retirees have raised 18 guide dog puppies

[davidc4430]

Meet the retirees who have raised 18 guide dog puppies

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-02/meet-the-retirees-who-have-raised-18-guide-dog-puppies/8999554

[bushies.girl]

Was just watching that on TV, wonderful people doing a wonderful job 🙂

[chameleon54]

The missu's guide dog was raised by a young, busy uni student. The dogs need to be familiar with all sorts of surroundings and situations so it is something anyone can do and not as onerous as it may first appear. The hardest thing is to part with the dog at the end of the 12-18 months.................. but you can always get another one......

[davidc4430]

as much as i love animals i couldnt raise a dog then give it away, i tip my hat to anyone who can do that.

these people deserve a medal.

i couldnt even volunteer in an animal shelter because putting any healthy animal to sleep i couldnt cope with.

again, those who do work in those places are saints.

[lyndal1838]

The majority of animal shelters and Council Pounds in NSW have a no kill policy unless tha animals are unsuitable for rehoming.

They certainly don't put a healthy animal to sleep unless it is a last resort.

No-one working with animals likes to put them to sleep....and volunteers are not involved in it in any way.

Have you thought about being a foster carer David?   Foster carers are a step between the shelter and a permanent home and allows the shelters to take more animals than if they had to provide a home for all the animals that are in foster care.

[chameleon54]

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@davidc4430 wrote:

as much as i love animals i couldnt raise a dog then give it away, i tip my hat to anyone who can do that.

these people deserve a medal.

i couldnt even volunteer in an animal shelter because putting any healthy animal to sleep i couldnt cope with.

again, those who do work in those places are saints.

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Guide dogs and Royal Society for the blind both have trouble finding enough volunteer puppy raisers. They put a lot of time and effort into promoting puppy raising and this takes some of their very limited resources. Its not for everyone, but if anyone is considering it, it is a great way to have a real and positive impact on some-ones life. Although we dont have contact details for the uni student who raised our dog due to privacy policies, I regularly think of her and give a little thanks for her generosity.

The guide dog is absolutely essential to allow the wife to do many of the things we take for granted and gives her a lot of independance. She can walk to the shops, walks 2 km. home from the gym, has coffees or lunch with friends and even travels on a bus on her own to the city to practice and perform music.

The dogs also break down social predjudice. When she used a white cane she had a few unfortunate experiences. This does not happen with the dog as it breaks down the social barriers people with disabilities can often face and offers a conversation ice breaker for people she meets. This is just as important as the guide work the dog performs.

[lyndal1838]

Chameleon, I have often wondered what is the average working life of a guide dog and what happens to them when they retire?

The Army dogs remain with their handlers and their family and when they die they are buried on the Army Base near the training area.

My SIL had a lovely old German Shepherd at home who still remembered her training....they moved into a property with a number of outbuildings and the dog made a real fuss at the door of one on the smaller sheds that was locked with no key.

Turns out the previous tennant had been (legitimately) storing explosives in there and the dog could still detect the smell.

[chameleon54]

The dogs are usually retired by the age of eight years. They are still working well at that age, but if they where left any longer, the dog is at the age where unexpected health problems can start to occur. This raises the issue of handlers losing the use of an old dog at short notice and having to wait months to be matched with a new dog. During this period they would not have independence.

The dogs come through in litters or batches every six months or so. During the final months of the puppy raising period, instructors are looking at the dogs traits and assesing which dog is most suited to which client. They look at things like the dogs natural travelling speed, distraction level, personal traits such as coat length, the physical strength of the dog and wether the dog needs a firm handler or the softer touch.

Once retired the client can choose to keep the dog, or a family  member may wish to take the dog on. Failing that the client can find a suitable home in consultation with the organisation or as a last resort the dogs are found a home by the organisation. There is a waiting list of people who would like to rehome a retired guide dog.

My wifes last retired dog went to an elderly lady that we knew who is visually impaired. It will not be used as a working dog, but as a companion who is familiar with the life of people with visual impairments. There are checks and balances in place to ensure the retired dogs will be well cared for.

[lyndal1838]

Eight is fairly early to retire the dogs but I can understand the reasoning.  Do the dogs keep working a bit longer if there is no new dog available just when needed?

The dog my SIL had at home had been retired for a number of years by the time he married my daughter.  She was a Vet nurse and often took Sheba to work for treatment to manage her arthritis.   It became very obvious that she would not have a very good quality of life during the next winter but SIL could not bring himself to end it even though my daughter promised to do it herself...something she always avoided if possible.  In the end daughter rang his CO who was also a very good friend and was given permission to take the dog to work while SIL was out.   He was upset but knew it was the best thing for the dog...next day she was buried with her mates on the Army Base.

[chameleon54]

The older dogs keep working until the new dog is ready and the client has completed training with the new dog. Nothing happens quickly with guide dogs. It can take up to 12 months to find the right dog to match with a client and training takes awhile.

The client often travels to a central location in the city and undertakes a week or two of intensive training with the new dog. Groups of perhaps half a dozen clients stay in motel accomodation together and work with the dogs each day under guidence of instructors. This is intensive work, practicing getting on busses and trains, escalators and stair work and getting to know the individual traits of the new dog. The clients and dogs then return home where further training occurs with each individual on their most common walking or transport routes. This can be ongoing for several months. 

The wifes guide dog can locate our mail box at the PO out of over 3000 boxes. ( originally scented with peanut paste during training ). It knows where the hairdressers salon is in the shopping mall, where the door and counter is at the doctors surgery and chemist and suprisingly, where the butchers shop is.... The wife uses a talking, hand held GPS which is programmable to within a metre to help with location when out and about as the guide dogs can be thrown out by any changes such as roadworks and can wander off course if distracted..

Eight years old might seem young to retire a dog, but with sheep dogs, we try to get a replacement pup when the older dog is around 7 years old. This allows a couple of years to train the new pup and have it settle, before the old dog slows too much. By the time the old dog is retired, the new dog is 2-3 years old. Sheep dogs reach their peak at around 5-6 years, you get 3 good years out of them and then they slow down dramatically fairly quickly. I suspect that they can get a bit stubborn and tend to have selective hearing when they get on a bit too. ......... I know how they feel.....