Comments on: 24 Ways A Guide Dog Can Be Disqualified

By: What Happens To A Retired Guide Dog?

What Happens To A Retired Guide Dog? — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:54:09 +0000

[...] career changed because he had too much nervous energy. Check out this list of other reasons why a guide dog puppy can be rejected from the [...]

By: Colby

Colby — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 07:10:46 +0000

@Tonka & James, yeah he’ll only be 16.5 months old when he goes in for training. I’ll make sure I remove his tags beforehand.

@Anne, thanks for the vote of confidence. I’ll do my best!

@Anna & Lawrence, thanks for all the great advice. I’m already set to puppy sit a couple weeks after Stetson goes in for training. I have my parents joining me on Stetson’s turn in day, I’ll make sure they take plenty of pictures.

@Erin, luckily I have another pet dog that will probably miss Stetson as much as I will. I thought the disqualification for appearance was interesting too.

By: Erin

Erin — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 04:42:48 +0000

Tissues and A Camera…and a pet dog if you have one; i do think its interesting that a dog can get disqualified for its appearance…. never heard of that before

By: Anna and Lawrence

Anna and Lawrence — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:56:56 +0000

Definitely take off the tags. Take lots of pictures, or have someone take pictures of you and Stetson right before you hand him over. I have a picture of me and my family and Arturo that was taken at the GDB kennel about 4 minutes before I turned Arturo in, and I treasure it so much.

Choose ahead of time whether or not you’re going to say goodbye or just “I’ll see ya later”. It might seem like a little thing, but to me, saying goodbye was closing out the experience. So I said “I’ll see ya later” to Arturo and goodbye to Lawrence. A big thing is just thinking through what is going to happen, and what you’re going to do. Surprises when you’re that emotionally charged, aren’t a good thing.

Turning Arturo in didn’t really hit me until I got home, and clanking his dish didn’t cause a big 75lb puppy to run into the room. It’s not easy, but it sounds like you have the right perspective. It sounds like you’ve done a fabulous job with Stetson, and you should be proud of your hard work.

Don’t be afraid of asking other people to borrow their puppies if you’re missing having a dog around. There’s nothing like puppy therapy to get you over turning in your buddy. And don’t be afraid to cry. And feel free to have dozens of posts about Stetson, even once he’s gone. We understand.

By: Dustin

Dustin — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:23:12 +0000

If ever there was a puppy in training to become a working guide, Stetson you are it. You have the right combination of work ethic, stamina, and exuberance. I know one way or another you will be helping to make another persons life that much better. See you soon in the play yard.

By: Tonka and James

Tonka and James — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 06:02:42 +0000

Wow, already going IFT? Best of luck and I will be there for your graduation. I overheard our area leader talking to another puppy raiser about turn in day and one thing she said was it difficult when they said to remove all personal tags so you might want to remove those before.