[Flagdu] top ten tips for a successful convention with a guide dog

[Sherrill O'Brien]

Hi to all,

Some of you may have read the following Braille Monitor article before, but
it's full of great practical suggestions, and can help a person to decide
whether bringing a dog to conventtion is the right decision for you in any
given year. I've brought my dogs to most conventions, but there were a
couple years, when one of them was older, that I decided it was best to
leave her with family or friends, and use the cane. I recall walking out of
my hotel room a couple times, no dog, no cane. Those canes just don't run to
the door like they should, do they! (grin.)

Anyway, please pass this article on to anyone you think would benefit from
it.
 I especially want to give you a heads-up that I have heard that it takes
fifteen, yes 15, minutes to walk from the sleeping rooms to the general
session and exhibit hall area. Of course I don't know if this is totally
accurate, but it makes me tired already. But the important thing about this
is that folks, and that certainly includes me, make sure they give plenty of
time for their dogs to relieve before making that long trek. Otherwise,
we'll have far too many accidents as the dogs are stimulated from walking
that long distance, especially under stress.

Here's Melissa Riccobono's article.

Sherrill

Top Ten Tips for a Successful Convention Trip with a Guide Dog
Braille Monitor
                                                                            
 May
2006
Top Ten Tips for a Successful Convention Trip with a Guide Dog
by Melissa Riccobono

From the Editor: The following article first appeared in the Spring/Summer
2005
issue of Harness Up, the publication of the National Association of Guide
Dog
Users. Melissa Riccobono is an exemplary guide dog user. She has slightly
revised her article for publication in the Braille Monitor in preparation
for
the 2006 national convention. It contains valuable advice for all of us,
guide
dog and cane users alike. This is what she says:

The NFB national convention--there's absolutely nothing like it! The energy,
the
meetings, the people, the late nights and early mornings... I can honestly
say
it's the busiest, craziest week I'll spend all year. I've been going to the
NFB
national convention for the last seven years, and every year I swear I'll
try to
get more sleep and eat meals more regularly so that I won't get so
exhausted,
but somehow that never works out. And actually I wouldn't have it any other
way.
I wouldn't feel as if I was at convention unless I was a part of the crazy,
chaotic convention experience.
Yet in the midst of the chaos and the hectic schedule, I need to stop and
take
the convention experience of someone else into account. That someone is my
nine-year-old black lab, Fanta. Fanta has been coming to conventions with me
from the beginning, and I know it's a hectic, stressful week for her. But
over
the years I've learned a lot about Fanta at convention, and I've realized
some
things I can do to make this week in July as easy as possible for her. I'd
like
to share my top ten tips with guide dog users in hopes that some of them
will
help to make convention easier for your dogs. I'm sure many of you already
do
some or all of these things, but I hope you will read this article to the
end,
because it never hurts to be reminded of the small things we can do to make
our
dogs' convention experiences more enjoyable.

Tip 1. Decide if Convention Is the Right Place for Your Dog.
This seems obvious, but I encourage you to take a few minutes now to think
about
whether the national convention is the right place to take your dog. I
believe
you should do this especially if you've never taken your dog to convention
before. Ask yourself the following questions.

Is your dog extremely stressed in big crowds of people?
Is your dog afraid of canes?
Does your dog get along with other dogs, or does he or she tend to be
aggressive
toward them?
Is your dog easily distracted by other dogs?
How long have you and your dog been together?
Are you confident in your ability to work well as a team?

Bear in mind that convention is full of crowds of people, many of them
swinging
long white canes back and forth, as well as many other guide dogs. If your
dog
exhibits extreme stress in large crowds; is afraid of canes; or is
aggressive
toward, afraid of, or distracted by other dogs, convention is probably not a
good place for him or her to be. In my opinion convention is also not likely
to
be a good place for a new guide dog team. I would recommend a team be
together
at least four months before attending a convention, but of course this
varies
from one team to another. Some teams jell after only a month or so, while
others
might take a year to really settle down and work their best together.
Think about how well you and your dog work together and how stress makes you
act
and react toward your dog. If you become upset and stressed in crowded,
noisy
situations and you transmit these feelings to your dog, convention would
probably be a good place to brush up on your cane skills.
If you're wondering whether or not you should take your dog to national
convention, I suggest you talk with someone who takes or has taken his or
her
dog to convention. Such a person can give you many more details about what
convention is like than I can in this article. In fact, perhaps talking to
two
or more people would be helpful since everyone's experience is slightly
different.

