[NAGDU] The first time you met your dog.

Mon Apr 16 03:28:44 UTC 2018

I hear you on the dual trainer part of having a dog. Mine ended up the same way. Our problems weren’t related to work, but private time off harness. He didn’t mind me working him, but private time was a different story. Every chance he got to beg for mama, he did it..

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

From: Rachel Grider
Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2018 11:09 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Andy B.
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] The first time you met your dog.

It has been fun to read all these stories.  I am on my first dog, and
I got her on June 1, 2016 at The Seeing Eye.  I was super on the fence
about getting a dog, but I was still excited about the new adventure
of the training.

The night before "Dog Day," I had a ton of mixed emotions.  My biggest
concern, for some reason, was my dog's name; I didn't want my dog to
have an awful name.  I stayed up late making lists of names I would
love my dog to have and names I would totally hate.  I really wanted a
dog named Brunnhilde (that’s pronounced Brunhilda).

As The next day, as I sat in my room waiting for my instructor, Brian,
to introduce me to my new dog, I felt super nervous; after all,
assuming I decided to actually go through with this whole guide dog
thing, this creature would be virtually attached to me almost
everywhere I would go for the next several years.  When Brian knocked
on my door and told me to meet him in the common lounge, his footsteps
were accompanied by the tapping of dog nails on the floor, and I could
hear intense hyperventilating—I thought, "I really hope that's not my
dog."—it definitely was.

Brian introduced me to Demi, spelled her name, and described her to
me.  The first thing she did after licking me a million times was roll
onto her back for me to give her a belly rub.  She was exactly the
type of dog I had wanted—a small, female black lab—and I liked her
name.  She was a sweet puppy with a constantly wagging tail and
licking tongue.  I liked her, but I also couldn't help wondering how I
could trust this wiggly, excitable pup to essentially be my eyes.  The
question in my mind grew when Brian left us in my room, and Demi
abruptly changed from happy, wiggling pup to sad, whining pup; Brian
was her trainer, and the twenty or so minutes we spent together after
he left were quite uncomfortable.  How could this creature be my guide
dog?

My feelings toward her changed the first time we worked together in
harness a bit later.  I couldn't believe how easy and graceful we were
together—like flying.  I quickly grew to respect Demi; she was totally
brilliant and focused in harness.  There was only one, fairly large
problem: Demi still loved Brian more than she loved me.  Every day,
when we went out, Demi would constantly be looking back at Brian.  She
would obey my commands without much enthusiasm, and sometimes, she
would even turn around in harness to reassure herself that Brian was
there.  Corrections were super hard for me to get used to, so she
often got away with this.  When Brian wasn't with us, things were
better, but I still felt that she was keeping me at a distance with
her affections—like she wouldn't have hen too sad if it was decided
that she and I weren't a great fit for each other after all.
Truthfully, I had grown to love and respect Demi, but I don't know if
I would have been sad if she were switched with another dog during
those first few days.

The turning point came on June 8, one week after getting Demi.  I had
had an especially bad day; we had had a solo trip, and Demi had turned
around at almost every street corner to look for Brian who was
shadowing us at a distance.  After the trip, I literally went to my
room and cried because I couldn't understand why my dog didn't seem to
like me when everyone else seemed to be bonding just fine with
their's.  What was wrong with me?

That night, as I prepared to groom Demi, instead of standing in her
normal grooming position, she climbed onto my lap and laid down.  She
looked up at me, and at that moment she seemed to claim me as her own;
I knew that she was mine, and I was her's, and we were going to be a
team no matter what.  After that moment, Demi no longer held back
affection from me, and she was a model guide dog in harness; Brian was
no longer a distraction—in fact, she hardly seemed to look at him
anymore.

Demi is the perfect guide dog for me.  She has a nice, brisk pace, is
super comfortable with travel and loud noises, and loves to play when
not in harness.  She has a passion for life and is always joyful.  We
make a great team!
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On 4/15/18, Andy B. via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> When I met Alec, my first dog, it was a nerve racking experience. Trainers
> had given a lecture on Tuesday night and a reminder of what would happen
> when we met our dogs for the first time. On Wed morning after 7:30AM
> lecture, everyone returned to their rooms for their new arrivals. After
> getting to my room, I checked email and attempted to keep myself busy for
> the 45 minute wait. 15 or so minutes in, the suspense was overwhelming, so I
> ended up sitting on the bed and waiting instead. When my trainer came to my
> room with Alec, my heart fell to the floor. I had no clue how to introduce
> myself or get to know him. My trainer gave me his name, spelled it out, and
> told me that she trained him. Then, she promptly left after I hooked him up
> to my leash.
> In our room, I attempted everything to get his attention. After his initial
> slurps on the face and excitement of a new friend to play with, he promptly
> sat by the door and whined for his mama. In some instances, it is cool
> having his trainer as your trainer. However, it can cause some problems that
> I never knew about until later in training. The initial bonding process
> proved difficult in most cases. Later on in the afternoon, we went out for
> our first run out on the street. After picking up his harness, I just stood
> there dumbfounded because I lost everything – confidence, logical thought,
> the ability to say forward, and filled up with tears. I was there, holding
> my own dog’s harness, expected to go down the street, and couldn’t move.
> After a pep talk and a hug from my trainer, we were ready to burn rubber. At
> the end of the block, she asked me if I wanted to quit – my answer…. Nope!
> From there, it was normal bonding, and I believe that the first run was an
> icebreaker for the both of us.
>
>
> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
>
> From: Tara Briggs via NAGDU
> Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2018 11:43 AM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Cc: Tara Briggs
> Subject: [NAGDU] The first time you met your dog.
>
> hi all! I’m hoping that some of you will share stories with me about the
> first time you met your dog. What were you thinking and feeling before you
> met your dog? How did the meeting go? I remember when I met my second, and
> recently retired dog Emmy. Emmy was over the moon! She jumped on me and
> happily licked my face. It seemed like she knew that I would be her forever
> person. For those of you who have owner trained, I would love to hear your
> stories as well and how you made the selection  of the dog you would train.
> Tara
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
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