[blparent] O&M advice

[Erin Rumer]

Hello,

I did have my current guide when my son was born.  Depending on the
situation I either carried him in a carrier or pulled him behind me in a
stroller while working my guide.  If I had my son in the carrier, I used a
back pack style diaper bag and just put that bag under the stroller if
that's what I was using.  Using a guide while using these tools has gone
very well and it was nice to smoothly maneuver around obstacles.  My dog did
have to get used to the stroller and even slightly different body movements
when wearing the carrier since I make sure not to bend down as much to
praise my dog when my son is on my front to prevent him from hitting
obstacles in front of me.  I only where my son on my front in situations I
feel most safe but I do love having my son in front of me the most so we can
interact face to face so I try to do that when possible.  My son does do
great on my back as well and my guide has learned that our pace can be a
little faster when doing this.  If I'm walking along with my son holding my
hand I either just heel my guide or use a cane and not have my dog with us
at all.  When working my guide I make sure to have a small identification
cane that I can whip-out should I need more tactile information about an
area and that cane fits nicely either in the carrier in a zipper pouch or in
my diaper bag.  I also have a Velcro cane holster that I'll Velcro to my
belt sometimes.  I have to tell you that my guide is no dummy and does take
advantage of me by sniffing when I've got my hands full pulling a cart or
stroller.  I'm getting good at just dropping the harness handle and
correcting with my left hand.  He's a pretty honest pup though and it
doesn't usually take much to get him back on track.  I have to tell you that
it's so cute to hear my son now calling out guide work commands now that
he's getting older and learning lots of new words.  My dog knows the
difference entirely though and never responds to my son which I praise the
dog for.  It's like the dog knows what's going on and he just gives me a
body smile by wagging his tail and shaking his hips.  They are truly the
best of friends.

Please let me know if there is anything else I can answer about working a
dog while having a baby.

Erin

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Jodie and Kahlan
Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 12:00 PM
To: blparent at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [blparent] O&M advice

Erin, I had a guide dog up until June, she was my third, and I retired her
for a couple of reasons. But I'm hoping to get another one eventually. Did
you have your dog when your baby was a new born? If so, how did you handle
the dog and the stroller, and the diaper bag, and anything else you might
have had to carry for yourself and/or the baby?

-- 
Hugs from Jodie and kahlan

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