[NAGDU] Guide dogs and Toddlers

[Julie A. Orozco]

Hi everyone,

I came to this list a while back asking about guide dogs and babies.
Well, now I have a toddler who will be two in November. I am just
about finished with my Seeing Eye application and am hoping to get my
third dog next spring after graduating law school and taking the bar
in the winter.

I wonder if anyone has any tips or experience working guide dogs with
young kids. My daughter will be almost two and a half when I'm hoping
to get my dog. At this time, she is a good walker, if a little slow,
as little kids often are. I know I will need a dog that is good with
kids, but I'll also need one that can handle the big city and the DC
metro. This seems like a tall order to me, but maybe I'm just nervous
about getting a new dog.

For those of you with experience, how did you manage working your dog
at different paces depending on whether you had your children with
you?

My daughter is also not terrible about dropping food, but how did you
handle dealing with your dog and a toddler dropping food? I am always
really serious about not letting my dog have table food. We don't have
room for a crate in our apartment.

My final question: is there a way you have found success in working
your dog to the playground and using the dog to track your toddler. I
don't expect the dog to find my daughter, but I've just heard from
parents that they don't like using their dog at playgrounds because it
is difficult to work around all the equipment.

To be honest, I have not heard of a lot of blind parents working
successfully with guide dogs and young kids. Most parents find it
difficult to manage both the dog and the children. But I'm getting so
tired of exclusive cane use and miss working a dog, and I am ready to
to what I can to make it work.

Thanks for any advice,

Julie

-- 
Julie A. Orozco
MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of
Law, JD Candidate 2023