[NAGDU] Guide dogs aroundthe world, current developments

[Bianka Brankovic]

Hi gabriel and all,

as for the free runs, my current dog has a very good recall when she is off leash and of course you wouldn’t want to let your dog run free near a street. My view on food rewards has drastically changed throughout the years. At first, I did not like them at all, now I use them on a regular basis. As for socializing, of course this is only encouraged during free runs. On leash contact may be allowed if your dog feels comfortable with it. When working, it is strongly discouraged, there might be some allowance if the other dog is sniffing your dog annyways. My current guide could care less for other dogs, she has my husband’s dog to play with and that’s mainly enough for her. My husband’s dog likes other dogs in general. 

As for the dog distraction issue, I personally believe dogs who have well socialized dogs to play with on a regular basis are better around other dogs. I have had two dogs with severe dog distractions, with one of them I could continue working for a while, the other had to be retired. 

Hope that clarifies it a bit. 

Kind regards,

Bianka