Tip 2. Treat Your Dog for Fleas before You Leave Home.
So, you've decided to take your dog to convention. Now it's time to pack and
get
ready to go. I would suggest treating your dog for fleas before you get on
the
plane. This will insure that you won't bring any unpleasant little critters
to
the hotel with you. It also means you will not pass fleas on to other dogs,
and
your dog will be protected in case someone else isn't as considerate.

Tip 3. Orient Yourself to the Hotel to Make Life Easier for You and Your Dog
OK, so you've decided to take your dog to convention, and you've treated
your
dog for fleas. Now you've arrived in a huge hotel, and you don't know where
anything is. I recommend devoting some time to orient yourself to the hotel
as
soon as possible after arriving. I always bring a cane with me to
convention,
and often I heel my dog and walk around with my cane a bit. This helps me
get a
better feel for the hotel, and it helps me give Fanta clearer, more
confident
directions. Walking somewhere with my cane also allows me to point things
out to
Fanta. This may help her remember where something is later. I find that the
more
I wander around, trying to find something, the more confused both Fanta and
I
become. This doesn't help either of us. Do I still get lost, even after
walking
around the hotel with my cane a bit? Absolutely! That's unavoidable, but I
believe that using my cane a little in the beginning is still helpful.

Tip 4. Remember Your Dog's Needs as Well as Your Own
Convention is a busy time for everyone. It's one week out of the year when I
usually don't eat regular or healthy meals. But I always try to keep Fanta's
food and water needs in the back of my mind. I suggest trying to keep your
dog's
feeding schedule as normal as possible. If that means leaving a meeting a
little
early or getting somewhere a little late, at least you'll have a happy dog
who
has been fed to take with you. Keeping a regular feeding schedule also helps
with relieving, as I'm sure all of you know.
If you know you're not going to get back to your room to feed your dog,
bring
the food with you when you leave your room in the morning. This way you can
always feed your dog in the rest room if necessary.
Convention meeting rooms can get warm. I usually carry a water bottle and a
portable dog dish with me so that I can give Fanta water in case she gets
thirsty before we return to our room. I usually look at food and water at
convention this way. Am I hungry? How late is it? Is Fanta hungry too? Has
she
gotten all of her food today? Am I thirsty? Is Fanta thirsty too? How long
has
it been since she's had water?

Tip 5. Relieve Your Dog Often.
I cannot emphasize this tip enough. During convention your dog does a lot of
walking. He or she is also relieving in a strange place with lots of
distractions. Even if I don't think Fanta has to go, I usually take her to
the
relieving area at every opportunity. Over the years she has surprised me
more
than once by relieving even when I didn't think she would have to. Giving
your
dog as many opportunities as possible to relieve means you will be less
likely
to have an accident to clean up. Remember, both stress and activity cause
dogs
to relieve more often, so my advice is to relieve your dog even more than
you
ordinarily do at home.

Tip 6. Clean up after Your Dog
Cleaning up after your dog in the relief area is your responsibility. If you
do,
you leave the area clean for the next team who uses it. I also find it
useful to
clean up after Fanta at convention because that enables me to keep track of
what
she does and how often.
Convention is a stressful place. When Fanta has gotten an upset stomach, it
was
helpful for me to pick up after her and realize what was happening. I could
then
watch her carefully and pay attention even more closely to her relieving
needs.
If your dog does have an accident of any kind, do your best to clean it up
yourself immediately. Always carrying extra plastic bags and paper towels
for
this purpose is a good idea. Never just walk away from a mess because you’re
embarrassed it happened and hope that no one will notice that you were
responsible. If it happens late at night, when few people are about, you
should
request assistance from a member of the hotel staff. If you are faced with
this
problem during the day or early evening, try to find a passer-by to ask an
NFB
staff member with a two-way radio to notify the relief-area staff to come to
your assistance. Alternatively someone could go to the relief area for you
and
summon help. A volunteer could also stand over the problem area, protecting
other people from stepping into it while you go to find a relief worker. To
preserve our good relationship with hotel personnel, we must always try to
prevent accidents whenever possible and to deal with them within the
organization whenever we can.

