[nagdu] issue with guide dog eating snow that is fresh

[Tina Thomas]

Hello John- There's nothing wrong with how you handled your dog in that
situation. I have a good friend whose dog liked to eat snow, and one day she
was relieving her dog in a parking lot covered in snow and the dog ate some
and that snow happened to be laced with anti-freeze 	and she lost her dog
. It is not a good idea to allow your dog to pick up stuff off the ground. I
know that some of our list members are very passionate about positive
reinforcement, however that method might not work for everyone depending on
the handler, the situation and the dog. In my situation, I use both the
correction based method as well as positive reinforcement depending on the
situation and the behavior.  Just my thoughts. 
Tina and the girls             

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of John Sanders via
nagdu
Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2015 7:49 PM
To: Debby Phillips; NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide
Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] issue with guide dog eating snow that is fresh


Hi,
Mollie is onlya year old.
I'm trying to stick with what Pilot told me.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
John an the always beutifull, always Gorgeous sleeping Mollie

-----Original Message-----
From: Debby Phillips via nagdu
Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2015 10:33 PM
To: Raven Tolliver ; NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide
Dog Users ; leg1950 at cox.net ; nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [nagdu] issue with guide dog eating snow that is fresh

I think my first dog got tons of leash corrections.  Of course, she was
stubborn and kind of a brat, so lots of times she deserved them.  Although
Seeing Eye (thank God) is still old school for most things, each dog has its
own personality and it takes time to get to know your dog.  When not
working, it works better for Neena if I get her to come to me, and take what
she has out of her mouth.  But for some dogs, that doesn't work.  I stuck to
what my school taught, especially with my first dog.  If Pilot has taught
that their students should use leash corrections, and John is a new handler,
then I guess I'd say, until you really know your dog, stick with what the
school says.
At this point, they probably still know the dog better than John does.  In a
few months, that won't be the case.

One more thing I want to say here, and maybe this is just my own personal
gripe.  I feel like people who prefer "old school"
methods get looked down on on this list, and I think that should stop.  It's
fine to make suggestions, but sometimes people just sound so didactic and
stern that I feel like I've been leash corrected.  Lol.  I did think that
Nicole was a little harsh.
John was probably responding in the way that his school taught him to, so
who are any of us to say he was being harsh? I don't know Molly, but I do
know Goldens, especially female.  Sometimes you  have to nip bad behavior,
or undesirable behavior in the bud.  If he had Molly out to do her business,
that's what she should be doing.  If Neena and I are out in the snow and
she's supposed to be at parktime, then I'm not going to let her eat snow, or
roll around in the snow.  I want her to relieve.  She can and does get
off-leash freedom because we have a fenced yard, and then she can and does
roll in the snow, probably eats some, and has a great time.  But she knows
what the words park time mean.  And I'm sure by now Molly knows whatever
words Pilot uses
to indicate to the dog that it's time to relieve.    Peace,
Debby

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