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The Oregon Tail
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We have all heard that Guide Dogs for the Blind of San
Rafael, CA and Sandy, OR recently decided to stop using GSDs in their
programs in favor of Labrador Retrievers. Not all service dog training organizations feel that way. Positive Partners Assistance Dogs, Inc. of Idaho, finds the breed very suitable for their needs. |
Post Cards from Hawaii Adventures from Atticus the Guide Dog By Fran
Jewell, Executive Director, |
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Fran Jewell, the director, has a long history of training
dogs for search and rescue, as detection dogs, and service dogs of all
kinds. She also has a house full of German Shepherd Dogs and finds them to
be the best all-purpose dog there is. |
In November of 2006, Positive Partners Assistance Dogs, Inc. placed Atticus, a purebred German Shepherd with visually impaired Margaret Miller in Hawaii. Atticus made Hawaiian history when he became the second service dog to be placed in Hawaii from the mainland. The first dog belongs to Margaret’s husband, Gerry, who was blinded in Viet Nam. His dog came from Seeing Eye, Inc. in Morristown, N.J. The two dogs work as a team to guide the married couple. Since Positive Partners placed Atticus, we have been enchanted with lovely stories. Each one brings joy to our program and well worth sharing with the community that helped Atticus become the superb guide dog he is today. This story is bound to make you smile and bring warmth to your heart. As each day passes, Margaret Miller and Atticus bond closer and closer. Every outing becomes a new adventure for Margaret as she discovers the growing sense of humor Atticus develops. She learns to anticipate moments when the working day will blossom from routine into a moment of delight and further endearment. Recently, on one of those routine visits to K-Mart, Margaret and Atticus were waiting for Marcie (Margaret’s sighted daughter) to finish a transaction in the electronics department. As you can well imagine, when selecting an electronic appliance these days, choices are overwhelming and decisions can take some time. Laying quietly next to Margaret for what seemed like forever to Atticus, he decides its time for some exploration. Out of curiosity, Margaret decides to let Atticus take her on an adventure. Through the store they go…Atticus in full charge knowing exactly where he is going, never misses notifying Margaret of each isle, each customer, skillfully guiding her past huge Blue Light Specials and any other obstacle in their way. Having been to this K-Mart on many occasions, Atticus now knows his way around. Soon after the maize of obstacles and frequent stops at every isle intersection, Margaret begins to realize where Atticus is going. He makes a turn down a specific isle they have frequented before where Atticus comes to a screeching stop. Margaret feels the guide harness move to the left where she now knows that Atticus is showing her something low and obviously on the shelf next to them. She feels his nose, following it to an object she now can feel is a stuffed squeaky animal in the doggie toy section!! What is so completely amusing about this story is understanding the background in training Atticus has had. As a dog trained in operant conditioning (clicker training), it is not only permissible, but the dog is encouraged to offer correct guiding behaviors he knows will bring reward. Atticus guided Margaret as skillfully as the most advanced guide dog, safely using all his senses to guide around huge obstacles in a busy K-Mart on a Sunday afternoon. But, what was most amazing was not only that Atticus did proper guiding, but he also chose his reward! The other amazing part of this is that Atticus never picked up the toy, but touched it with his nose. Touch is one of the primary training tools Atticus uses in his guide work. Aloha, Margaret and Atticus! (Yes, Margaret bought him the toy!) If you would like to learn more about Positive Partners Assistance Dogs, Inc, please visit their website at www.ppad.org. During the month of February and March, Positive Partners has been offered a challenge grant of $5,000 by an anonymous donor. Contributions made to the non-profit during that time will be matched by the donor up to that amount. |
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| Fran provided us with the story of Atticus, a GSD youngster recently delivered to his new home in Hawaii. Fran is also a fine photographer and sent a long some of her photos of Atticus getting situated in his new home and getting used to working in a tropical paradise after starting his life in the mountains of Idaho. | |||
For more information on Ruth |
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Educational Programs The education committee is hoping to present a program every other month starting in April. We will be having educational programs about the many varied activities available to us and our dogs. If you have questions about any of them, send them to us and we will try our best to set up a program to help answer them. Jim Barnhart is the education chair and really wants to design the programs to suit the needs of the membership. His idea is to tie together the requirements for the various activities our breed participates in and the breed standard. - It allows us to learn more about the activities (everything you have ever wanted to know about obedience, rally, agility, herding or conformation) by discussing those events with judges and experienced exhibitors. It also helps us all understand what the physical and mental requirements are for dogs participating successfully in those events. Meetings Don't forget that we have a dog-friendly meeting place which is also large enough to do some work with your dog. So plan on bringing your four-footed friend to the meeting. |
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Websites to check out: Have you seen the new
www.AKC.org
website? It has a face lift. Take a look.
Also visit
www.GSDCA.org, the official site of the GSDCA. If you have good websites bookmarked for training, health issues, or other dog-related sites of interest, please share them with us. |
