[nagdu] Two-week program at guide dog schools

Tue Mar 9 17:35:58 UTC 2010

Hi Jeanette,
That's nice you are helping that guy with his new dog.  Doesn't GDB still 
offer the 28 day course?

I went through GDA's two-week course back in 1990.  Sinse that time, I heard 
that the California schools have to do at least 28 days.  How do the schools 
get around this?

My own experiences were fine with the two weeks and I did feel ready to 
graduate. But, that's me.  Some teams aren't ready and need more time. At 
The Seeing Eye, our class time frames are three and a half weeks for first 
timers and two and a half weeks for "retreads" (retrainees).  If you're a 
retread and you still need more time, the option is there for you to stay on 
for the extra week.  I did this option when I had a dog switch after the 3rd 
day of training.  It turned out that the dog I got had dog aggression 
problems and I knew I couldn't use a dog with this problem. I'm around the 
blind community and other guide dogs all the time.

What I do is to bring medication for the full three and a half weeks in case 
this should arise. It's a real pain when you don't have enough medication 
and my Mom had to get more from the pharmacy and then mail it to me at 
Seeing Eye.

What experiences have others had with the two week program at GDB or other 
schools?

Lyn and Landon
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jeanette Beal" <bealjk at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 5:50 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] always taking the dog was guide dogs

> Hi Linda -
> I'm so bad at replying to emails, even if I do read them :). Yay for 
> finding
> more community members on the rainbow side of life! And yay for building
> community around you - that's super, intensely important. I just met a guy
> who seems nice who is a recent grad of the sped-up GDB program and I keep
> meaning to email him. Poor guy is overwhelmed with his 18 month old dog 
> and
> I don't blame him.
> I'm hoping GDB gets over this accelerated track real soon and goes back to 
> a
> longer training and longer class times option.
> In related news to this topic, I've taken Drum to the mall on 
> super-crowded
> days and...he pees. Granted he's tried to pee on very ugly poly-chiffon or
> poly-blend pants (white) which I can't blame him for, but the two times 
> this
> has happened it's been real embarassing and I've been cleaning pee off the
> floor of a store I go to regularly. Luckily the store has ugly clothes and
> I've stopped patroning it and the people who work there love dogs and 
> think
> it's endearing (?) but either way, my temperamental beast is ...a beast.
> Jeanette
>
> On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 5:37 PM, Linda Gwizdak <linda.gwizdak at cox.net> 
> wrote:
>
>> Hey, Jeanette,
>> Long time no hear from! (grin!)
>>
>> Yeah, there are just some activities that having a dog with you is quite
>> problematic! I used to take my dog canuing - a long time ago with a very
>> calm yellow Lab.  She happily sat in the center of the boat.
>>
>> We do need to consider the impact of an activity on our dog's wellbeing. 
>> Or
>> maybe, we just don't feel like bringing our dog. I will do this sometimes 
>> so
>> my dog will be good at home alone for short periods of time.  I won't 
>> bring
>> him to a bar - the rare times I go to one. It's too loud and dark and 
>> people
>> wouldn't ever know he was there to avoid stepping on him.
>>
>> BTW, I've met a nice blind transwoman who lives in our county.  Been
>> getting her out of the house and into the blind community. She is losing 
>> her
>> vision due to glaucoma and needs the support.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Lyn and Landon
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeanette Beal" <bealjk at gmail.com>
>>
>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <
>> nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 12:34 PM
>>
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] always taking the dog was guide dogs
>>
>>
>>  I am so torn on this issue. While I got my dog for independence there 
>> are
>>> places where he's just not going to do well; roller derby, boating.
>>> Instead
>>> I leave him at home for the few hours I'll be gone. This causes some
>>> problems with arranging plans and sometimes AB people get frustrated but
>>> thems the breaks. I think in particular if someone is partially sighted
>>> (like myself) AB or sighted friends/partners forget just how important a
>>> guide dog is; they see the dog as a member of the family and of course 
>>> "a
>>> working dog" whatever that ends up being interpreted as, but not as your
>>> eyes and ears on the road.
>>> I think I've left Drum at home a total of  4 times since I got him 2 
>>> years
>>> ago and each time was more out of concern for his safety than mine. 
>>> That's
>>> a
>>> harsh reality for me to type, but I have to take care of him too.
>>> And he would *die* if I ever made him go to Mardi Gras. Actually he'd
>>> probably pee on everything. He's a temperamental pee-er.
>>> Jeanette
>>>
>>> On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 2:39 PM, Linda Gwizdak <linda.gwizdak at cox.net>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>  Rox,
>>>> Does your dog also perform hearing dog tasks while you're out and 
>>>> about?
>>>> I
>>>> think it is safeer for you to have your dog with you at all times.
>>>>
>>>> Oh, didn't know about the doggie prade connected with Marti Gras. Wow!
>>>> And
>>>> the Super Bowl parade as well?  I saw that on the news.
>>>>
>>>> Lyn and Landon
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "The Pawpower Pack" <
>>>> pawpower4me at gmail.com>
>>>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <
>>>> nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 6:30 AM
>>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] always taking the dog was guide dogs
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  Julie and Buddy are right; bringing, or not bringing the dog is a very
>>>>
>>>>> personal choice.
>>>>>
>>>>> I am Deafblind with other "invisible" disabilities.  I always have a
>>>>> dog.
>>>>> If I can't take her some where, such as to a private home, then I 
>>>>> don't
>>>>> go.
>>>>>  My dogs  have gone to all kinds of places and because I train my own
>>>>> dog it
>>>>> is easy for me to spend lots of time preparing for, and training my 
>>>>> dog
>>>>> in,
>>>>> these types of environments.  I live in New Orleans and I was in the
>>>>> French
>>>>> quarter the morning of the Super bowl.  It was a zoo because it was 
>>>>> also
>>>>> the
>>>>> Barkus parade-- the dog parade for Mardi Gras.  It was chaos. My dog
>>>>> just
>>>>> handled it as if it were any other day.  It is physically impossible 
>>>>> for
>>>>> me
>>>>> to be independent without a dog or  another person by my side and 
>>>>> since
>>>>> I
>>>>> like my dog better than I like most people, and since she does a 
>>>>> better
>>>>> job
>>>>> for me than anyone else could, she always goes with me. I realize this
>>>>> choice puts me in the minority but it's just the way I have to do 
>>>>> things
>>>>> to
>>>>> keep my independence and my sanity.
>>>>>
>>>>> Rox
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> nagdu mailing list
>>>>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
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>>>>>
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>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Jeanette Beal
>>> MS.Ed Assistive Technology
>>> Independent Consultant
>>> Boston, MA 02115
>>> bealjk at gmail.com
>>> http://twitter.com/bealjk
>>> http://bealjk.tumblr.com/
>>>
>>> "Talent is an invention like phlogiston after the fact of fire" - Marge
>>> Piercy
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
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>
>
>
> -- 
> Jeanette Beal
> MS.Ed Assistive Technology
> Independent Consultant
> Boston, MA 02115
> bealjk at gmail.com
> http://twitter.com/bealjk
> http://bealjk.tumblr.com/
>
> "Talent is an invention like phlogiston after the fact of fire" - Marge
> Piercy
> _______________________________________________
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