[NAGDU] Guide Dogs and Office Jobs

Mon Jan 13 16:16:40 UTC 2020

Hi all,

Yes, free running can be a great thing.  I live in an apartment and
don't have the space for him.  I don't feel safe taking him to a dog
park either.  He and I have lived in apartments for all of the 5 and a
half years we've been together.

Over Christmas I collected a bunch of old toys from my previous home,
and although he enjoys playing with them, he does not play with me
very much.  I am working on it with him though.  This is one more
thing I'm trying, though I could do more to play with him.

Thank you!

Julie

On 1/13/20, Newton, Cherie via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi Julie,
>
> I'm lucky, my guide has 2 pet dogs to play with in a large fenced back yard.
> When we get home we go out there and she runs and plays-it really helps. I
> also have a couple of balls and she loves to play fetch. HTH.
>
> Cherie Newton
> Mobility Services Agent
> Office of Mobility
> MARTA
> 2424 Piedmont Road NE
> Atlanta, GA 30324
> T: (404) 848-4076
> cnewton at itsmarta.com
> www.itsmarta.com
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sandra Gayer via
> NAGDU
> Sent: Monday, January 13, 2020 10:57 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Sandra Gayer <sandragayer7 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Guide Dogs and Office Jobs
>
> Hello Julie,
> If it was your first year, everyone I've known with guide dogs always say
> the first year's the hardest. Some people have also said the first year's
> from hell.
>
> I haven't got a guide dog but I have ordinary dogs. Free running helps burn
> off the extra energy. Could he be let loose in your garden when you're at
> home and do his own thing sometimes? Playing with him, doing drill and, in
> short, tiring him out may help with the bord so I'll explore thingy.
>
> Very best wishes,
> Sandra.
>
> On 1/13/20, Julie McGinnity via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I hope everyone had a happy New Year and is staying warm.
>>
>> I wonder if anyone else has dealt with the combination of a highly
>> energetic dog, an office job, and a routine that doesn't allow for as
>> much travel as you would like.  Well, that's my situation.  I work 8-5
>> here, and I mostly stay in my office.  Bill does well in my office.
>> He has his own bed, and I've brought a bone and a toy for him to chew
>> on.  He listens pretty well at work and doesn't display very many
>> undesirable behaviors, other than attempting to get my attention when
>> someone calls or comes in my office.
>>
>> At home though, I'm slightly ashamed to admit he can be quite a pill.
>> He tends to grab things that don't belong to him and run with them
>> under the coffee table.  He has even been testy about food by sniffing
>> at my roommate when she is at the table.
>>
>> I do not give him people food.  I have recently puppy-proofed the
>> house, and that has helped some.  When I first got him, he displayed
>> some of these behaviors, and the school recommended I find toys he
>> could have, that i could give him when he grabbed something I didn't
>> want him to take.  The idea was that if he took a paper towel, for
>> example, I would take that out of his mouth and exchange it for a
>> bone.  I wouldn't say anything, just do the exchange and walk away.
>>
>> The difficulty with this dog is that he feeds off of attention.
>> Negative, positive, it doesn't matter.  He soaks it up and treats it
>> all as positive, unless he really knows he's done something wrong, and
>> that is very rare.
>>
>> My instinct tells me that he is restless and bored.  He doesn't get
>> enough work, and although he has structure, he doesn't have enough to
>> focus on.  I am doing what I can to change this.  It's winter, so I'm
>> not really wanting to walk outside as much as I would in the spring.
>> I'm working on a lot outside of work, but unfortunately that stuff
>> requires me to sit still.  We should get some more freedom next month
>> to get out more.  But until then, I wonder if you have any ideas or
>> have experienced anything like this.  At home I allow him to follow me
>> around, and that seems to help.  I know tie-down may solve some of
>> these problems, but I don't think tying him down would get at the root
>> of the problem.
>>
>> His work has improved since last I wrote.  I'm honestly not sure what
>> happened last summer, but he definitely seems eager to guide, and his
>> confidence is right back where it's supposed to be.  This dog has
>> always been a little tough to entertain, and though I understand this,
>> I don't want it to be an excuse for his misbehaving.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Julie A. McGinnity
>> MM Vocal Performance, 2015; President, National Federation of the
>> Blind Performing Arts Division
>>
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>
>
> --
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-- 
Julie A. McGinnity
MM Vocal Performance, 2015; President, National Federation of the
Blind Performing Arts Division