[NAGDU] Guide Dog Worries 2. Was, "If you Had a Magic Wand..."

[Wayne & Harley]

*Hello Jen,
If you do decide to get a guide dog from a programme, you'll be 
"programmed" with the dog's feeding and relief schedule before you leave 
class.
     I'll let you in on a little secret, depending on the dog, you may 
not have to be so strict about feeding and relieving schedules.
With Leader Dog Sequoia, I was like any first time parent and rigidly 
held to the feeding and park schedule that I'd been inculcated with 
while on class. Six months into the partnership, I had figured out the 
world would not end if I varied the schedule a bit, in fact it turned 
out to be beneficial for both of us. When I introduced random feed time 
changes ( not more than a half an hour either side of the normal feed 
time) it helped reduce the drool factory that would begin operating ten 
minutes ahead of feed time. I also learned to take the dog out when he 
"told" me he needed to do so. Now with Harley D, my fourth Guide, the 
only real set in stone time is morning park/feed time during the work 
week. Harley has learned that on weekends, he'll get park'd at his usual 
time, but he'll have to wait to eat until it's not an ugly cow-milking 
hour to have his breakfast. After his initial park time, the park times 
are chosen by Harley.
HTH

Wayne And Harley D
*
On 6/24/2017 4:07 PM, Jen via NAGDU wrote:
> Hi Heather, Miranda, Raul and Wayne,
>
> Thank you so much for the helpful suggestions, reassurance and stories.
>
> I am single, have no children. I don't have a hectic lifestyle, yet. I do
> set an alarm to wake up when I have to get up early. I don't have a smart
> phone but could make it a rule wake-up time is "let the dog out" time. I
> have not undergone guide dog training or gone to a school; I am not
> interested in getting a guide dog now. But I thought I'd put my concerns out
> there. Thank you for responding without judgment. I would probably have to
> write my dog's relieving schedule down, maybe in braille, and read it every
> day for a while. Heather, you're right if I did repeatedly forgot to let my
> dog out, he/she would learn bad habits, and that's the last thing I would
> want!
>
> Miranda, I don't get queasy easily, but I have stepped in dog poop before,
> and it's gross. The one smell (so far) that makes me nauseated is vomit.
>
> Jen
>
> spiderweb1 at sbcglobal.net
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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/k9dad%40k9di.org




---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus