"Allen" wrote in message
...
On 9/19/2011 8:02 AM, Dudley Hanks wrote:
"Joe wrote in message
44.100...
On 18 Sep 2011 in rec.photo.digital, Dudley Hanks wrote:

Appreciate any comments / suggestions you care to send my way...

Very nice.

I gather from comments elsewhere in the thread that Kesho is a service
dog in training?

Thanks, Joe, appreciate your comment.

Yes, Kesho is a service dog in training from Dogs With Wings, an Edmonton
based organization that produces guide dogs, therapy dogs, and hearing
assistance canines.

My wife, kids and I help out a bit by fostering dogs when puppy-raisers
need
a break, like when they go on vacation, have stronger than usual work /
school commitments, have out of town visitors staying with them, etc.

It's great fun, and it gives Mich a varied supply of new pups to play
with,
so it's win / win.

If I weren't such a GS enthusiast, I'd opt for a DWW guide, myself, but
they
don't train Shepherds, only Labs.

Since Guide Dogs for the Blind (the school that trained Mich) has also
discontinued working with GS dogs, I'll probably head East to Jersey for
my
next guide.

Take Care,
Dudley


Dudley, a question not about photography but about dogs. A few days ago I
saw a beautiful black Lab guide dog that appeared to weigh around 40
pounds--much smaller than most Labs, although it appeared to be quite
healthy and well fed. A friend with two Labs told me that Lab service dogs
are generally much smaller than the run-of-the mill Labs. Is this true?
Allen

Yes, Allen, a lot of Labs used for guides have been bred to be rather
compact, some measuring only about 19 or 20 inches at the shoulder. The
idea is that it's easier for a small guide to be taken onto airplanes,
buses, etc...

When I was training with Mich in San Rafael, he had his eye on a little Lab
lady that was about 21" tall, nice and petite.

That's not to say that bigger Labs aren't used, as well. I have a friend
who's Lab guide is about the same size as Mich, weighing in at almost 105
pounds, but that's not the usual case.

Personally, I don't like the small dogs, since it's a bit much to expect a
40 pound dog to dive in front of a 230 pound guy and stop him in an
emergency, which can happen more often than most handlers like. So, I
always ask for one of the big guys. My first guide, Bonner, was 27" tall,
weighing about 90 pounds; Dima was 24" tall and weighed around 78 pounds,
and, of course my big baby Mich is 29" tall and weighs between 110 and 115
pounds (depending on how much exercise he's had, recently).

But, if you travel by plane a lot, one of the little dogs would definitely
be a lot easier to squeeze in.

Take Care,
Dudley