[nagdu] Important lesson learned. Dogs cannot be trusted.

S L Johnson sljohnson25 at comcast.net
Mon Mar 2 23:45:05 UTC 2015


Hi Becky and All:

In my almost 40 years with guide dogs, I've experienced it all, good and
bad.  I've had some who were well behaved around food and in the house.
I've also had a few who were horrible.  I think a lot goes back to their
puppy raisers.  I can always tell the things my dog got away with while they
were in their puppy home.  The trainers do their best to train them but, you
really never know what will happen until you bring that new dog home.  My
worst experience was with a dog  that had very poor relief habits.  She
seemed to think my living room carpet was her spot.  I should not have had
to deal with this kind of behavior.  That same dog also jumped on tables and
counters.  I've also experienced the well behaved right from the beginning.
My last 4 dogs, Taffy, Cinnamon, Tara ad Eva have all been totally free in
the house from their first day home.  None of them had any housebreaking
issues.  I can leave food out and serve food to guests without worrying.
However, regardless of the dog's behavior, I do not take chances when I'm
leaving them alone.  Even when I'm home with them, I always put things away
and clear off the table and counters.  Becky does have a very good point
about practicing food refusal with your dogs.  This can really make a big
difference in their behavior around food.  For some new people who might not
know, some examples of practicing food refusal are as follows.  When I feed
my dog, I put her dish down and she'll wait for me to say she can eat.  When
I offer her a treat, I'll hold it in my hand and she'll wait for me to tell
her to take it.  It also teaches them not to just take food from any hand
that holds something out to them.  You can practice by sitting with some
food on a plate on your lap or low table and teach your dog to lye by your
feet and ignore the food.  With a bit of work and good obedience, your dog
can become a well behaved good dog around food and avoid the trips to the
vet.  Good luck.            

Sandra and Eva
-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Becky
Frankeberger via nagdu
Sent: Monday, March 02, 2015 4:45 PM
To: 'Abigail Bolling'; 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of
Guide Dog Users'
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Important lesson learned. Dogs cannot be trusted.

You are forgetting Julie,Tracy,  this is her first dog, and at the time my
first dog. Since then I have done food refusal. You can put food on the
floor in front of my dogs, leave the room for a good while and they won't
touch the food until released. So now do I worry about cookies, or beef on
the counter, not with Jake I don't. The Tomato head is a whole other story,
lol, but not my dog. 

Jake was laying in French fries and he never touched them at red Robin,my
grandson showered him with crackers and pizza  from his height chair and he
never touched anything,  For some real life examples.

Just a for your information.

Becky and Jake
 This though takes time for a person to learn and teach the dog. So proofing
the house as a young handler makes tons of sense.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Abigail Bolling
via nagdu
Sent: Sunday, March 01, 2015 5:40 PM
To: the National Association of Guide Dog Users NAGDU Mailing List
Subject: [nagdu] Important lesson learned. Dogs cannot be trusted.

My girl has an interesting way of displaying her separation anxiety!
Mainly, getting into things that she's not supposed to and making me make
her throw up. Yes guys, I am talking a lot of food.
She decided on Friday, when I left her at home with my roommate, to jump on
my dining room table and eat a lot of big busy bones, which I give her for
treats.as if that wasn't enough, she decided to eat a chocolate brownie
cliff bar, that my boyfriend had left also sitting on the
table.unfortunately, the simple protein bar contained a lot of cocoa
powder.as if that wasn't enough, she decided to finish off half a bag of
Dove milk chocolate!
Moral to the story? My girl cannot be trusted in the apartment!we had been
working on the table being a no zone. And that she was not even to try to
look up at the top. Obviously, that did not work.

I had to take her to the 24 hour vet hospital, and spend upwards of $200 so
they could make her throw up. I didn't have any hydrogen peroxide in the
apartment, and the baking soda water idea did not work. My dog has a stomach
made of steel.of course she had to do this the night before the trainer was
supposed to visit us for her barking issue. The trainer suggested to me that
even though I had been working with her for three years, there are some
things that I should never do with any dog in the future. Mainly, leave them
unattended for a period of time in the apartment.i'm sharing this, because I
feel like it was a good lesson for me and I wanted to pass it on. No matter
how long you have worked with dogs, or have worked with your particular dog
right now, they are unpredictable little boogers, and like to get into
trouble. I swear, my dog is more toddler then she is dog.seriously, she acts
like a two-year-old! :-) Hopefully your pups never get into chocolate and
you guys don't have to pay to learn this lesson that I had to learn. :-) I
wish you all the best, and I hope your puppies are loving to eat their dog
food in not trying to get into things they shouldn't! :-)


Abigail Bolling
"Keep a smile on your face and a song in your heart, and just let the music
play." (Julie Anderson Diamond)
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