Tip 7. Keep Your Dog Out of the Way.
This can be tough, especially with a big dog in a relatively small space,
but do
what you can to keep your dog out of the aisle. Your dog will be much
happier if
he or she is not stepped on, and people who are trying to get from place to
place will appreciate having a free space to walk. Fanta has actually become
accustomed to curling up as tightly as possible at convention. When I'm
sitting,
I push her as far back under my chair as she'll go. At times she's even
positioned herself sideways under my chair so that very little of her sticks
out. Of course she has an advantage because she's a smaller lab, but even
big
dogs can be slid under a chair at least a little.
Try also to keep your dog out of the way in your hotel room, especially if
you're sharing the room with other people. I usually try to designate a
corner
for Fanta in my room out of the way as much as possible. If need be, I can
put
her on her tie down or leash in that corner and know she won't be stepped on
and
can relax.

Tip 8. Beware of Food.
Convention is a place where many people raise money by selling candy bars,
peanuts, crackers, and many other snacks. People also bring food into
general
sessions with them to eat if they get hungry. Inevitably food drops on the
floor, which is at the least distracting and at the worst dangerous for your
dog, especially if chocolate is involved. Keep track of what your dog is
doing
when you walk. If he or she is sniffing or has stopped to pick something up,
investigate right away. When you're sitting in meetings, make sure to hold
onto
your dog's leash at all times and keep track of what he or she is doing.
I learned this the hard way. I once gave Fanta's leash to a friend for a few
minutes, got up, and ran an errand using my cane. When I came back, my
friend
told me apologetically that Fanta had turned herself around, crawled on her
stomach completely underneath my chair to the row behind me, and eaten a
muffin
that someone had in a bag under her chair. This was very embarrassing
because I
felt really bad that my dog had eaten someone's breakfast. I offered to buy
the
person a new muffin, but she wouldn't let me. Luckily she was a dog lover
and
didn't seem too bothered by the whole thing. But I was embarrassed. I was
also
worried that Fanta would get sick from the muffin. This experience taught me
to
be more careful of whom I leave Fanta with or whether to leave her at all.
Am I
saying that Fanta would not have gotten the muffin if I had been there? No.
I
might have let my guard down and stopped paying attention, so it might have
happened anyway. But, let me tell you, this lesson has taught me to pay
attention to where Fanta is during meetings. If I can help it, I never want
her
to get a muffin or any other unintended food again.
One more word about food. If you're fundraising yourself or sharing a room
with
someone who's fundraising, make sure that whatever you're selling is kept
out of
your dog's reach. This is only common sense, but it's easy to forget about
putting food out of reach when you're unpacking and thinking of a million
other
things. And the person you share a room with may not be used to dogs, so a
gentle reminder from you to keep food in a drawer or on a high closet shelf
won't hurt.

Tip 9. Give Your Dog Breaks.
Convention is a stressful place for dogs and people alike. Make sure you
give
your dog breaks from the hustle and bustle whenever possible. Even fifteen
minutes in your room off leash or on tie down can be very helpful for
relieving
your dog's stress level. Make sure you pack some type of toy for your dog to
chew or play with during these breaks. Fanta loves her bone and her Kong,
and I
make sure they are both in my convention suitcase. Don't leave your dog
alone,
however, when you are giving him or her a break. Dogs left alone, especially
those who may be under some stress already, are more likely to chew, bark,
whine, etc. Also hotel housekeeping staff will often refuse to clean a room
with
an unattended dog inside. So, if you really feel your dog needs a break and
you
can't take a break yourself, try to find someone you know and trust who
wouldn't
mind keeping your dog in a quiet place for a while.

Tip 10. Listen to What Your Dog Is Telling You.
One of the best things about dogs is their ability to communicate. This is
very
helpful during guide work and makes me feel great when Fanta says she loves
me.
This communication is especially important at convention. Listen to what
your
dog is telling you. As much as possible try to be patient with your dog as
he or
she navigates big crowds. If he or she seems hesitant, don't just urge or
correct him or her forward without checking whether or not your dog wants
you to
avoid something. This can be challenging, especially if you're lost or in a
hurry to get somewhere, but it will make convention easier for both of you.
In meetings make sure you pay attention to your dog's behavior. Is he or she
panting, whining, or restless? Is this normal behavior? If not, pay
attention to
that behavior. Does your dog need to relieve? Is he or she thirsty? Does he
or
she need a break? Be a detective and try to figure out and take care of your
dog's needs. It will make him or her, you, and those around you more
comfortable.
As I say, these ten tips are common sense, but I appreciate your taking the
time
to read to the end of this article anyway. I appreciate the fact that you
care
so much about your dogs that you will do all you can to give them a positive
convention experience.