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July 16, 2025 30 mins

On this episode, Harriet is joined by Seeing Eye Dogs handler Nadia Mattiazzo to talk about the upcoming workshop for dog guide handlers Living With Your Ageing Seeing Eye Dog: https://sed.visionaustralia.org/news/ageing-workshop-2025. The workshop will be held on Saturday, July 19, 2025, 10am – 5pm AEST. You can attend the workshop online over Teams Webinar or in person at: Seeing Eye Dogs HQ Kensington, VIC, Vision Australia Coorparoo, QLD, Vision Australia Caringbah, NSW, and Vision Australia West Leederville, WA. It's open to all handlers and free to attend, but registration is required. Register today to secure your spot, in-person or online: 

If you have any questions, please email SEDClients@visionaustralia.org.

We finish this episode with a repeat of some vet tips with Seeing Eye Dogs vet Dr Ashe Mooney talking about maintaining a healthy body condition for your dog to keep them fit and in optimal health.

If you'd like to find out more about Seeing Eye Dogs head to our website: https://sed.visionaustralia.org/

If you're blind or have low vision and are interested in becoming a handler or applying for a Seeing Eye Dog, please email us at info@sed.org.au or call on 1800 037 773 to discuss dog guide mobility, eligibility or assessment.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:19):
On Vision Australia radio. You're listening to the Seeing Eye
Dog show with me, your host, Harriet Moffatt. Today I've
got Seeing Eye Dogs handler Nadia Mattiazzo coming to talk
to us about the upcoming Seeing Eye Dog workshop for
dog handlers and seeing eye dog handlers about living with
your ageing Seeing Eye dog. We're going to be talking
a bit about some of the topics covered and the
challenges that handlers face when looking at retiring their dog,

(00:42):
or living with older seeing eye dogs. Then I'm going
to be playing a repeat of a vet tips interview
with Doctor Ash Mooney, talking about maintaining an optimal body
condition score that is a weight for your sink auto
to keep them in tip top condition. Lots to cover today.
Now let's kick off this episode with our interview with Nadia.

(01:09):
Hi Nadia, thank you for joining me on the show today.

S2 (01:11):
Hi, Harriet. Thank you for inviting me.

S1 (01:14):
Could you please start off by introducing yourself?

S2 (01:17):
So my name is Nadia. I am a seeing eye
dog handler. I have my fourth dog at the moment.
Who is Abby? And I've been a handler since 2008,
which doesn't seem a long time, but for me is
a long time.

S1 (01:36):
That, I mean, it feels like a reasonably long time
in for dogs. Can you give us a bit of
an overview of the dogs that you've had and tell
us how old Abby is as well?

S2 (01:46):
So I had, um, Axel, um, for he, uh, retired
at seven years old because he had some health issues.
I then had, um, Howard for a little bit of time,
and he chose another career path, the pet path. Um,
then I had Olympia, which some of you may know

(02:09):
because she was an out there kind of dog and,
inserted herself into many people's lives. Um, she and hearts. Absolutely.
She retired at the age of nearly ten, and then
only last year, um, passed away from a number of conditions,

(02:33):
including kidney disease. I have to, because I can laugh
about it now. When she was sent on her way,
she received from all 4 or 5 vets that she
was in touch with, including skin allergies and cancer specialists,
she received more cards and gifts and acknowledgements than I

(02:58):
think I would ever receive when I go. So she
clearly left her legacy in many people's hearts. And, um,
now I have Abby and I've had her since late
2022 and she is four and a half. She will
be five early next year.

S1 (03:19):
So you've had a bit of a journey with retiring
dogs and having slightly older dogs. Um, and some of those,
I guess, unique. I was going to say like it's
both challenges. And also there's something really lovely about an
older dog too. So, you know, I guess we are
talking a bit about the challenges, but, you know, they're

(03:39):
also lovely and we love older dogs. So this leads
me on to we're going to talk about the workshop.
What workshop are you involved with at Seeing Dogs?

