[NAGDU] Irregularity

Thu Mar 24 12:35:58 UTC 2022

Thanks all for your thoughts.  
I am feeding 2 dogs now, my current and retired guides.  My old boy is
allergic to chicken, which makes switching foods much more problematic.  I
really don't want to have 2 bags of dogfood and 2 containers to protect
them.  However, Igloo's #2 habbits were erratic in training as well, when he
was eating Purina, so I'm not sure a switch would help anyway.  
I continue thinking about moving the night feeding time, but haven't come up
with a good consistent time to change it too.  I'm not sure about doing away
with split feeding.  I started it long ago, when one of my dogs would throw
up in the night because her stomach was so empty.  Both my boys have been
split fed all their lives, too.  
Brent, I have a relieving harness, and I really like it.  I used it all the
time with my old dog, but Igloo has not taken to it well.  I used it in
training, and he would fill the bag, but still stand in a hunched way until
I took it off, then sometimes do a bit more.  At home, he did the same, or
wouldn't go at all.  I decided to stop using it for a while until he got
more acclimated to his new life and I got more familiar with his poop
schedule.  Maybe it's time to bring it back out and start over, because it
really is very useful.  And my old dog did seem to come to associate wearing
it with getting down to business and filling that bag.  
Thanks everyone for giving me things to consider.
Tracy

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Brent Franklin
via NAGDU
Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2022 5:08 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Brent Franklin; Tracy Carcione
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Irregularity

Hello Tracy,

An interesting topic you've raised here. One that I hope promotes much
discussion.

I will do my best to keep this post short, having several guides it might
end up slightly longer than I'd like.

Food certainly plays its part, with so many brands and types of food out
there any wonder it can be tricky to absolutely know which works best with
your dog. The food my dogs have come to me on I've changed right from the
start. With sponsorship of schools being offered by certain brands, those
are the one's the schools go with. aInterestingly 3 instructors I've
worked with wouldn't have there own dogs on those brands the schools were
recommending at the time. One can ask a stack of questions re food, and it
is by only trialing different foods that you will find out what works
best.

My current guide came to me with toileting times, a rough guide that the
kennel staff had observed. While this was good it gave me a real idea of
when he needed to fill a bag, a fairly good start. However I was changing
his food from day one so this was going to change. His toileting times
didn't suit me either, two poos in the morning within  a 3 hour period
wasn't going to work for me, then one later in the day late at night. As
far as I was concerned while good information, this was going to change. I
wasn't sure what times we'd end up with but change was needed.

It took us about 6 weeks to truly work this out. He is now down to filling
a bag twice a day.

His first is very early in the morning, and his second is mid afternoon.
This dog works very hard, so plenty of walks. I felt twice a day was
enough, from the start I wanted to cut one out, because two so soon in the
morning just didn't seem to work with my timeline. Yes I feel it is
important for the dog to fit his toileting in with what I want. Being
employed means I can't just up and take him, there wasn't going to be this
"Oh no my dog has to go" in the middle of a meeting.

What I did was a couple of things.

Firstly I changed his food to one I felt was better than the school
recommended one.

The second aspect was to get rid of one of those bag filling times. I
gradually pushed that time further back and in the evening straight after
his dinner I'd toilet him and not give him another opportunity until
morning. He soon caught on to the idea if he needed to fill a bag after
dinner he'd better do it straight away.

This showed me I was going to succeed, so soon after I was able to toilet
him mid-afternoon and if he hadn't gone after dinner in the time I gave
him he learnt I wasn't going to take him late evenings The mid-afternoon
change really worked. I remained very strict and he came around to what I
wanted, filling a bag twice a day.

A third aspect is I stopped feeding him twice a day, I cut out the morning
feed in the first 5 days I had him. The dog I had before my current guide
developed stomach issues, it took weeks to resolve those, and my vet
insisted I stop feeding him  twice a day and go to one feed a day. The
idea of feeding twice a day while not exactly old isn't exactly new
either. My first two guides were never fed twice a day. My vet felt
feeding twice a day wasn't helping my former guide with his stomach
issues.
Amazing the difference cutting out the morning feed made. I then promised
myself I'd never split feed again from then onwards it was always going to
be one feed a day. Others can shoot me down but I feel the one feed made
it easier for me with dog toileting habits.

The fourth and final thing I do is use a toilet harness. My dog when
wearing this knows it is toilet time not only does it prevent me ever
having to pick up after my dog, but it brings about that importance of
toileting to the dog, he knows I expect him to fill the bag.

Those are my thoughts there is no right or wrong in what we do, but once a
day feed I feel has made the biggest difference.

Good luck, if you aren't currently using a toilet harness consider doing
so, best invention ever.

Feel free to keep the list informed of your progress because I'm very sure
so many readers can relate to this issue.

Cheers.

Brent.
-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione
via NAGDU
Sent: Wednesday, 23 March 2022 1:42 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Cc: Tracy Carcione
Subject: [NAGDU] Irregularity

Igloo is not very regular with his #2's.  His breakfast time is around the
same time every day, and his dinner can vary by an hour or so, but is
usually around the same time as well.

His night output can happen any time between right after dinner to just
before bedtime.  If it's late, his morning output is also late.

We get out for some kind of walking every day, unless it's raining all
day.

I wish I could figure a way to make him more predictable.  He doesn't
relieve on route, unless it's a real emergency, but I don't want him to
start having more emergencies.  I can deal with sometimes having to carry
around a full baggy, but I really hate when it becomes an everyday
occurrence.

Any ideas?

He is eating an even amount of food morning and night, lamb with millet,
barley and sorghum.

Tracy

_______________________________________________
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/bfranklin%40woolworths.
com.au

-- 

CAUTION: This email, links and files included in its transmission by 
Woolworths Group Limited ABN 88 000 014 675 and its group of companies 
(Woolworths Group) are solely intended for the use of the addressee(s) and 
may contain information that is confidential and privileged. If you receive 
this email in error, please advise us immediately and delete it without 
reading or copying the contents contained within. Woolworths Group does not 
accept liability for the views expressed within or the consequences of any 
computer malware that may be transmitted with this email. The contents are 
also subject to copyright. No part of it should be reproduced, adapted or 
transmitted without the written consent of the copyright owner.

_______________________________________________
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/carcione%40access.net