[nagdu] Dave, Tammy, & Maddox Anspach

Fri Aug 14 00:54:57 UTC 2009

I've been thinking about owner training and might do it my next dog.  We'll 
see.

Margo and Arrow
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Angie Matney" <angie.matney at gmail.com>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2009 4:14 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Dave, Tammy, & Maddox Anspach

> Hey Tami,
>
> I don't blame you! I wish I were in a position to try owner-training (not
> now, of course, because Yani is going to work for another 453 years). I
> considered working with a private trainer for my second dog, but given my
> weird school/work situation, I had to admit that realistically, I needed a
> dog who could hit the ground running, so to speak. I was very pleased with
> the way Seeing Eye matched me with Yan-Yan.
>
> I also didn't mean to imply that nothing the schools do strikes me as
> custodial. For me, though, matching isn't one of those things. Of course,
> you might react completely differently.
>
> I love hearing about your teamwork with Mitzi and the serendipitous way in
> which you found each other.
>
> Angie
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Tamara Smith-Kinney
> Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2009 12:17 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Dave, Tammy, & Maddox Anspach
>
> Angie,
>
> Well said.  Given the numbers of successful matches the schools turn out 
> on
> a steady basis, one can only assume they know what they're doing.  /smile/
> It's just my stubborn independent streak, I guess.  Which, if I do decide 
> to
> go through a program next time, I will have to deal with.
>
> Then again, I'm hooked on owner-training!  If I choose to do that again, I
> will have to find a new prospect all by my ownself in the hopes that
> whichever pup I pick for myself will be a guide dog when it grows up.  The
> chances of my picking a successful prospect on the first go are
> approximately nil to none. /grin/  Well, a bit higher than that, but it's
> scary to really think about, and I've watched some owner-trainer friends 
> go
> through the process of finding a new prospect, and the very idea makes my
> hair stand on end.
>
> Whereas, if I go through a program, my odds of ending up with a successful
> match are nearly as close to 100 percent as my odds are of picking the 
> right
> puppy myself are to zero.  Who said stubborn independence was 
> mathematically
> sound?  /grin/
>
> My getting Mitzi was such a combination of serendipity and timing and just
> dumb luck that it's a mystery to me how I came to have a guide dog to go
> about with.  Every once in awhile, it will still strike me that I'm 
> striding
> along beside my dog like we're some kind of guide dog team or something 
> and
> have a moment of terro because that simply cannot be.  How silly is that?
>
> Life is a weird place to live.
>
> Tami Smith-Kinney
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Angie Matney
> Sent: Wednesday, August 12, 2009 3:47 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Dave, Tammy, & Maddox Anspach
>
> Hi Tami,
>
> Very interesting post. I, too, like to make as many of my own decisions as
> possible. I know you weren't criticizing the programs' matching
> capabilities, just as I'm not defending them; but I will say that I really
> never felt that either instance of matching was one in which the school
> unilaterally made a decision for me. Technically, I suppose they did do 
> just
> that both times. But in each instance, I had a great deal of input into 
> what
> I wanted. The second time around, I was much better at articulating what I
> wanted. I think this was especially good since I had changed schools,  but 
> I
> think it's always helpful.
>
> The schools further assessed me with home visits, which I think must be
> somewhat helpful in the matching process.
>
> The first time around, I was pretty vague about what I wanted because I
> really didn't know. I didn't have tons of dog experience to draw on. I did
> say I wanted a dog who would occasionally be a challenge to me but not one
> that was totally out of control.  That was pretty much what I got. (grin) 
> I
> think the school really wanted Glaze to go out in my class, because she 
> was
> a reissue. I'm sure, though, that if there hadn't been a suitable match, 
> she
> would have waited a month. I will never forget my roommate, a GDB 
> apprentice
> instructor under blindfold, telling me how happy everybody in the kennels
> was that Glaze "got to go out again."
>
> I don't know what the point of all that was. (grin) But even though the
> school makes the initial matching choice, the grad can have a say in what
> happens after that.
>
> Angie
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Tamara Smith-Kinney
> Sent: Wednesday, August 12, 2009 12:56 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Dave, Tammy, & Maddox Anspach
>
> 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
>>
>> Email services provided by the System Access Mobile Network.  Visit
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