[nagdu] Drop-offs

Tue Mar 10 06:11:26 UTC 2009

Jenine,

Hmm...  I create my own dropoffs.  I've done that with cane travel, as well.
Usually it's when I have an appointment or something, so I take a cab or
transit there so I arrive on time, then set off home, since I can just get
there when I get there.  I prepare in advance, of course, unless I have a
really good idea of where I'm going in relationship to familiar stuff.

Then again, I'm the sort of person to go out on my horse or in my car and
just head off to get lost and find my way home because it's something fun to
do...  Come to think of it, I've done that with cane, as well as with Mitzi.
Let's just go see where we end up, then we'll see if we can find our way
back.  It was really cool when I could start doing that with her, because
she seems to enjoy the process as much as I do.  /smile/

For the record, taking a green, 2 year-old, 16 hand Thoroughbred cross colt
bareback into the wilderness for the first time to see how he does is not
nearly so terrifying as walking around the next block with your cane when
you can't see where you're going.  Well, when you're used to being able to
see where you're going anyway.  /smile/  I always just assumed there would
be some congruity from the early untrained colt experience (and others like
it, some preety hair-raising, I can tell you!) to the exploring with cane
and then working a guide dog in training.  Not so much, I've discovered.
Then again, it could be that I'm old enough now to realize that I'm not
invincible and that if things go bad I could experience real pain and
suffering for a long time.  /smile/  I have gone to a lot of effort over the
past four or five years to get myself into situations that scared me
spitless.  With progressive vision loss, at least for me, I also find I
don't have to go anywhere new to suddenly be hopelessly lost and totally
freaked out.  I have a really good memory, so I don't necessarily notice to
difference until something changes or step half an inch to the left of where
I usually do.  Then I'm lost between one step and the next and have to think
like mad to find my way back to where I am...  Very odd.

Anyway, that's not a program thing, or a school requirement.  It's just the
sort of thing I do for fun anyway, and now I can write it off in my head as
a "valuable learning experience."  Some people just never grow up.  /smile/
I've heard of drop offs for cane O&M, but not with guide dogs.  I certainly
think it's a good idea for new teams, so long as safety is a primary concern
in where when and whether it's a good idea for any given pair.  I can only
assume I would find it to be great fun.  /smile/

Oh, if you're wondering why I rode that colt through the back gait into the
wilderness bareback when I had been doing basic training under saddle...  I
thought the western saddle represented too great a risk.  Do you have any
idea how dangerous those things are?  /smile/  Also, that was a darn good
colt.  If I could have him again, knowing what I know now...

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Jenine Stanley
Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 7:52 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: [nagdu] Drop-offs

Someone asked me recently which schools still do "drop offs" where they
drive you around a familiar area until you are basically lost then turn you
lose to return to the lounge or van or whatever is the agreed upon landmark.

The person asking was mortified that this was actually done at some schools,
including the one from which she obtained her dogs, obviously prior to her
time there though. 

So, I'm pretty sure GDB still does this for most students, correct? What
other schools currently do "drop offs"? 

If you've done one of these recently, would you care to share your feelings
about them? 

I can tell you GDF does not do "drop offs", not since I have been attending
class, 1990, unless it was an individual instructor's practice for some
students. They may have done it in the past though. 

Personally, I see great value in doing this if appropriate preparation is
done in advance. I'm a fan of solos too though.<grin> 

I do recall in my very first class at Pilot, our instructor did such a "drop
off" route, letting us out on a street, not telling us its name but telling
us to follow our dogs because they knew where  they were and how to get back
to the school. It was only three blocks straight back but whew, that trust
exercise was harrowing but good in the end. I've never done another one and
have always wondered how people feel about them. 

I completely understand and appreciate anyone who has serious anxiety about
"drop offs". Believe me, I hate being lost or feeling as if I may be lost.
So no judgment calls on liking or disliking such training exercises. 
 Jenine Stanley
jeninems at wowway.com

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