S2 (03:51):
What a great segue. Harriet, it's living with your aging
seeing Eye dog. And this, uh, the idea for this
workshop and this topic really came out of a survey
that was done a little while ago, a client survey.
And one of the big things that came out of
it was the support that people felt they did or

(04:13):
didn't have in the retirement process, and then introducing a
successor dog and managing all the emotions and all the
practical things that happen in that space. So this seeing
this seeing eye dog webinar is as is, you know,
being conducted as a result of that particular feedback that

(04:36):
was received from the survey.

S1 (04:39):
And it's kind of not just about seeing eye dogs
handlers to who can attend this workshop.

S2 (04:45):
Anybody who has a dog guide. So whether you are
a seeing eye dog client or a client of another
dog guide organization, it is open to one and all. Um,
because no matter what the who the organization is, the
process is generally very similar. And the feelings that you

(05:09):
feel as a seeing eye dog, client or handler are
pretty much, I would suspect the feelings that you would
have as a handler of any other dog guide.

S1 (05:20):
I guess it's a very unique thing, even, for example,
for a handler that might have had a pet dog
to then retire. You know, a dog that's been working
by your side for so many years. So you know
what will be covered in this workshop?

S2 (05:34):
So there will be, um, trainers will speak about the
process and how it how it happens from a practical perspective.
And then there'll be a panel discussion. So client's perspective
on how they managed the process. Because I guess from

(05:57):
a client from a client or handler's perspective, do you
rehome the dog yourself? Do you keep the dog like
for instance, I've kept all of my retired seeing eye dogs,
and I've been very lucky to be able to do that.
But along with that comes okay, there's maintenance because now

(06:18):
the dog, for all intents and purposes, is not a
working dog. So if the dog has had health issues,
what do you do about supporting us? You know, the
maintenance of those health issues. Can you afford it? Can
you leave the dog home if you're going to work?
How will the dog cope not being alongside you on

(06:44):
a daily basis for quite an extensive part of the day?
So those are the kind of things that we talk about.
Also the grieving process, because there is a grieving process,
even if you keep the dog, there is the whole
how will the dog feel? You know, how will you feel?

(07:05):
So it's important to to understand that there'll also be
a grief counselor present, uh, to discuss, um, how that
process impacts on individuals. And then, of course, there, uh,
is the discussion about how to maintain the health of
older dogs.

S1 (07:26):
I suppose that's also relevant, even, you know, the pre-retirement stage, too.
So even if you aren't going to keep them, is
that going to be relevant for people whose dogs are,
you know, getting to six, seven, eight and still working?

S2 (07:38):
Yes. You know, a recognizing firstly, you've got to recognize
signs of aging. You know, are is your dog slowing down.
Is your dog not as bouncy in the morning. Is
your dog not as keen to get into their harness?
Is your dog extremely tired or more tired at the

(07:59):
end of the day? You know, do you have to
adjust your, I guess, work or the things that you
do because your dog is is getting older. Are there
health conditions that your dog, you know, such as arthritis
or or other aging health related concerns? And then how
do you manage that? You know, is there medication? Is

(08:21):
there natural therapy? Is there things like massage or things
that I've tried like hydrotherapy or acupuncture? Um, you know,
those kind of things. So they're all the things that
you have to, I guess that it's useful to understand, um,
when you're dealing with a dog that's older. Some people

(08:42):
don't have that. The dogs just keep going and going
and going. But there are other people that that have
to experience that. And sometimes it happens slowly, and you
don't actually realize that your dog is aging and maybe
experiencing some significant health, um, deterioration until you sit down

(09:03):
and think about it because it's happening so slowly. So
it can be a really subtle change, or it can
be a really like a really a definite change.

S1 (09:16):
I guess it's interesting to kind of consider some of
these things, even just a point, you know, for someone
that can attend and then think of, you know, kind of,
I guess, put those reflections onto their own working dog.

