[nagdu] Excited behavior WAS Re: age of guide dog maturity

Daryl Marie crazymusician at shaw.ca
Wed Apr 1 19:19:50 UTC 2015


Hi, John,

So, do you mean that she CAN be trusted in your home?  Then why is she on-leash in your home?  This is where I am confused, unless I read the email wrong.  If she can be trusted, there is no need for her to be on-leash for long periods unless she is guiding, etc.

As for when people come to the door, you have two options:
1) Let her be a happy dog and calmly greet someone at the door. You decide what behavior is acceptable (standing, wagging tail, sitting, whatever).  Personally, I will allow happy circles or tail wags or sitting calmly wagging her tail, so long as Jenny listens to directions (for some reason, she understands the phrase "No Parties" means that she needs to chill out a bit).

OR
2) Work with Mollie on going to her bed or a crate or blanket when someone comes to the door.  This can be done a number of ways, but pointing to her bed/blanket/crate and tell her something like "Go to bed" has worked for me.  If she does, praise her.  Start by doing this when there is no one at the door, and work up from there.

Either option you choose, start with baby steps and work up to getting the behavior you want.

At the end of the day, you can't stop your dog from feeling emotions, such as excitement, but you can decide which behaviors are acceptable to you.

Daryl

----- Original Message ----- From: John Sanders <starmy22 at gmail.com> To: Daryl Marie <crazymusician at shaw.ca>, NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org> Sent: Wed, 01 Apr 2015 13:04:35 -0600 (MDT) Subject: Re: [nagdu] age of guide dog maturity  Hi, she has shown me that she can be trusted off leash. That's correct. She will also get excited when company is at the door. She will start doing circles. I'm trying to work with her on not doing that. how should I go about fixing this? I hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely, John an the always beautiful, always gorgeous but when company is at the door exciting Mollie! -----Original Message----- From: Daryl Marie via nagdu Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2015 2:45 PM To: nagdu at nfbnet.org Subject: Re: [nagdu] age of guide dog maturity John, The rule we set with Jenny was she was not allowed to jump, period. If we were playing and she jumped, should say "No jumping", even as she was still in the air, so she knew that behavior was NOT ok. I would turn my back and/or drop whatever toy we played with, and playtime was over for a while. I would always pick up the toy again later and try playing again, and she learned quickly that playtime continued if she didn't jump. I think I only had to do it twice. Has Molly shown that she is not trustworthy off-leash in your home? If I remember correctly, you've had her for three months or so, right? At this point, she should be familiar enough with you and your rules that she should be OK off-leash. My concern is that she might be acting out because you sound like you don't trust her to behave... Daryl ----- Original Message ----- From: Pam via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> To: John Sanders <starmy22 at gmail.com>, NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org> Sent: Wed, 01 Apr 2015 12:11:42 -0600 (MDT) Subject: Re: [nagdu] age of guide dog maturity hi john. do u always keep a leash on her when she's in the house with u too? i've always heard if u r playing with a dog and they start to jump on u just to turn away and stop playing with them straight away so she should learn if she starts to jump then no more play time. but maybe someone else will have better advice. Sent from my iPhone > On 1 Apr 2015, at 18:59, John Sanders via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote: > > Hi, > every time I try to play with her; she thinks that it's a good idea to jump on me. > I tell her"Mollie no!". > If I keep on letting her jump on me while she still a puppy, it will most likely carry on to older stage. > How should I go about making her stop the jumping? > I always keep the leash on her. > is that a good thing to do? > I hope to hear from you soon. > Sincerely, > John Sanders > > > >  > -----Original Message----- From: Danielle Sykora via nagdu > Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2015 1:16 PM > To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users > Subject: Re: [nagdu] age of guide dog maturity > > I completely agree with this. A tired dog is most definitely a happy, > well-behaved dog. My dog is extremely energetic so he needs to work  > and/or play a lot in order to be tired. If you know you are going > somewhere where Molly will likely be distracted or have to lay down > for longer periods of time, it might be helpful to give her some > playtime before you leave to take the edge off her energy. > > Danielle and Thai > >> On 4/1/15, Daryl Marie via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote: >> I absolutely second this! The more you work with Molly, the calmer she will >> be. I have found with an energetic dog like Jenny, she needs to either work >> every day or a really vigorous play session on days where she's not working. >> Even IF she is working every day, a really good play helps settle her >> down. >> >> IMHO, it is not uncommon for a group of guide dogs to feed off of each >> others' energy; if one of them (Molly?) gets excited and wants to meet and >> greet, it is much more likely that some of the others may want to as well. >> A friend of mine went to a seminar last weekend where there were seven guide >> dogs, and they were ALL distracted by each other. She said it was the >> weirdest thing she'd ever seen. >> >> So working on obedience with her, working her daily if possible, are great >> suggestions.  >> >> Also, if you remain calm and don't get frustrated with her, even if she's >> being a bit of a Distracto-Dog, it will go a long way to making these >> episoes more about learning whta is expected, rather than correcting a >> problem. >> >> Daryl >> >> ----- Original Message -----  From: Tracy Carcione via nagdu >> <nagdu at nfbnet.org> To: 'John Sanders' <starmy22 at gmail.com>, 'NAGDU Mailing >> List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users' <nagdu at nfbnet.org> Sent: >> Wed, 01 Apr 2015 09:48:26 -0600 (MDT) Subject: Re: [nagdu] age of guide dog >> maturity I agree with Sandy. Molly may just have been excited by seeing >> other guide dogs. And some other user making snarky comments is not helpful, >> unless you asked him for his opinion. It's good you're working on obedience. >> Also, a tired dog is a good dog. I find that young dogs benefit from working >> every day, if your health and the weather permit. Even working a few blocks >> is better than nothing; it doesn't have to be a 2 or 3 mile walk. In my >> experience, working every day helps a dog settle in every way. Good luck. >> Tracy -----Original Message----- From: nagdu >> [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of John Sanders via nagdu Sent:  >> Sunday, March 29, 2015 7:13 PM To: Raven Tolliver; NAGDU Mailing List, the >> National Association of Guide Dog Users Subject: Re: [nagdu] age of guide >> dog maturity Hi, I was at a blindness employment seminar this weekend. >> Mollie kept on wanting to get up and walk around. I gave her all kinds of >> leash corrections and voice commands. I told her "Mollie down!". She didn't >> listen to me. Today on the way home; one of the people who was there, who >> does have some sight said that they were observing my dog. And they had said >> to me that your dog is to young and she was released to soon and your dog >> isn't ready. I don't want to give up Mollie. I love her to death. She is a >> quiet dog and that's what I like. Mollie keeps on wanting to stand up and >> walk around. She won't sit still for very long. I was only at pilot for >> three weeks of training. Do I need to go back down to pilot for some >> additional training? I hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely, John Sanders >> -----Original Message----- From: Raven Tolliver via nagdu Sent: Sunday, >> March 29, 2015 4:44 PM To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of >> Guide Dog Users Subject: Re: [nagdu] age of guide dog maturity John, Large >> breed dogs, which includes retriever breeds, mature between 2 and 3 years of >> age. So while your dog is definitely not done growing, whether she is too >> young to be a guide is determined by you, the person who lives with her >> strengths, weaknesses, habits, and level of understanding 24-7. If you are >> having trouble with some behavior, let us know what it is, and we will offer >> whatever help we can. Many young dogs just require an extra mile of patience >> and persistence. -- Raven You are valuable because of your potential, not >> because of what you have or what you do. Naturally-reared guide dogs >> https://groups.google.com/d/forum/nrguidedogs On 3/29/15, Applebutter Hill  >> via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote: > John, > Hunter was 15 months when I  >> got him, and his trainer said he learned > everything the first time he was >> shown and he didn't think he needed > to stay in training. I had other dogs >> who were older, and one was 22 > months old, and his was the hardest >> adjustment, so you never know. I > think it depends on the dog. Are you >> having problems? > Donna > > -----Original Message----- > From: nagdu >> [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of John > Sanders via nagdu > >> Sent: Sunday, March 29, 2015 2:55 PM > To: nagdu at nfbnet.org > Subject: >> [nagdu] age of guide dog maturity > > Hi, > I have a question: my guide dog >> is only 15 months. > I thought that she was a year; but she isn't. > Is 15 >> months to young for a dog to be released as a guide dog? > I got my dog from >> Pilot. > I hope to hear from you soon. > Sincerely, > John Sanders > >> _______________________________________________ > nagdu mailing list > >> nagdu at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org > To >> unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for > nagdu: >>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/applebutterhill%40g > >> mail.c > om > > > > _______________________________________________ > nagdu  >> mailing list > nagdu at nfbnet.org > >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change  >> your list options or get your account info for > nagdu: > >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/ravend729%40gmail.c > om  >>> _______________________________________________ nagdu mailing list >> nagdu at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org To >> unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu: >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/starmy22%40gmail.com >> _______________________________________________ nagdu mailing list >> nagdu at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org To >> unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu: >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/carcione%40access.net >> _______________________________________________ nagdu mailing list >> nagdu at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org To >> unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu: >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/crazymusician%40shaw.ca  >> _______________________________________________ >> nagdu mailing list >> nagdu at nfbnet.org >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org >> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for >> nagdu: >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/dsykora29%40gmail.com > > _______________________________________________ > nagdu mailing list > nagdu at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/starmy22%40gmail.com > > _______________________________________________ > nagdu mailing list > nagdu at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/pamyoung80%40gmail.com _______________________________________________ nagdu mailing list nagdu at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/crazymusician%40shaw.ca _______________________________________________ nagdu mailing list nagdu at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/starmy22%40gmail.com


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