a few outspoken individuals

One of the most important backgrounds for a leader puppy to have is a history of going to various public places. Generally, when I take Mango anywhere I get the usual questions, such as "How old is he?", "What is his name?", "What kind of dog is he?", or something to that effect.

However, sometimes a passerby reprimands my training methods. For example, just a few minutes ago I was walking through the store and a man approached Mango and I, making noises to try and catch the dog's attention. As he started to talk he asked questions, not unlike someone interested in him to do. I answered that he is almost six months old, and that he is a yellow lab being trained for Leader Dogs For The Blind. I was making leash corrections as I was walking, exactly how Leader Dogs instructed. It was then that the man started to express his disapproval for the way I was correcting him. He was making remarks like, "He's just an animal....He's practically an infant....Smelling stuff is part of his instincts", and telling us that what we were doing was wrong and "closer to animal cruelty than training a dog." Although my boyfriend who was with me at the time explained repetedly that it is part of his training, that he needs to pay attention to where he is walking because he is going to be leading a blind person one day, the man did not understand. He followed us to where we were going and even asked for "the number where you work". As much as we explained that he is a teenager in dog years, that he has been trained like this since he was two months old, and that he needs to be trained against his instincts with things such as sniffing the ground and jumping on people, he would not listen.

There was also another woman -- an actual employee at the same exact establishment -- just a week or two before that actually lectured me on how he was being raised. I had never before had a problem with entering this business, but the minute we walked in the woman asked to see my ID card and his tag to make sure that he is actually a leader dog. This in and of itself is expected, seeing as that is what I have the ID for, but she went so far as to tell me that they don't let dogs in until they are "at least six or seven months old." I have been bringing Mango into this store since he was just two months old, right after I first got him. But none of this is rude; as a matter of fact, it is their right. However, this isn't all.

The woman decided to tell me that he was a "horribly trained dog," and that he would surely not make it. She criticized the way that he was acting, the puppy having the same kind of behavior that the man today said should be fine. As I was going to leave the store, she stopped me again to further lecture me on what I was doing wrong. She stated that "he needs to be wearing a harness, not a collar" and "you need all of his paperwork with you." She explained that simply a bandanna is not enough, and expected him to have his actual harness. Firstly, these dogs do not receive these harnesses until they enter the second phase of training, when they are returned back to Leader Dogs. Secondly, they gave me the collar that he was wearing when I initially picked him up. When I tried to explain these things to her, she rolled her eyes at me and acted very impatient, and did not ever let me explain myself.

Whenever I tried to state my factual information, she would not let me speak. The man today had the same mindset. They both felt differently about how I was raising the dog, however they both had a "I am holier than thou" attitude.

These people are the reason that I created this blog. I want to inform the public about the things that a puppy raiser does and knows -- the Leader Dog way of raising a puppy for the blind.