[nagdu] Matching - Gary's question

[Nicole B. Torcolini]

No, it goes even slower when your roommate gets his/her dog before you.  For 
those of you who are on your second+ dog, is the anticipation any less when 
it is not the first time?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wayne Merritt" <wcmerritt at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 12:46 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Matching - Gary's question


> 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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>
>
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