[nagdu] returning of guide dog

Raven Tolliver ravend729 at gmail.com
Fri May 22 23:54:00 UTC 2015


John,
Sending prayers of comfort and hope your way.
Yes, Molly was young, but honestly, the first several months of a
partnership are typically frustrating for multiple reasons with any
dog.
I attended a school that only gives out dogs around their 2nd
birthday, and all of us still had hardships. A few people had to give
their dogs back.
However, I decided on the school I did because a friend advised me
that a younger dog would not be good for me because I was a first time
dog handler. We're talking I never had a pet dog in my life. And I
wasn't attached to any friends or family members dogs growing up.
Having experience now with nearly 100-150 dogs, I'd be able to take on
the challenge of a hardheaded adolescent, but I know the woman I was
when I first got my dog would not be able to work with a dog like
that.

But there could be one of several reasons why it just didn't work out:
1. It's possible Molly was not the right match. We fall in love with
these animals and want with all our hearts to make things work, but
sometimes, man and animal clash and it's just best to part ways. It
could be difference in personality, comfort level with environment, or
even work load.
2. Molly's age could have been a factor. Like some people, some dogs
can be very responsible at a very young age, and others need to have a
true childhood and get the stubbornness and silliness out of their
systems before they can grow up and work hard.
3. It's also possible that a dog is not right for you at this time. It
is very hard to communicate with another being, especially one that
thinks differently and communicates differently from us. We can't just
want them to work for us, we also have to want to understand them,
understand why they do what they do, and find a solution based on that
information. Trying to work all this out can be stressful when certain
other things are happening in our lives, such as if we are starting
schools, moving cities, or going through familial problems. It can be
stressful in general when schools don't educate us on dog psychology
and motives for certain dog behaviors.

Regardless, I think you made a very responsible decision. It was hard,
and I know it hurts, but you are saving both you and Molly so much
stress and heartbreak by doing it now when you realized it just wasn't
right, rather than waiting and letting things get more intense,
difficult, and frustrating.
-- 
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 5/22/15, S L Johnson via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi John:
>
> I am sorry to hear this.  You only had her home for a few months.  I am
> sorry you gave up so soon.  Maybe this is just not the right time for you to
>
> take on working with a guide dog.  In all your posts, you mention Molly's
> age.  I have to say, age isn't the issue.  There are lots of very young dogs
>
> who graduate and work out great.  I know, I graduated from Pilot when Eva
> was fourteen months old and our adjustment was fantastic.  Eva's behavior is
>
> excellent and her work is great.  If you do decide to get another dog, you
> should be firm that you want an older dog.  However, remember that will not
>
> guaranty everything will be easy and smooth.  Age isn't the issue, it is
> good obedience and control as you and the dog work together.  Good luck.
>
> Sandra and Eva
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Sanders via nagdu
> Sent: Friday, May 22, 2015 6:50 PM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Cc: John Sanders
> Subject: [nagdu] returning of guide dog
>
> Hi all,
> Iā?Tm writing this email to you with a depressed and sad heart.
> On Thursday, I was down at Pilot Dogs for brush up training.
> Mollie had a really hard time with the busses in my local area.
> She did fine when I was down there with her.
> During that week; I had a conversation with one of the staff members.
> I had to think long and hard about this before I made a final decision.
> That Thursday; I decided to give her back to  the school because whenever I
>
> was working with her alone; she would sometimes lead me around and not give
>
> me a chance.
> I had other obligations that I needed to get to that week.
> That was another thing that was leading me to make that decision.
> I had to ask myself whether or not I wanted to keep Mollie because of her
> age.
> I would be lying to my self if I would have kept her.
> I had to give her back.
> It was the only thing that I could do.
> Now there is an empty void.
> I just got home today.
> 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/sljohnson25%40comcast.net
>
>
>
>
>




More information about the NAGDU mailing list