[nagdu] age of guide dog maturity

[Lisa]

Hi John,

Mollie's behaviour doesn't necessarily have anything to do with her age.
My dog was almost three when I got him and after training, he started doing 
the same things as Molly does. It was so difficult to go to public places 
with him. I asked on here back then and got some great advice. It's more 
about training than about age I think. By now, Taylor is so much more 
relaxed in public places than a few months ago.
Maybe you could just contact Pilot and tell them about your situation. Maybe 
they can give you info about how you could work with Mollie to fix these 
issues. Or maybe they advise you to come back to training, which would be 
just as good probably.

Anyway, stay strong. It's never easy with a first guide dog. :) Believe me, 
I know what I'm talking about.

Lisa
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Sanders via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
To: "Raven Tolliver" <ravend729 at gmail.com>; "NAGDU Mailing List,the National 
Association of Guide Dog Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, March 30, 2015 1:13 AM
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
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>>
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>
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