[NAGDU] Hello

[Raven Tolliver]

A major problem with putting dogs into the field at an early age is
that the earlier you remove sex organs, the more detrimental it is to
a dog's physiological and mental development, putting them at higher
risk for certain growth-related diseases and disorders.

Also, I think schools who match dogs to first-time handlers don't take
the maturity of the handler into consideration in addition to the
maturity of the dog. More specifically, I don't think energetic,
bullheaded adolescent dogs should be given to inexperienced dog
handlers, especially since most US guide dog schools have the view
that clients are not trainers, and don't require dog training
education.

I don't think schools are handing out faulty guides. However, many
young dogs still have a lot of puppy in them, whether that is
expressed as high energy, mouthiness, unnecessary/inappropriate
retrieving, consistent highly distracted behavior, issues focusing,
inconsistent obedience, reactivity, and a host of other things. It has
been proven that breeds outside of the labrador, like the golden and
German shepherd, have more stable temperaments and are more successful
when issued at a later age. And guide dog schools in many other
countries don't issue their dogs so early as many schools do in North
America for a multitude of good reasons. There's exceptions to every
rule, but I don't think it is the norm to do what many schools do
here.

I'm not intending to step on anyone's toes at all, but it just keeps
getting scarier and scarier when assistance dog programs continue to
shorten the time dogs spend in training, and people are ending up with
9-10 month old assistance dogs. And yes, that has and does happen.
-- 
Raven
Founder of 1AM Editing & Research
www.1am-editing.com

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 12/15/15, S L Johnson via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hello:
>
> Eva was 14 months old the day I got her.  Assuming she had the usual Pilot
> Dogs 4 months of training, she left her puppy raiser at 10 months old.  Her
>
> behavior in the house was perfect from the day I was handed her leash.  I do
>
> not agree with using a crate so, Eva was loose in the room from our first
> day.  When we returned home 10 days later she had complete freedom in the
> house and her behavior has been perfect.  I think it depends on how the dog
>
> was raised, trained and the maturity of the dog.  Although Eva was so young,
>
> I have not had any work related problems.  That is much more than I can say
>
> for some much older dogs I have received over the past 40 years.
>
> Sandra and Eva, who still isn't 3 years old
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lisa Belville via NAGDU
> Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2015 4:45 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Cc: Lisa Belville
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Hello
>
> Hi, Lisa, as others have said, it depends on the schools.  Some only train
> for four months but the schools I know who do this keep their dogs with the
> puppy raisers for a year and a half and they crunch the four months of
> training into more training opportunities throughout the day.
>
> I'm on my third dog and I definitely want a dog who has had more time to
> mature without the stresses of kennel life or formal training, not that
> extensive formal training isn't important, but a dog who can be rid of most
> of his puppy tendencies before I get him is going to have a better chance
> with me because  I can concentrate on work issues specific to my
> environment.
>
> My first dog was 18 months old when I got him, and he was an awesome
> worker,
> but full of energy and really too fast and hard of a puller for me.  I
> honestly don't think more time with his raisers would have made much
> difference in that case, he was just very rambunxious and too smart for his
> own good.    My second dog was turned into the school early because they
> were running low on dogs.  She spent barely ten months with her puppy
> raisers, and I got her days before she turned a year and a half.  She'd
> gone
> through training, but had a ton of kennel time in there.  she was probably
> the worst behaved as far as in house manners, and I spent most of the first
> year adjusting to her horrible house manners and some training issues.  she
> turned out to be a good dog, but not without a huge amount of time and
> effort on the part of myself and the school.
>
> My current dog turned two just before we were matched.  She was with her
> raiser for a year and a half.  She is by far the calmest and most behaved
> of
> my dogs, even as a green dog.  All of the dogs in the class where I got
> Paige were over two as well.
>
> I'm not saying that letting dogs stay with their raisers for longer than a
> year is a 100% guarantee for a successful match, but it does help.  also,
> since I've worked with dogs before, I know what I want and don't want and
> what I absolutely will not tolerate in a dog, so that helps, too.
>
>
>
> Lisa
>
> Lisa Belville
> missktlab1217 at frontier.com
> Veni, Vedi, Visa. I came. I Saw. I did a little shopping.