[NAGDU] Guide Dogs and Office Jobs

[Charlene Ota]

Hi, Julie,  coule of things might be helpful. Have you thought about walking
in your local shopping mall when it's too cold to be outside?  Also, maybe
you could find a volunteer who likes to walk ro run who would like to take
your dog with them and get him out for exercise and activity. I've never
done this with my dogs, but I know a lot of people do use this as a way for
the dogs to get out for a while. I think you want to give your volunteer
some guidelines, others on the list might have some usggestions about that.

Charlene

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Julie McGinnity via
NAGDU
Sent: Monday, January 13, 2020 9:31 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Julie McGinnity <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
Subject: [NAGDU] Guide Dogs and Office Jobs

Hi all,

I hope everyone had a happy New Year and is staying warm.

I wonder if anyone else has dealt with the combination of a highly energetic
dog, an office job, and a routine that doesn't allow for as much travel as
you would like.  Well, that's my situation.  I work 8-5 here, and I mostly
stay in my office.  Bill does well in my office.
He has his own bed, and I've brought a bone and a toy for him to chew on.
He listens pretty well at work and doesn't display very many undesirable
behaviors, other than attempting to get my attention when someone calls or
comes in my office.

At home though, I'm slightly ashamed to admit he can be quite a pill.
He tends to grab things that don't belong to him and run with them under the
coffee table.  He has even been testy about food by sniffing at my roommate
when she is at the table.

I do not give him people food.  I have recently puppy-proofed the house, and
that has helped some.  When I first got him, he displayed some of these
behaviors, and the school recommended I find toys he could have, that i
could give him when he grabbed something I didn't want him to take.  The
idea was that if he took a paper towel, for example, I would take that out
of his mouth and exchange it for a bone.  I wouldn't say anything, just do
the exchange and walk away.

The difficulty with this dog is that he feeds off of attention.
Negative, positive, it doesn't matter.  He soaks it up and treats it all as
positive, unless he really knows he's done something wrong, and that is very
rare.

My instinct tells me that he is restless and bored.  He doesn't get enough
work, and although he has structure, he doesn't have enough to focus on.  I
am doing what I can to change this.  It's winter, so I'm not really wanting
to walk outside as much as I would in the spring.
I'm working on a lot outside of work, but unfortunately that stuff requires
me to sit still.  We should get some more freedom next month to get out
more.  But until then, I wonder if you have any ideas or have experienced
anything like this.  At home I allow him to follow me around, and that seems
to help.  I know tie-down may solve some of these problems, but I don't
think tying him down would get at the root of the problem.

His work has improved since last I wrote.  I'm honestly not sure what
happened last summer, but he definitely seems eager to guide, and his
confidence is right back where it's supposed to be.  This dog has always
been a little tough to entertain, and though I understand this, I don't want
it to be an excuse for his misbehaving.


--
Julie A. McGinnity
MM Vocal Performance, 2015; President, National Federation of the Blind
Performing Arts Division

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