And I don't mean the dogs.

I have a 76 year old woman who sounds like she's in the early stages of
Alzheimer's bringing her papillon into class. She kept me on the phone
forever, rambling about her surgeries, her family, and just about everything
else on her mind.

In the same class, I'm going to have a man who initially called me to get his
dobie trained as an outside guard dog. She'll bark at a stranger, but if they
take a step towards her, she runs into a corner and shakes. He does spend time
with her inside, and she's velcro to him. I told him that I wouldn't even
refer him to a guard dog trainer with that dog. He didn't have a guard dog, he
had a lap dog. Fortunately, he understood and agreed.

This should be a very interesting class... :}

(And yes, I'm prepared to refer the dobie out if she's too stressed by the
class.)


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"Leah" -OFF wrote in message
...
And I don't mean the dogs.

I have a 76 year old woman who sounds like she's in the early stages of
Alzheimer's bringing her papillon into class. She kept me on the phone
forever, rambling about her surgeries, her family, and just about
everything
else on her mind.


You just have to have patience with the older woman. She may well have some
type of mild dementia, as 50% of people over age 80 do; doesn't necessarily
have to be alzheimers. Often people of that age are widowed, don't have as
much contact with their children as they would like, and spend alot of time
alone. When they do find a semi-sympathetic ear, they can bend it to the
breaking point. When she gets off topic, you just have to re-direct her to
the task at hand.

Robin

On 12 Jul 2003 01:29:17 -OFF (Leah) stitched
with finest floss on pure irish linen:

In the same class, I'm going to have a man who initially called me to get his
dobie trained as an outside guard dog. She'll bark at a stranger, but if they
take a step towards her, she runs into a corner and shakes. He does spend time
with her inside, and she's velcro to him. I told him that I wouldn't even
refer him to a guard dog trainer with that dog. He didn't have a guard dog, he
had a lap dog. Fortunately, he understood and agreed.

Dobies ARE velcro dogs, so that part is normal. Running into the
corner and shaking, on the other hand, is not. Probably poorly
socialized.... In any case, they do not make good "outside" dogs.
Very few dogs do, except for the flock guardian types, and then only
if they have a flock.
---
Ruth Mays
Beautiful Downtown Cinnaminson

It's important to keep an open mind,
But not so open that your brains fall out.