S2 (09:27):
Exactly, exactly. And then and then there's also, I guess, from,
from the more emotional perspective, you know, is there something
I could have done to support my dog more in
this process? You know, there's the kind of like I
felt it, the guilt, you know, has my dog been
in pain? And I've not been I've not heard my

(09:50):
dog or not noticed or not taken paid enough attention
to that. And then it's that kind of I guess
it's guilt, not grief, but it's also grief in a way,
because it's like, well, you you're losing your working dog.
You know, whether you're keeping it as a pet or not,
as a retired dog or not, you know, you're still

(10:11):
losing that relationship, and then you have to develop another
relationship with a new dog. And and it kind of
takes you back. Like, certainly with Abby, I had to
remind myself on a number of occasions, Olympia was like
this when she was a young pup.

S1 (10:28):
Yeah.

S2 (10:29):
You know, so being understanding of of the new dog
and being, you know, um, accepting of the behaviors that
are there as a young dog compared to the bonding
process and then the behaviors that may change as your
relationship gets better.

S1 (10:47):
And then there's personality differences too. So, you know, I
guess absolutely. It's a big topic. So, um, it sounds
like it'll be really interesting for anyone who's kind of
even just starting that process. So when is this workshop
and where is it being held?

S2 (11:01):
Oh, everywhere. Harriet. So it's on the 19th of July.
That's a Saturday. And it's from 10 to 5, and
it's being held virtually as well as in Melbourne, Queensland,
New South Wales and Western Australia. So you can attend

(11:23):
physically or you can attend online virtually. There's no closing
date for registrations, but obviously if you're intending to go
into the corporate office, for instance in Queensland, in Brisbane
you should probably register earlier because they would need to
know for catering purposes. Obviously, if you're attending online, you

(11:45):
cater your own food. Yeah, they don't do Uber delivery,
which is totally fine. Um, but but obviously you can
think about whether you want to, um, register for a
little bit for a little bit longer. I would encourage
as many people as possible to register because it is
a topic as a handler that one day, even if

(12:08):
you have a three year old pup now and you think, well,
he she will work for another, you know, five, seven years,
I won't need to deal with this. It's really important
to well, in my mind, it's really important to have

(12:28):
this in the back of your head. You know what
to do when you retire. You're seeing idle because it
could happen. You know it could happen tomorrow for some
unknown reason. It could happen in, like I said, 5
to 7 years time or maybe maybe later. But you
know it. When the decision is taken out of your

(12:49):
hands for some reason and you don't have time to
plan or to understand the process, or to go through
the the grieving or the emotional aspects of the process,
sometimes that's it's a surprise in terms of, you know,
that it comes up so quickly. So I would encourage
absolutely everybody to attend. Um, there is information on the

(13:13):
Seeing Eye Dogs page. If you have any queries please
email clients at Vision Australia.

S1 (13:24):
I was going to say, and one of the questions
that might be on people's minds as well is how
much does this cost?

S2 (13:30):
Free, free, free. And to encourage people to come. There
will be some prizes, so there will be a raffle.
And I've seen some of the prizes and I want
them all so sorry. Don't attend because you won't get anything.
Just kidding. So there will be some really good prizes. Um,

(13:52):
and there is also going to be the launch of
a new program that I'm not allowed to tell you about,
but I know what it's about, and it'll be really
relevant to those of us who have retired dogs. So
that's all I will say. But if you want to
know more, attend the webinar.

S1 (14:15):
It really sounds like a valuable opportunity for people. And
I if I were a handler, I'd be jumping at
the opportunity personally.

S2 (14:23):
Yes, absolutely. I cannot, I guess, emphasize how important this
topic is. And and obviously, as it came out of
the client survey and the results of that client survey,
it is clearly something that has been raised by handlers. So.

S1 (14:45):
I guess it's one of those things as well is that,
you know, it it is going to be relevant, like
you said, for anyone at any stage and taking this
in now, you know, there's no there's no opportunity like
the present. So yeah, just to finish off, are there
any is there anything else that we've missed. Um, or
even any kind of personal or personal reflections that you'd
like to share about your own journey.

