[nagdu] Dave, Tammy, & Maddox Anspach

Wed Aug 12 16:55:31 UTC 2009

Hm... Interesting thought.

As a wild stab, I would say the schools are trying to increase the odds that
the teams they produce will be successful once they go out into the world
together.  They have only limited knowledge of each individual handler, so
they need some way to formalize the process of providing x dog to y human.

Take me, for example.  I say that I'm an experienced with dogs, training,
horses, etc.  I say that I am a fast walker with a busy life (when I'm
healthy!), and so on and so forth.  So I want a fast-paced GSD and value
quick intelligent judgment from the dog over sheer obedience.

They don't know me from Adam, so how do they know I'm not making it all up?
Or that, like so many of us, see myself inaccurately and, not being
experienced with guide dogs, per se, don't know what I would be getting
myself into with the above-described dog?  Maybe I'm really timid and afraid
and would be overwhelmed by that dog.  Maybe I couldn't keep up or couldn't
manage a dog with that temperament.  And so on.

So Mitzi, besides being a poodle, is pretty much that type of dog.  And I
love her!  We work well together, we adventure together in and out of
harness and we just generally have a great time and I wouldn't trade her for
the world.  As we move on from her third birthday and I see the adult she
is, I am just dreadfully happy with her.

She's also a complete pain in the butt.  Those traits I value most in her as
she applies them to her work make her fairly high maintenance in termis of
time and attention and play and...

Let's say I keel over about the time you're thinking about getting another
dog.  You're an experienced handler, after all, so you know how to use a
guide dog, and Mitzi is still young enough to want to work.  So DD thinks
aha!  Rebecca wants a guide dog, I have this guide dog with nothing to do...

Only you have a demanding career and a child and other family duties, and
you need a dog that fits into that lifestyle.  I'm making a lot of
assumptions here, of course, but my first guess is that Mitzi would be too
busy to suit your needs, even if she settles down a lot more over the next
few months.  You might fall in love with her (who wouldn't?), you might
appreciate many aspects of her guide work and even her manners (she actually
has acquired some by now), etc.  But overall, I could see her driving you
batty.  Then again, you would have a kid to entertain her and keep her worn
out -- and vice versa.  /grin/  So it could work.  Not that I'm offering you
my poodle! /grin/  I'll have DD donate a gourmet meal instead.

It is interesting to think about.  When I was thinking I would be sensible
and go through a program to get my first guide dog, I was frankly a little
nervous about that whole matching business.  I mean, they have all this
experience and know what they're doing and stuff, but I don't thrill to the
notion of having other people make my decisions for me.  Had my life at that
time continued according to plan, I would have simply had to trust the
professionals and do my part to communicate well enough to enable them to
make the best match. /smile/  I wonder what the dog would be like sometimes.
When I'm not too busy with Ms High Maintenance!

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Pickrell, Rebecca M (IS)
Sent: Monday, August 10, 2009 8:56 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Dave, Tammy, & Maddox Anspach

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
>
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