DODGER

Dodger

Hello,

My name is Dodger I was a trainee guide dog.

My Guide Dog Number is 378406.

I was born on 8^th March 2024, one of a litter of 8 pups. All male and all golden except for one.

Mum was Marina, a black Lab, and dad was Norman, a Labrador / Golden cross.

I arrived at my puppy home nr Stamford, Lincs on the 2^nd May 2024.

email: rickharriss@gmail.com

rickharriss@gmail.comHhhhhh

My favourite toys are a blue squeaky dumbbell, my teddy bear and my shaggy sheep. I

Health

I have unfortunately got Hip Dysplasia. The ball joint on my femur isn’t well-fitted into the socket in my Pelvis, which results in my hips sliding out of their socket, which damages the hip socket, making it grow deformed. My hip score is 16 /53 for one side and 31/53 for the other. This gives a total score of 47/106. This is pretty bad (the higher the score, the worse things are.)

This affects my ability to exercise and will, in the future, probably mean I will develop osteoarthritis. As a result, I have been withdrawn from the Guide Dog training program.

My Vets, have recommended :

I only walk on lead. Only for 3 x 20 minutes a day. This is aimed at allowing my hips to develop in as normal a way as possible before I stop growing at about 18 months old.
I shouldn’t jump.
I shouldn’t run (although this is very difficult to arrange, as I am full of energy and love to explore and investigate).
I should have a rich walking environment and be allowed to sniff and meander about as I want to enrich such an experience as I can have.
I shouldn’t be allowed to play with other dogs, as this will make me excited and cause jumping and running.
No free running.
I should have a soft surface to lie on if I need to. Especially to sleep on.
Most of my walking should be on soft ground, grass or dirt tracks. I do walk well on pavements, due to my Guide Dog training, but this should be a lot less of the time now.
If I show signs of pain or discomfort, the Vet can prescribe painkillers for me. This has been agreed with Guide Dogs. At present, I do not take anything as I do not appear to be in pain normally.

Other than that, I received my last flea tablet on 21^st May. The others are in with my health record.

My 6-monthly worming tablet will be due on June 2^nd, so I will have had this. The next one will be Jan 2^nd 2026.

Food:

I am on a weight loss diet using the Royal Cainen Kibble for Neutered dogs. I have a new bag with me + about 2/3 of a bag. This should last about 70 days.

I eat 280 gms a day in 2 meals. So that I keep interested, I usually have about half in the morning at about 8 AM in my feeding ball. I will happily chase this around, but I may need help getting the last one or two bits out.

The other half goes in the treat bag for our morning walk or any training activity during the morning. I usually go for a walk around 0830 to 9 pm.

I will poop during this walk, usually quite early in the walk

At lunch time, I usually have a carrot. For the afternoon walk, usually about 3 pm. I get 40 gms out of my evening meal for treats. The other 100 gms is my evening meal around 5:30 to 6 pm.

I will normally, but not all the time, poop during this walk as well.

I get taken out in the evening at 7 pm for a walk to relieve myself. This is usually successful. If I don’t then I will be OK until the morning.

I like the kibble blended up into a paste with some water and frozen onto my licky mat or frozen in my Kong. I get this at the weekend evening meal, usually, so my PR can have a peaceful meal.

Sleeping:

I have very good sleeping habits I go to bed at about 8 pm. At home, I sleep in the kitchen on the floor. I have a large folded duvet in a cover to sleep on. We have a baby gate to keep me in.

I usually sleep through until 7:30 am. Although I may dream and whimper in my dream, I don’t usually wake up at night once settled. At home, I have the radio on classic FM, but very low to keep me company. This isn’t essential, but I have slept with it since a small puppy.

I have very good settling habits after walking and will usually lie down for an hour or so if told to settle on my bed.

Likes/dislikes:

I like most vegetables. I like to play fetch with my blue toy, but this has to be controlled now so I don’t run too far or fast. I don’t give the toy up very well because I like to play tug with you. But I will drop it when asked. I may, however, try to snatch it back if you go to pick it up, so mind your fingers.

I like being sung to.

I like you to talk to me even if we are walking.

I like having my chest scratched, but am not so keen on head pats.

I like having my ears scratched.

I like food. I can be VERY obedient when food is involved, although I don’t snatch and understand wait, even when food is involved.

I like sniffing on walks and may eat Deer poo, rabbit poo and sheep poo if I am given a chance.

My best toy is my teddy, which I sleep with and my blue dumbbell and the sheep toy that squeaks when I bite it.

I usually like other animals and am familiar with sheep, dogs and cats. If I see birds in the garden, I will try to play, but they are too fast for me. I chase butterflies and bees in the garden.

I like to sit by you and lean on your legs.

I like to be stroked and am very affectionate. I lick a lot if I can reach you.

I like slippers and shoes and cushions and will steal them for attention, but I know I have to give them up when asked to drop. I am not generally destructive.

