[NAGDU] poodles etc

[Danielle Sykora]

I've also paid some attention to Poodles as guides, simply because I
find dog training and breed characteristics very interesting. Poodles
tend to be much more high strung than your average retriever. They
tend to be excitable and more prone to stress about things. They are
more stressed in the kennel environment (though the same could be said
for Goldens and GSDs) and are generally less food motivated. Overall,
they simply don't do as well in the guide dog program training model.
I've heard a couple trainers describe it as Poodles either do very
well or very poorly in training, rarely just OK. Whereas retrievers
tend to have a range from poor to average to excellent. An average dog
at the end of the day is going to be a perfectly adequate guide for
most people.
Please don't take this as being negative toward poodles. Most Poodle
guides, like most retrievers and other breeds, are excellent. I simply
mean to explain why poodles are not and probably never will be the
breed that makes up the majority of guides.
In addition to this, service dog programs have been breeding Labs,
Goldens, GSDs, and first generation Lab/Golden crosses for decades.
Not only do these breeds generally have the traits that make them most
successful at guides, but service dog programs have put in a lot of
effort to breed lines that emphasize the traits that make them good
service dog. Programs even share breeding dogs sometimes for genetic
diversity. Many programs have tried Poodles for a brief period and
haven't found them successful enough or just started training poodles
recently. GSDs have alos started falling out of favor with programs
who did not find them successful and don't think it is worth their
time to continue breeding them. There hasn't been nearly as much
effort to breed a solid working poodle that has the traits suitable to
be a guide. This is why I generally recommend GDD and GDF for poodles,
because they have been breeding poodles for 15 years or so totry to
more consistently select for desirable guide dog traits.

Also, there is simply no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog. Some
breeds and individuals within breeds produce less allergen causing
compounds, which is why it is easier for people with allergies to live
with these dogs. However, some people may still have some symptoms.
The prevalence of dog allergies triggered just by being in the same
room as a dog temporarily with no interaction (E.G. the general
public's interaction with service dogs) isn't high enough for programs
to use resources to breed dogs that don't have a high success rate.
They mostly provide Poodles to people who have or live with those who
have severe dog allergies, because these are the people who would
benefit from a Poodle the most.

Danielle




On 4/7/22, Tracy Carcione via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I've paid some attention to poodles as guides because I grew up with
> poodles
> and love them.
> From talking to trainers and students, it seems to be hard to find a poodle
> who can focus on the work.  Or something like that.  Some certainly can,
> but
> others are too smart and busy and excitable.  So they have to try quite a
> few to find a couple that have the right stuff.
> I guess it's similar to why some places have stopped using shepherds much.
> The retrievers tend to make it through more consistently.
> Tracy
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Richard via
> NAGDU
> Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2022 11:34 AM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Cc: richardfiorello716 at gmail.com
> Subject: [NAGDU] poodles etc
>
> Hi;
>
> I am on dog number five and now I have three granddaughters who have big
> time dog allergies.  The drama queen of the three says her eyeballs are
> going to explode.
>
> I'm curious as to why schools seem to be reluctant to use poodles?  I
> wonder
> what their disposition is like?
>
> Even if no one in your family has a dog allergy you will always come across
> people with allergy or dog hair issues.  If there were a breed that didn't
> shed but also had a good disposition for guiding it would be nice.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> Richard
>
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