[nagdu] Two-week program at guide dog schools

Tue Mar 9 20:19:04 UTC 2010

Hi Tracy,

I was under the impression that for first timers they offer only the 3 week
or in soome cases 2 week home training (I am less sure about how the later
option works). It is for retrains that you can get the 2 week and if you
want you can still do the 3 week. I know this because I am going in May and
am a retrain and can chose if I go for 2 or three. I am not quite decided
yet. I am a bit jittery because of Adrian not working out as my first guide
dog and going from 4 to 2 weeks seams a bit drastic but on the other hand I
do have more experience than that time with him.

will let you all know how it turns out when I come back from California end
of May.

Take care,

Ioana

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org]On
Behalf Of Tracy Carcione
Sent: March 9, 2010 2:46 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Two-week program at guide dog schools

Hi Linda.
I went through the 2-week retrain program at GDB 4 times.  For me, it was
good.  I wanted to get through it and get home to my life again.  I did
try to get someone out on follow-up pretty soon after I got home, just to
deal with any leftover issues.
That said however, I do wonder if 2 weeks is enough for a first-timer.  Is
it enough time for the new skills to be firmly set?  Is it enough time to
get a good handle on how dogs think and work?  I don't know.  I do know
that 2 of my dogs had just started the testing phase of our new
relationship when it was time to go home.  Being a retrain, I had some
ideas on how to deal with that on my own.

I'd be real interested to hear from any first-timer who's been through the
2-week program.  I think there was someone on this list who'd done it, and
was happy. If it really works, it's a great thing.  It's hard to drop
everything and go away for a month.
Tracy

> 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
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> nagdu mailing list
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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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