B3th B3th B3TH !!!
Guess what? I got a friend who knows someone, right, yeah', and listen to this. She's looking for people, and are always looking for people, for people to look after guide dogs. BUT, and this is the interesting bit, they pick them up from you at any time you want (eg, like when you're off to work) and drop them off any time you want (eg, like when you get back from work). During this time, it's like preschool for the dog, and then after 18 months they send them off to guide-dog uni or whatever it is. All you need is EVERYTHING MY NEW FLAT HAS.

It sounds absolutly bloody perfect for me. I'm going to think about it seriously ovbously, not just jump in, but it sounds great at first glance. It's charitable and if I don't like it, they'll find someone else. I'm not sure if they pay for the food and stuff, but I don't care, I'd sooner not eat before the dog anyway.
( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Fri 22 Jul 2011, 16:37, 3 replies, latest was 15 years ago)

Yay!
do it, totally do it.
( CQ Knows the truth, all of it., Fri 22 Jul 2011, 16:38, Reply)

That's brilliant!
I hope it works out for you. And if it's anything like Neighbours, you could end up living with the girl who trains the dogs! Alright, she'll be an ex addict with a psychotic ex boyfriend who will turn out to be the mother of your adopted son, but still...

Our accountant fostered guide dogs. He said it was a great experience.
( b3th Not shit. Not mod., Fri 22 Jul 2011, 16:39, Reply)

puppies
oooooooooooooh puppies
are very very hard to train if you've never had a dog
it's like a crash course

you should remember that they can probably take the dog away at any time and you will likely start to love the puppy and then omg it's gone :'((
( Lisette von Falcon, Fri 22 Jul 2011, 16:41, Reply)

Oh'aye', I know it'll be hard, i'll be cleaning up poo and piss and sick at silly hours and all that, but downstairs in the new place has wooden flooring rather than carpets, and I can put a baby-gate thing on the bottom of the stairs for when it's in.
And I know it'll chew through things occasionally and some of those things might be a beloved teddy or whatever.... but the joy I could get from it would be untold.

I would see it like seeing your kids graduate when it is time for it to go... and giving a blind person a chance to see (well, you know what I mean). And I've got the mindset from the start that it won't be forever, so I think it'll be alright in that department. And if I don't like it, or it doesn't work, I give it back and that's that, which you can't really do with a dog of your own.
( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Fri 22 Jul 2011, 16:47, Reply)

I'm thinking of more in the behavioral department. Buy a load of books and study them, go to a trainer and get advice.
Start early and go hard. Because I've had my pup for over a year and she's still not where she needs to be, mostly because of the cuddling and cooing and treating her like a princess. It's been hard to break her.
( Lisette von Falcon, Fri 22 Jul 2011, 16:55, Reply)

Yeah', I'd need to get quite a bit of advise, it's also a 'working dog' too, which is different in terms of how they need to be.

( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Fri 22 Jul 2011, 17:10, Reply)