect the trip out and we get
upset when we can't take our dogs outside to relieve.  I have taken several
guide dogs on long trips without any need to relieve, but I worked to train
the dogs to expect this and I helped by insuring that their bladders and
other parts were as empty as possible before leaving home or by taking
advantage of a relieving area at the airport before going through Security.

As one instructor put it to me once, "keep in mind that your dogs sleep
through the night and so they can go long periods of time without relieving
if you set the stage".  Let me be clear.  Some dogs may have health issues
and do need to relieve more often.  However, the average dog can go for
fairly long to very long times without the need to relieve.  I have taken
dogs to New Zealand, Korea, Japan and the Netherlands without any stop to
relieve. I travel across the United States several times a month and never
look for a relief area during a lay-over except to know where they are if
available in case of a future emergency.

You must do your part and you must instill confidence in the dog and
yourself, but it can be done.  I hope my thoughts help. 

Best,

Michael Hingson

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kristen via nagdu
Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2014 02:12 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Denver airport

I did have an issue with that airport about a month ago. We had a layover
there, and they told us that we wouldn't be able to get past security after
taking Corvette outside (they had no inside
area) and have time to make our flight. They also didn't offer to take him
out for me and said that he should hold it or be able to go in a regular
bathroom. (He did end up holding it for about 6 hours that day.) Maybe
you'll have better luck!
--
Kristen

----- Original Message -----
From: sheila via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org Date sent: Wed, 28 May 2014 14:34:36 -0600
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Denver airport

okay that is good. I won't borrow trouble. I've never had trouble in other
airports so I'll assume that I won't and just handle things if they come up.
On 5/28/2014 2:06 PM, Sherry Gomes via nagdu wrote:
 I just flew in and out of Denver when I went to and returned from GDB. I
was  never put in any separate sort of room. I had some trouble with ground
assistance on the return but that was only with one person.

 -----Original Message-----
 From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of sheila via nagdu
 Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2014 1:45 PM
 To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
 Subject: [nagdu] denver airport

                   denver airport        has anyone had any 
trouble when
 flying out of the denver airport as far as being put is a separate room
instead of near or at the departing gate?

--

sheila leigland

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