S2 (15:08):
All of my retirements have been different. My first dog
was retired at seven. He had some health issues and
he became a pet and he loved it. He absolutely.
He was like, get out, I want to go back
to sleep. I don't care who you're working with. I'm
going back to bed. My next dog. I didn't have

(15:31):
a choice because there were there were some behavioral issues. Um,
and he was, uh, retired from the program and became
the best pet ever, I think, um, and I think
he really chose that, uh, that way of life.

S1 (15:51):
So do you almost think the behavioral issues were, like, rebelling? He's.
This was his way of putting his foot down, saying,
definitely don't rematch me.

S2 (15:58):
I would say so. I would think it's like, are
you not getting the hint? Hello? I'm telling you, you're
ignoring me. So I'm now going to, you know, take
the next step. Yeah. Um, and and I really do
think he was smarter than all of us put together,
and he decided, no, this is not for me. Go

(16:21):
on through the process. Go on through the matching. But, nah,
I'd much rather be a pet and hang out on
a big property and, you know, run around like a lunatic.
And that's totally fine. Totally fine. Olympia. I think she
would have worked forever. Um, well or not? Well, she

(16:43):
was as a she was a Labrador golden retriever cross.
And I think they're really hard to pick sometimes when
they're not. Well, for some reason, she hid her, um,
health issues and, and she was happy to work with
some of those, um, health conditions. She had allergies, um,

(17:05):
which were managed really well. Um, and she was a happy,
happy dog. But then there were, you know, there were
times thinking about it where I thought where on reflection,
I was wondering whether. Oh, are you unwell? Um. Or
are you not happy? But she was always, always happy
to work. And even on her retirement, if I pulled

(17:28):
the harness out. And this is what was a bit emotional, um,
and I guess prolonged that grieving process for me or
that guilt process, whatever you want to call it. She
would be there and she would say, can I get
into the harness? And she would be happy to get
into her harness. But, you know, we would do maybe a,

(17:48):
a five minute walk just along the footpath, not even
five minutes, just out to the front and back into
the house. And she would be you could tell that
it was, you know, a bit too much for her.
So all of my dogs have been different in terms
of how they have retired and the process that I've had.

(18:09):
As I said, I've been really fortunate in that I've
been able to keep my dog. I don't know how
I would cope if I had to, um, rehome my
retired dog. I don't want to think about it. So
here's hoping that I'll be able to keep me savvy at, um,

(18:30):
you know, at the end of her working life. Um,
I don't know. She may be sick of me, may
want to go. She may pack her bags and go. Right.
I'm out of here, but. Yep. Um, but, you know,
for me that that is important for me. For other people,
it's also important for them to, um, you know, cut

(18:52):
ties if you want to refer it to it like that. Um,
and it's a new phase of my working, of my
life with a working dog, so I need to concentrate
on that and give all my energy to that particular, um,
part of my new journey.

S1 (19:13):
I guess a lot for people to think about, um,
and everyone's circumstances and everyone's dogs are different. So it's
it's a bit of a minefield, isn't it?

S2 (19:22):
It is. And I think it's fair, like, I think
if I was, um, speaking to handlers generally, I would
say the overriding comment that I would make is it's
okay to whatever decision you make, it's okay, because for you,
it's the decision you make in the situation that you're

(19:43):
in and you know your dog best. You've spent a
lot of time with your dog, and you know what
is best for the dog and what is best for you.
And that means that every situation is different. And there's
not a set process for how you retire your current
working dog or or introduce a new working dog into

(20:06):
the whole, you know, relationship. How however it works for
you is the best thing for you.

S1 (20:13):
Well, thank you so much for coming on the show
and chatting about the workshop webinar. It yeah, sounds like
a really great, um, opportunity. And um, looking forward to
hearing the feedback from it.

S2 (20:24):
Don't forget the raffle and the new program launch because
it's really exciting.