I dislike being told no, so I tend to ignore this.

I like Pubs and Cafes, but may be attracted to other dogs and try to go say hello. When people smile and say hello, I get excited and try to get to them as well (they might have food). However, overall, I enjoy going out for a drink and have visited many pubs in my local area as well as most coffee shops in Stamford.

Issues:

I am a big dog, but I still have a puppy mind. I still mouth when tired. But I don’t bite. I may bark for attention and like to be near people.

I like other dogs, but I am learning I should ignore them when on walks. I will often sit automatically if I see another dog I do not know. I will watch them go by, and usually that’s all, but sometimes I may pull towards them if they look friendly. My greeting behaviour is good, although I may not know when to stop.

I love people; if they speak to me or look at me, I may try to jump up to greet them. I do this to visitors as well, but I calm down after 5 minutes or so, though in the house, I may bark to try to get the attention of visitors. So best introduced on the lead at first.

I have not had a chance to meet many young children and tend to be rather clumsy, so I am probably best kept under close control when young children are around.

I understand the Guide Dogs command set and the hand signals. I am better with the hand signals, in fact, but sometimes if I find other things very interesting, I may think the commands are optional.

I have good recall, again, this may be a bit optional if other interesting things are close by, like dogs or people. However, I shouldn’t be off lead unless in the garden.

I don’t generally climb onto the living room furniture, but may jump onto beds if I get the chance, and I sit/lie on the garden furniture. As I am destined to be a pet in the future, I am allowed to do many things a Guide Dog isn’t.

I am a good digger if left alone in the garden, and I get bored.

I know a range of commands:

Sit, Stand, Down, Wait, Walk, Stay, Cross, Drop, Come, Off we go, Fetch (a bit variable if I understand what to fetch). OK ( a command to allow me to eat my food).

Some commands come with hand signals, which I am better with than the spoken word sometimes.

Sit: with a raised hand, either a closed fist or a flat palm.

Stay: a flat palm towards me

Down: a horizontal flay palm lowered in front of my face.

Walk: a vertical flat hand waved forwards.

These are standard Guide dog signals we teach the dogs.

On a personal note:

We do miss Dodger. Rather more than we expected to. We were offered first refusal, but as we are both in our late 70's, we didn't feel it was fair to take on a very young active dog. So very reluctantly, we gave him up for adoption.

When his first home fell through, we were very worried he might not find a forever home, but it certainly looks and sounds like you, and he have hit it off.

He is a very affectionate dog; he enjoys human company and other dogs. He loves to play, learn, and be involved in what you're doing. After all, it just might involve food, and he is a Labrador at heart.

He has good manners and is gentle-natured. I really hope you and he get on for the rest of his life.

My bet is he wouldn't have made it as a guide dog because he has opinions. His opinion on some commands is that they are optional depending on the circumstances. When with us, his recall was good, unless, as you say, he sees another dog. However, I am sure that as he is now more mature, if you work at it, he will improve. Fortunately, from a training viewpoint, he is very food-driven.

As you might expect I looked into Hip dysplaisia when he was diagnosed.

There are a number of possibilities for the future. Initially, the restricted regimen is set to limit the damage that moving is doing to his joints. His joints should be fully formed by the time he is 18 months to two years old.

Eventually, he will develop arthritis as his joints rub together. This can be controlled with painkillers or surgical intervention. He has one side that is much worse than the other, I think the left. A score of 31/53 is very high indeed. It suggests that the hip socket hasn't formed properly.

At the top end of the surgical intervention is a hip replacement. You may see removal of the head of the femur as an option, but this isn't usually suitable for a big dog like Dodger. However, many dogs don't really show much in the way of issues, and Dodger may be one of the lucky ones.

I think that's enough background for now. Anything you want to know, please let me know. We look forward to hearing how he is getting on.

Richard

My email is rickharriss@gmail.com

Dodger with his brother Dudley - Dodger is on the right

Dudley is training to be a guide dog as we speak.

Dodger - This is on his day of arrival. 8 weeks

When they are young, they sleep a lot - A LOT!

Practising the cute head tilt that gets you a treat

8 weeks, we are still getting used to each other.

The face that says Happy!

In the summer, Dodger liked the doormat as it was cooler by the door.

Stealing a quick illegal seat on the garden furniture.

First lead training.

Summer at last

Dodger and his best friend, his Teddy bear

Playing hide and seek. If I can't see you, you can't see me (doggy logic)

Post-operation. Feeling a bit sore and very tired.

For us, even when no longer on the strict Guide dog rules applied, Dodger never tried to sit on the lounge furniture. He did like a nap in the conservatory though.

Dodger and another guide dog - Bandit. We used to meet every week in the local park

Initially, when Dodger left us, he went to a family in Melton Mowberry. They had a small holding with several exotic animals that Dodger got on well with.