[blparent] Guide dog questions

[Star Gazer]

Yup, CA is highly regulated and this is one area where you see it. 
Those of you considering dogs may want to read Cesar Milan's book Cesar's
Way. It's a fun read and goes into what dogs need. He says that to be
successful, you need to be a good pack leader and what that entails. He
likened being a pack leader to being president, the job looks cool, but not
everybody wants to do it. 

I found it very comforting because I read his book when I was trying to
decide what to do with my second guide dog. He phrased the pack leader role
as being something a person wants to do, not a matter of ability. Having it
phrased in that way made it much easier for me to realize and then to openly
say "I don't want this job anymore". 


-----Original Message-----
From: blparent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sarah Clark
Sent: Friday, September 27, 2013 1:56 PM
To: blparent at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [blparent] Guide dog questions

I agree with Melissa. Home training may be a good option. Numerous schools
provide it to their graduates if it is needed. And some provide it even if
you're not one of their graduates. I know Guide Dog Foundation will do it
because I applied there and they were willing. And Guide Dogs of the Desert
will also do it. I went to Guide Dogs for the Blind for my first dog, but
due to need of a specific breed, I had to go to Desert for my current dog,
and they were willing to do in home training with me. I ended up opting to
go to the school to train, but they would've done it in home if I wanted.
They are a small school, but they do a decent number of home placements
throughout the year, and particularly during the hotter months when they
can't hold classes and can't do much training in the desert. But since they
are small, they do have a waiting list, which may be a bit longer if you
want in home training -- I'm not sure on that. But if you give yourself
plenty of time when applying, it shouldn't be an issue.
And an FYI, though Guide Dog Foundation was also willing to do in home
training with me, this was made difficult by the fact that I live in
California. California has strict laws regarding training, where the
instructor must be licensed in the state in order to conduct training here,
so this limits the number of people a school outside the state has available
to come train here, which is why I didn't go with GDF. They only had 1
person licensed here, so my wait would've been a lot longer for in home
training. But if you're not in California, this would not be an issue.

Sarah
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