S1 (20:35):
You've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dog show on
Vision Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my interview with Nadia,
talking about our living with Your Seeing Dog workshop that
is going to be held on Saturday 19th of July.
Head to our website for more information or email us
at clients at Vision Australia. Org that our website is Sydney,

(20:56):
Australia Dot org, and you can find more information there
or register to sign up. Don't forget that it is
open for all dog handlers to attend and free, so
just jump on to our website and register. Now I'm
going to be playing a repeat of an interview with
some vet tips from Doctor Ash Mooney talking about optimal
body condition score that is keeping your dog at a

(21:17):
healthy weight. Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy.
When you've recognized that your dog, or when a vet
has said that your dog needs to lose some weight,
what are the causes to think about that could be
creating that weight gain?

S3 (21:31):
One would be the actual food that you're feeding your dog,
so every food has a different amount of calories in it. Um,
and typically the back of the bag or package or
whatever gives you a feeding guide that tells you, um,
how much food you should be giving your dog. And
that's based on their ideal weight. So it's not based

(21:51):
on their current weight, it's based on what weight you
want them to be. So when you look at the
feeding guide on the back, look at the weight that
you want them to be and go with that amount
of food. Um, and it's important to remember that that
excludes treats. So if you're the type of person that
loves to give treats to your dog, which is totally fine, um,
you need to reduce their, um, daily kibble or wet

(22:13):
food allotment to account for the fact that you're giving
lots of treats. Um, because those are extra calories.

S1 (22:20):
So how should you, I suppose, kind of start looking
at and tackling that weight loss through food, through diet.

S3 (22:28):
Yeah. So, um, I guess the first step is, um,
going to your vet and just speaking with them. They
might be able to give you a weight to work toward. Um, or,
you know, sometimes there are medical conditions that can cause
your animal to be overweight. Um, for example, hypothyroidism is
quite common in dogs, and that can slow down their

(22:50):
metabolism and make it really difficult for them to both, um,
lose weight and also maintain a healthy body weight. Just
because they can't eat as many calories as a normal
dog could. Um, so just ruling out any sort of
disease process that might be causing things is a good
first step. And then, um, going from there, it's really

(23:11):
all about diet.

S1 (23:13):
A particular kind of foodie breeds, you know, like Labradors.
They're always going to be hungrier. They're always going to
be overweight. Is that something that is, um, is kind
of inevitable?

S3 (23:24):
No. So it really just kind of depends on, um, training,
I guess, because, you know, if you have an animal
that steals food off the table and stuff like that, um,
you're never going to get it to lose weight until
you remove that behavior from it. Um, the other thing is,
you know, checking the back of the food bag and

(23:44):
feeding them only that amount. If you're getting to the
point where you're feeding a Labrador, you know, half a
cup every meal, then it might be worth discussing with
your vet going on to a weight loss diet instead,
which essentially has lower calories in it, which means that
you can feed them a higher volume. So I do

(24:04):
that with my own golden retriever, because she has a
really cute face that causes people to love giving her treats. Um,
and I noticed that she got really chubby really easily
because everybody loves giving her treats, even though I would say,
please don't give her treats, stuff like that. Um, so
I actually put her on a low calorie diet. That
way she can still have the treats and she's not

(24:25):
going to get, um, overweight. And that's definitely something that
a vet can help you with. You know, they can
be on a low calorie diet regardless of whether or
not they're overweight, if it's, um, medically okay for them
to do so. Typically, those, um, low calorie foods, do
you have different allotments for weight loss versus maintaining the weight? Um,

(24:45):
so you can always just follow along with that. And
some people think once their dog has lost the weight,
that they can just go back to what they were
doing before. It's really about having consistency rather than spurts
of diets.

S1 (24:58):
Although are there any kind of best ways to start
a bit of a fitness regime, if that is potentially
something that your dog has been lacking?

