[nagdu] petting and interaction.

[Julie J.]

Daniel,

My short answer is probably.  How's that for vague?  *smile* It's going 
to depend on a lot of factors, how long you want to leave, who you are 
leaving her with, what she gets to do while you're gone and her 
personality.

Some dogs can spend two minutes with a person and that person becomes 
their new best friend.  This drives me nuts so I don't tend to pick dogs 
that are this friendly.  If this is a big deal for you mention it to the 
guide dog program so they can match you with a dog that fits how you see 
yourself working and living with the dog long into the future.

Some dogs catch onto things amazingly quickly.  I think all guide dogs, 
because of the nature of being a guide dog, catch onto new ideas faster 
than your average pet.  So be very, very careful with what you let your 
guide do once because it could very well be forever.  Likewise be 
careful what you let others allow your dog to do because you very well 
may have to live with it forever.  Marsha's couch example is an 
excellent one.

I do leave my guide behind from time to time.   He's mature now and 
totally trustworthy in the house unsupervised.  In the early years I 
would put him in his crate to avoid any problems.  Last week my husband 
and I went out to dinner and I left Monty.  I could have taken him and 
there's no particular reason I didn't.  Last weekend I had a meeting out 
of town and I left Monty behind.  The people I was riding with aren't 
fond of dogs in the car.  I could have arranged different 
transportation, but that seemed like a large pain.  My son was at home 
that day to provide supervision.

At Christmas I spent a few days at my parents home.  that time I left 
Monty with the dog sitter.   It's not a typical boarding situation.  
It's at a lady's home and the dogs get to mingle and play in a group.  
He loves it there and does very well with the other dogs.

At home I let the dogs be dogs.  They play with their toys, greet 
guests, run around in the backyard, bark at the neighbor dog...just 
normal dog things.  I don't really have a different set of expectations 
for my guide that's apart from my retired guide/now a pet dog.  They 
aren't allowed to chew on people possessions, take people food, jump up 
and that sort of thing.   I do allow them on the furniture, but that's 
just me.  If I didn't want them on the furniture, it would be the rule 
for all dogs, not just my current guide.

I guess my best advice is to wait at minimum of 6 months before you 
leave your dog with anyone else.  And if you do leave the dog with 
someone else be very, very, very, very sure they are going to respect 
your rules.

HTH
Julie