[nagdu] retired guide dogs

Tracy Carcione carcione at access.net
Wed Sep 2 13:11:17 UTC 2015


Hi Liz.
So glad Gabe is doing well.
I have kept 3 retired dogs so far.  My situation is different from yours,
since I'm married, and my husband and I both work from home part of the
week.  We can arrange our schedules so that one of us is home with the old
dog every day, except for rare occasions.  Dave Loux once pointed out that
Seeing Eye dogs are used to human company, and not being left alone all day,
like many pets, so we've tried to maintain that arrangement, though Ben
would probably be quite happy to have a dog walker come in and take him for
a walk at lunch and be alone the rest of the time.
Introducing the new dog was not a problem.  I believe I introduced the dogs
outside, with my husband holding one and me the other.  My husband came
outside first, so I could go inside and say Hi to the old dog, that I came
back out and he went in and brought the old guy out.  Then, after a few
minutes, we all went back in, and I gave the new dog the grand tour of the
house.
My last 2 old dogs were not really interested in the new dog.  They were
both attacked a couple times, and were shy of strange dogs.  So they kept
their distance.  Ben never was a big player, so he didn't really bother
Echo.  Krokus sometimes tries to play with Ben, and sometimes Ben will play
a bit, but mostly they ignore each other.  Since you will be with the new
dog all the time for at least the first few weeks, you can supervise, too.
My dogs worked out who was dominant without any fuss, and coexist fine.
I didn't do anything special when I went out with the new dog.  I think my
husband brought Ben along with us down to the bus the first day, then took
him for a walk.  Ben wanted to get on the bus, though, so he stopped doing
that, and now he just takes Ben for a walk sometime during the day.  Ben
loves that--a nice long walk where he can sniff anything he wants.
HTH.
Tracy



-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Elizabeth
Campbell via nagdu
Sent: Wednesday, September 02, 2015 8:52 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Cc: Elizabeth Campbell
Subject: [nagdu] retired guide dogs

Hi all,

 

I would like to start another discussion topic regarding having a retired
guide at home.

 

Many of you know that Gabe had a stroke almost a month ago, and I'm happy to
tell you that he got a fantastic report from my veterinarian yesterday. He
regained most of his strength in his legs, and he isn't having any trouble
walking. He still doesn't have vision in his right eye, but that is not
stopping him at all.

 

I do have someone checking on him during the day, and I also am exploring
options for Gabe to be a therapy dog. So, things are going well.

 

I'm also moving ahead with plans to attend the Seeing Eye in January, and
this is where I have some questions.

 

I would like some tips from those who kept your retired guides on
introducing Gabe and the new dog and on how you dealt with leaving the house
with the new dog. Did you put your retired dog in another room or in a
crate?

I would really like to keep Gabe as a pet, and I'm hoping things will work
out once I bring my new dog home.

 

Any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Liz Campbell

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