Again people..."WOW!" I look back at the post views and yesterday's again almost got fifty views and the first day of the discussion is up to just under seventy. I'm wondering if any of those views on the first day are repeats, but at this point I don't care! I'm just glad people are interested.
I got some great comments yesterday concerning the issue we covered on our topic. I'm also really appreciative of those of you who don't comment often and took the time to do so. It's so great to know that I do have some readers out there I don't really know about. *big smile* I wish, though, I had made it clear that I am only talking about puppies in training who are absolutely ready to be put into a school environment with a handler who is responsible enough to handle that sort of responsibility. Haha! In GDB's case a puppy should only go to school when approved by a leader and maybe even by the raiser's CFR. But I loved all of those comments talking about all the distracting things our puppies can do. *grin*
I hope we can keeps these great comments going as today is our last day of the discussion. Again, if I don't cover an issue on this topic that you would like covered please just leave a comment telling me and I'll continue the discussion. If no other issue is brought up then tomorrow I'll post my own views on the subject. Now, ready for today's issue?
Day 3 Issue: I've heard of some places that, after considering all of the factors, have said no before trying it out. If all of these things have been considered and the raiser has made a good case for herself or himself do you think that a trial run should be allowed?
The Complete Adventures of Raiser Erin and a couple of naughty puppies.
"Should" be allowed, but raisers need to understand that it is just not going to happen in all circumstances. Sure, they "should" be given a chance, but like all areas of puppy raising - we ask, present the facts, do our part and sometimes we are still told that the puppy cannot come in. I certainly do not think that is it a "right." I don't even think that schools or businesses saying no are being particularly "unfair." It's their choice. Our puppies are not granted access 100% of the time. Just the way it is.
ReplyDeleteFor further discussion (and people further away from school will probably have a better view of this), should any raiser take the puppy to school full time? I've been raising since 7th grade and my perspective on having a puppy at school as changed a ton since I was the kid wanting my puppy in class with me.
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ReplyDeleteIn my opinion if schools have considered all the factors previously discussed but still have some concerns they should think about doing a trial period. If things go smoothley then build up the time the pup can go slowly. I was lucky in high school and had very supportive facalty. When I started taking my pups to school i would only do 1 or 2 days a week part time. Then I would work up the time the dog spent with me at school. Each of my dogs were different. Fabrica my third dog was great at school and once she was about 6 months went to school everyday with me. However sweetie was a wild child so she only went to school once or twice every other week. My 2nd dog pascal was coraised by me and my sister and she wanted to take him to school with her so we set up a trial period and it didnt work out and we were fine when they said it wouldnt work. I understand that we can not make anyone let us have our puppies with us however i think with the right puppy and raiser schools should be given a chance to prove themselves as long as the raiser has a back up plan for the pup if things get out of control. Also the raiser should think about what is going on in the class that day if there is a major test that day the raiser should leave the dog at home to avoid any chance of the pup becoming distracting.
ReplyDeleteYes, I do think a trial period should be allowed, but shouldn't be *required* to be allowed. I think that many times, even when a good case is made, the principal may not quite understand exactly what the situation would look like. I had a professor in college who didn't like the idea but agreed to a trial run. At the end of the trial run class the professor approached me and asked me why I didn't bring my dog to class that day. I replied that I did! He had no idea that the dog was there. Even though we had discussed it at length he still didn't have a good sense of the impact having a dog in the room would actually have on the class, even though he thought he did.
ReplyDeleteExamples like these reinforce my belief that in a perfect world a trial run should be allowed. The reality, however, is that principals do have the ability to say no to a trial period, and I think it is good that they have this power. It is unfortunate when they don't work with the student to come up with some sort of solution, especially because the students who raise guide dogs, in my experience, are typically the more responsible ones. But they are ultimately responsible for the running of the whole school, and having a pup in school affects many people other than the raiser.
I also agree with Cassie that my views have changed somewhat since I was the high schooler wanting to take my dog to classes with me. (Was not allowed when I was a high school raiser.)