S3 (25:05):
Yeah. So, um, I guess you need to take care
with any animal that has, um, arthritis or orthopedic issues
or is elderly. Um, so, you know, if you have
a quite overweight animal taking it on a super long
walk when you've never walked it before is just going
to make it sore? Probably not. Want to work out, um,

(25:26):
you know, it it might actually do more harm than good.
So it's better to take things gradually. Um, if you
do have an animal that is compromised in terms of
its mobility, um, things like hydrotherapy, which a lot of
different places offer now are really, really good for them
because it's not as much pressure on their joints. Um,

(25:48):
swimming can be quite good as long as your animal
doesn't have a contraindication to swimming. Um, things like that.
Just kind of gentle walks. Um, you don't really want
to go from 0 to 100, though. Uh.

S1 (26:01):
Just for anyone that's not quite aware. What's a contradiction
to Introduction to Swimming kind of look like.

S3 (26:08):
Um, so one would be being afraid of swimming or
not knowing how to swim. So obviously if your animal
is just going to drown or panic, don't don't take
them swimming. Um, the other big one would be if
your animal has something called laryngeal paralysis, or has had
a tracheotomy or any sort of airway operation, usually if

(26:28):
your animal has had a procedure like that, um, the
vet will be pretty explicit in telling you that it
can't swim just because they actually can't close their airway
to hold their breath. Their airway just remains open. So
it just means that they're always at a risk of drowning. Um,
the there are other medical conditions, but they're not that common. Um,
and usually you are quite explicitly told when your animal

(26:51):
has a procedure for it that it can no longer swim.

S1 (26:54):
I'm guessing something as well. Like keeping in mind like
some breeds, like breakfast breeds would be a little bit less.

S3 (27:00):
Yeah. So any sort of brachycephalic or like a squishy
face breed? Um, they don't have as long of an airway. Um,
they have to breathe more rapidly in order to get
the same amount of oxygen into their lungs. Um, so
they would be at a higher risk of potentially inhaling
water when swimming.

S1 (27:20):
As your dog ages or exercise needs change or, you know,
they're doing less, do you need to adjust their food?

S3 (27:27):
Yeah. So, um, we typically recommend a senior pet diet, um,
for elderly animals. So for dogs, um, it is breed dependent. Um,
usually about eight years old, though for most breeds is
where we consider them to be a senior animal. Um,
and we usually recommend a senior diet at that stage,

(27:48):
which just has extra supplements built into it. Um, both
for their kind of aging brain function as well as their, um,
joints as they become more prone to arthritis. Um, if
your animal has had any sort of mobility issues. So,
for example, if it's had like a knee surgery or
anything like that, um, your vet might recommend to go

(28:10):
onto a like, um, joint support or arthritis support kind
of medication or food, um, or even just add supplements
into the food. Um, so it can be a bit variable.
But in general, I do recommend a, a senior diet
once they've hit about eight years old. Um, and you
can always discuss that with your vet if you're confused about,

(28:32):
you know, your individual breed of animal or their lifestyle. The,
the main reason why we don't keep them on the
adult food as well is that it can. Their metabolism
changes with time, so it doesn't always match with, um,
their energy needs at that stage, especially if they're slowing
down quite a bit. They're becoming less active. Things might change.

S1 (29:02):
You've been listening to the Seeing Eye dog show on
Vision Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my interviews with
Nadia Mattiazzo Seeing Eye Dogs handler talking about our aging
Seeing Eye Dog workshop, and with Doctor Ash Mooney from
Seeing Eye Dogs vet team talking about optimal body condition score.
If you'd like to find out more about seeing eye dogs,
the work we do, the workshop, or even becoming a handler,
head to our website at Vision Australia. If you're a client,

(29:27):
either of seeing eye dogs or another dog guide and
you'd like to find out more about that workshop, you
can also email our team at clients at Vision Australia.
Head to your preferred podcast platform or our OmniFocus page
for more episodes of The Seeing Eye Dog Show. And
don't forget to tune in Same time next week for
another episode of the Seeing Eye Dogs radio show.
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

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