[nagdu] Do's and Don't's

Sat May 30 23:51:23 UTC 2009

Or the unpleasant, unmistakable sound of your dog throwing up.  Luckily, 
Lexia has learned to jump out of bed before doing it.  She hasn't quite 
gotten the hang of staying over a bucket.  She goes for the door, I guess 
not quite understanding that she cannot get outside fast enough.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wayne Merritt" <wcmerritt at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 30, 2009 4:19 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Do's and Don't's

Nothing wakes you up faster than swinging your legs over the side of
the bed in the middle of the night, and putting them down into a
substance that you are sure wasn't there when you went to bed several
hours before. Once you have that experience at 2 in the morning, well,
not even Folgers coffee works that fast, grin.

Wayne

On 5/30/09, Garry and Joy Relton <relton30857 at cox.net> wrote:
> Well, the bottom line is, that the rules are really whatever people set 
> for
> themselves. However, having said that, I have rules in my house and with 
> my
> dogs that I've found work pretty well.
>
> First, my dog has her bed which is next to mine and she sleeps in it. She
> has full run of the house during the day but I bring her in and have her 
> lay
> on her bed at night. In that way I know when she gets up because I'm a 
> light
> sleeper.
>
> Secondly, when I say that my dog guides  are allowed everywhere in the
> house, that means that they are generally sent out of the kitchen so that
> we're not tripping over them when we're working in there. They  are not
> allowed to beg or sit at the table while we do. Neither are my cats.
>
> Thirdly, my dogs are not allowed to jump up and get things off of 
> counters,
> tables and the like and will be severely reprimanded if they try.
>
> Fourthly, my dogs are not allowed on the furniture. Not in my home, and 
> not
> in the hotel. My cats do go onto the couch and I don't mind that, but I
> don't let them on the counters or tables while we are eating, serving food
> or preparing it.
>
> I have found that dogs, like children behave in public like they do in 
> their
> homes. If they're allowed to bounce on the couch they will in someone 
> else's
> home. I've had a few of those children in my home. That behavior wasn't
> welcome. I am fortunate that my dogs and my children have always behaved
> themselves very well in people's homes. If they're going to make a 
> mistake,
> I'd rather it were in our home where they can be assured that they will be
> loved regardless of their mistakes.
>
> I have never kenneled any of my animals in cages during any time in my
> homes. If that works for people that's fine. I put the cats in carriers 
> when
> I take them to the vets so that they are safe. The only time I've put a 
> dog
> in a kennel was when I shipped my retiring dog home to my folks farm. It
> broke my heart.
>
> I don't mind cleaning up after animals if they have an accident when they
> are ill. It's not fun, but children do the same things and you just deal
> with it.
>
> I do put my dogs on tie-down in the office so that I don't have to look 
> for
> them if I step out the office door for a second or get busy. I also hook
> them to table legs when I go up to sing at a place when we're doing 
> karaoke
> because I don't want their ears to be hurt. Otherwise I step on their 
> leash
> so that I know where they are at all times.
>
> So, that's my opinion, for what it's worth.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Buddy Brannan
> Sent: Saturday, May 30, 2009 5:55 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Do's and Don't's
>
>
>
> On May 30, 2009, at 5:39 PM, Nicole B. Torcolini wrote:
>
>>    Just out of curiosity, what do people think of the various do's
>> and don't's that some people use, like dogs on tie downs, dogs on
>> furniture, dogs in beds, etc?
>
> I think most of them make good sense, but everyone has to know his own
> dog well enough to know when something may be appropriate. My take on
> rules in general is that it's as important to know why a rule exists
> as it is to have the rule in the first place, so that you then know
> when you can (or even should) break a particular rule.
>
> For instance, putting dogs on a tie down or a crate when they're out
> of your immediate control is probably a good idea, if for no other
> reason than limiting the scope of trouble a dog can get into when
> you're not around. When I had Karl, I often didn't leave him on tie
> down or in a crate at night, because at night, he never got up or got
> into trouble. That is, for the first couple years. You see, I didn't
> understand another reason for that particular rule, until the morning
> I did. While Karl continued to stay out of trouble, on the morning in
> question, I stepped out of the shower, out the bathroom door, and into
> a cold, squishy pile of doggie diarrhea. After that, Karl (and later,
> Chet) were confined to a crate or tie down at night or when I left
> them alone. Not because I thought they'd get into mischief, although
> that's always a possibility, but because I didn't want to step into
> any more nasty surprises.
>
> Many people let their dogs on their furniture. I do not. Occasionally
> I'll hold Chet in my lap in a rocking chair or sofa, but generally
> they're mine, and never on his prompting. Some people say their dogs
> know the difference between getting on the furniture at home and not
> getting on the furniture elsewhere; even that their dogs know they can
> sleep in the bed at home but not elsewhere. I'm not convinced that
> dogs have that level of discernment. AT least, neither of mine have
> had. So, no furniture, and no sleeping in the bed with me. Remember
> when you're away from home at a hotel, you're responsible for
> extraordinary damage or what not, and it's probably best if your dog
> doesn't crash on the hotel beds, if for no other than CYA reasons.
>
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-- 
My blog:
http://wayneism.blogspot.com
My websites:
www.wayneism.com
www.whitecaneday.org

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