[nagdu] Matching - Gary's question

[Wayne Merritt]

And the time you spend waiting before lunch until you get the dog is
perhaps the slowest of all the time during that whole dog day. Mainly
because you know that the instructurs and head trainers are discussing
your fate with which dogs somewhere else, and you can't help but
wonder who or what you will end up with.

Wayne

On 4/27/10, Tracy Carcione <carcione at access.net> wrote:
> Hi Gary.
> You asked how matching happens at guide dog school.  I've been to GDB and
> TSE, and they both did it pretty much the same.
> Like Nicole said, it starts with the home interview.  The person who comes
> observes your pace and orientation, and your home environment.  Do you
> live in the country or the city?  Do you walk fast or slow?
>
> I have found it very helpful to write a letter for the trainers and send
> it in with my application, or at least before I show up. I try to write
> down everything I think is pertinent about my lifestyle, like how long my
> commute is, how I usually travel (by bus and taxi, for example), how much
> I get out, and what characteristics I would like my dog to have, and what
> not.  For example, I always that I strongly prefer a smaller-sized dog,
> and that I prefer mellow to high-energy.
>
> When the person shows up at the school, the trainer does Juno, with the
> trainer holding the harness.  The trainer tries to show you the pace and
> pull of dogs they have in mind for you.  They see how hard you correct.  I
> suspect they pay attention to things like how loud you talk, and how
> forcefully you express yourself.  They might watch you interact with
> "practice dogs".  They talk to you again about what you want and need.
> Then, on Dog Day morning, all the trainers for your class get together,
> slap each other around, put all the names into a hat, say stuff like "No
> one wants Fluffy, so we'll give him to that troublemaker Tracy", or
> possibly just discuss the dogs and students and decide which will go best
> with which.
> It's kind of a traditional game to keep the dog name secret until sometime
> after lunch.  Sometimes they haven't decided until around lunchtime, but,
> when I got Echo, I had discussed possibilities with my instructor before I
> even came out, so I knew I was getting a small black lab, but I didn't
> know her name until after lunch on Dog Day.
>
> And that's how it's done, as I understand it.
> Tracy
>
>
>
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