[nagdu] Matching

Nicole B. Torcolini ntorcolini at wavecable.com
Tue Aug 11 13:14:26 UTC 2009 

Hmm, interesting.  I would not say that GDB dogs are that similar.  Our
class had quite a wide range of sizes,  walking paces, and personalities.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Tracy Carcione
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 5:41 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Matching

Yes, despite my occasional skepticism about matching, I do think they try.
 I certainly try to tell the school everything I can think of about my
lifestyle before I come to class.  But it's an advantage to me if they have
at least 2 dogs ready to go who could fit well with me.  The more the
better, in case the first try doesn't work out.  And I can also see other
people for whom my dog would probably work just fine.

A friend of mine has a theory that GDB dogs are pretty homogenous, so it
doesn't matter a whole lot which one a person gets.  She thinks TSE dogs are
more varied, which can make matching harder, but potentially better. 
It's an interesting idea.  I've had 5 dogs from GDB though, and they all
seemed pretty different.  On the other hand, there certainly were a wide
variety of personalities among the dogs in my class at TSE, and my friend
may be right.  Maybe they use a wide spectrum, and GDB uses the middle of
the range.  Well, it's a theory still being tested.  But I think it's an
interesting one.
Tracy

> I believe that they do some matching. Some dogs, for instance, would 
> not do well if you had a job where they had to be quieter; some really 
> need to be in challenging situations to work at their best. I don't 
> think this means that they always match right or that they don't make 
> mistakes. I was mismatched with my dog before Fisher. I find that I 
> get my best matches the more I say about who I am during a day. There 
> is only so much you can say and so much they can do. I don't think the 
> schools want you to think it is a "match made in heaven", and, of 
> course, there's really nothing says someone else couldn't use your 
> dog. I used Chuck Hallenbeck's once after I sent my first one back 
> just to see if I could. But some people could not handle a challenging 
> dog; others couldn't handle a really docile dogs; some dogs have too 
> much pull and some too little; as a schgool gets to know you, I do 
> think they are better able to match, gbut this doesn't mean they make 
> mistakes.
> And no way do I think that the matches are faultless either.
>
> Cindy
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, August 10, 2009 12:18 PM
> Subject: [nagdu] Matching
>
>
> I wondered the same as Rebecca when I read Marion's message.  More, 
> one of my classmates, call her A, had a friend, B, who was not doing 
> particularly well with her dog.  But A loved the dog, and got B to 
> give the dog to her, and they worked happily together for years.  Go
figure.
>
> This is what I think.  Some people think that their dog was specially 
> selected for them, a match made in heaven, if you will.  Maybe the 
> schools encourage this kind of thinking.  Maybe it helps some people 
> bond with the new dog, specially selected just for them.
> And I do think it's true that some dogs couldn't work for some people.  
> My Echo, for instance, is a soft dog.  If I got annoyed, or forgot, 
> and spoke too sharply to her, or corrected her too hard, she would 
> turn to JellO and melt.  We'd have to stop right there for a couple 
> minutes so she could regain her composure.  She could never have 
> worked for someone with a loud, drill-sergeant-type handling style.  
> My Ben, on the other hand, might do great with that kind of person.  
> He might not be the brat he is, though it might also put a damper on his
cheerful, cocky nature.
>
> But one dog could surely work for a variety of people.  Just some 
> would be more suitable than others.
>
> There's a workshop during the TSE reunion called "The Miracle of the 
> Match".  I find that title very amusing.  I'm tempted to go and 
> heckle, because sometimes I strongly suspect they just throw names in 
> a hat and pull them out.  Or pick the name that's cutest with the 
> person, like Anchor for the ex-Navy man.  Though I must say Ben does 
> match what I asked for amazingly well.  Which just shows I should be
careful what I ask for!
> Not that I'd trade him for anyone else.
>
> Maybe the miracle is that the match usually works. <Grin>
>
> Just my nickel's worth.
> Tracy
>
>> Marian and list,
>> Does this mean that there is no merit to the statement that a dog and 
>> person are matched?
>> If this is so, why must we as the end-users go get a dog and spend 
>> several weeks at a school with it? Why can't I just go to a school, 
>> say "I like that one" and then leave with that dog?
>> I am truly curious and would be interested to know people's thoughts, 
>> both those who work for a school and those who do not.
>> If the dogs will work for anybody once they are taught how to guide, 
>> why do theschools say "we matched x dog with y person"?
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
>> Behalf Of Marion & Martin
>> Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 7:01 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Dave, Tammy, & Maddox Anspach
>>
>> Dar,
>>     I cannot answer your questions, as I am not a representative of 
>> any school. I am of the opinion that, if one owns their dog and for 
>> any reason feels the need to transfer ownership to someone else, the 
>> school should have no issue with it. If that person is blind and 
>> wishes to use the dog as their guide, this, too, should be none of 
>> the school's concern. These are the rights and privileges of ownership.
>>
>> Fraternally yours,
>> Marion
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "d m gina" <dmgina at samobile.net>
>> To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 4:51 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Dave, Tammy, & Maddox Anspach
>>
>>
>>> See I am not concerned about this team, I am not concerened about 
>>> any of this, except asking one question.
>>> Has different matches like this happened with other schools as well?
>>> Lets say I give you the rite to have my dog if anything happens to me.
>>> You agree, and this would be coming from the school where I trained 
>>> my
>> dog
>>> with.
>>> They would take my word that you are a swell handler, and they want
>> the
>>> dog to still be a team with someone.
>>> I feel this is a plus I am at not  time unhappy with anyone.
>>> My next question would be, lets say my dog had to retire, could I 
>>> call
>> my
>>> school and say something like,
>>> "is there a team who has to brake up for what evere reason, and may 
>>> I
>> have
>>> their dog/
>>> I am a swell dog handler as you know, what paper work do I need to
>> fill
>>> out to have this happen?
>>> I hope I explained better now.
>>> I think this is a swell idea.
>>>
>>> --
>>> --Dar
>>> skype
>>> dmgina23
>>> every saint has a past
>>> every sinner has a future
>>>
>>> Email services provided by the System Access Mobile Network.  Visit 
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