[blparent] A quick guide dog question

Fri Apr 30 19:50:09 UTC 2010

Joy, your insights are always so practical and fun/delightful to read, not 
to mention, in my opinion, being right on target. Thank you for them and for 
being here.
Sharon
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joy Wolf" <joy at kevinlwolf.net>
To: "'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2010 8:17 PM
Subject: Re: [blparent] A quick guide dog question


> Hello again:
>
> Ok, so I don't claim to know as much about this one, but here are my
> thoughts.  I think it's a personality thing.  That sounds strange, but 
> when
> you think about it, there are those of us who are very laid back and just
> take everything in stride, and others who get a bit overwhelmed by life's
> ups and downs.  The people I know who have truly enjoyed the home training
> experience just aren't bothered by much, lol.  They are the kind of people
> who can go to work, come home, deal with the husband or wife and kids, the
> cat, the dog, the hamster, lol, and still be fairly relaxed and not
> flustered.  I myself am absolutely not this kind of person, though I wish 
> I
> was.  Not saying that I live my life totally stressed, but I have enough 
> to
> focus on without adding a brand new dog into the mix, if that makes sense.
> The school experience has always allowed me to focus on one thing and one
> thing only, that dog.  By the time I get home and back to the everyday
> stress of life, I'm more used to the dog, know something about his/her
> habbits.  Is she going to want to get into the cat food? Will she chew on 
> my
> children's toys? Just how does she react to kids anyway? All of these 
> things
> are things I've found ways to test while at school, and I have a general
> idea of what I'm getting into, lol.  Also, when my daughter and son were
> younger I needed to learn how to work with a stroller and a guide.  I
> guarantee you that it is much easier and less stressful to learn this 
> skill
> without the baby in the stroller, lol.  So, this is just an opinion, but I
> think it really depends on how well you feel you can really balance your
> needs, the needs of your family and the needs of a brand new dog.  You 
> can't
> ignore one for the other if you're doing in-home training, and some things
> just won't wait.  Hth, and maybe others will have some ideas as well. 
> Take
> care.
>
> Joy and family
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC)
> Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2010 9:44 AM
> To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [blparent] A quick guide dog question
>
> Joy,
> Can you share with the list who/what circumstances home training works?
> Would be curious why it would work for some people but not for others
> and why it would or would not work.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On Behalf Of Joy Wolf
> Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 5:32 PM
> To: 'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [blparent] A quick guide dog question
>
> Hi Sharon and all:
>
> You know, it's funny.  My dogs who have come from warmer climates all
> did
> outstanding in the snow.  Yet the one I got from a climate similar to
> ours
> had a horrible time with snow and never really got used to it.  Lol, I'm
> probably the exception, but in my case it had so much more to do with my
> particular dogs and their sensitivities.  To top it off, my first dog
> raised
> in California absolutely could not handle the heat of summer, although
> to be
> fair she probably wasn't used to our humidity.  I would suggest not
> getting
> a dog from a warmer climate in the middle of winter, however.  I always
> thought that would just be awful, lol, to take this dog from somewhere
> warm
> and suddenly bring him/her into the midst of winter.  Just some
> ramblings.
> Have a great day everyone.
>
> Joy and family
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On
> Behalf Of sharon howerton
> Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 4:10 PM
> To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [blparent] A quick guide dog question
>
> I had a very helpful suggestion when I applied for a dog in 2003. GDB is
> a
> very popular school around here, but a friend of mine suggested to me
> that
> if you get a dog and live in a cold, snowy climate like Karla does in MI
> and
>
> where Leslie and I live in IL, get a dog from a school where the dogs
> are
> used to snow. My friend said she used to get a lot of calls from the GDB
>
> handlers that their dogs didn't know what to do about snow their first
> winter. Only my suggestion and for purposes of this list, there is a lot
>
> more to consider when applying for a dog and having young kids.
> Sharon
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Leslie Hamric" <lhamric930 at comcast.net>
> To: "'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 2:25 PM
> Subject: Re: [blparent] A quick guide dog question
>
>
>> Hi Carla. What about Guide Dogs for the Blind? I know they've done in
> home
>> training before. Their website is
>> www.guidedogs.com
>> hth
>> Leslie
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On
>> Behalf Of Karla Hudson
>> Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 1:06 PM
>> To: blparent at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [blparent] A quick guide dog question
>>
>> Anyone know of schools that will train you in your home community? I
> am
>> unable to reserve as much time as the schools need away from my home.
> We
>> also have a specific need for the type of dog given that my husband is
>
>> very
>> allergic to most dog dander. I am in Michigan and yes we have leader
> dogs
>> but I do not see reference to home training on their web page.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Karla
>>
>>
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