[nagdu] dog adaptability and expectations

Jenine Stanley jeninems at wowway.com
Wed Mar 31 12:44:56 UTC 2010


Hi Martha, 


As someone who works for a guide dog school and interviews people during the
application process, I can tell you that I feel your thinking is a bit
misguided, pun unintended.  


Guide dog schools in general do not believe that blind people cannot handle
sudden change. If anything, we worry about the dog being able to handle such
change and maintain the expectations of the handler, especially during  that
first year together. Some dogs adapt well to change, sudden or gradual.
Others do not. As a rule we give general advice while on class and tailor
that to your specific dog. Some dogs of certain breeds also need more time
to bond and take direction from their new handlers. I'll go out on a limb
here and say that Poodles and Shepherds need that extra time, even if lying
at your desk, with you, not separated from you in a crate. Even if it's
walking down the hall to the restroom, it all goes toward bonding time. 


Of course some dogs of those, and all breeds, just take it in stride and are
happy to see you and work for you when you come to get them. 

Although crating your dog during your working hours is far from optimal in
the view of most guide dog schools, people who work in factory or other
situations where the dog isn't safe in the work area, also must do this. As
long as you can take the dog for relief breaks during that 7 to 8 hours,
maybe even a short walk during the lunch period, it should be fine if the
dog is OK being left alone. That all depends on your dog though. 

Personally, with or without a dog, I think there's nothing wrong with
acquiring additional orientation and mobility skills. The better you are at
being able to direct your dog and interpret situations, the better a team
you will be. 

I would advise you, if you feel comfortable, to contact your school and
speak with your instructor about your particular dog. He or she might have
some insights about how the dog behaves when left or some advice about how
to handle any particular habits of your dog. It's not that other blind
people can't give you advice. It's just that your instructor probably knows
that dog better than anyone but you at this point. 

Hope that helped. 

Jenine Stanley
jeninems at wowway.com


-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Martha Harris
Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 10:11 PM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nagdu] dog adaptability and expectations

Hi Everyone,
I have been working with my lab Dee since November of last year, and in May,
I will have her for six months. I am going to BLIND Inc. where she will be
crated for 7-8 hours per day. However, I will walk as often as I can to the
center, which is 1.3 miles or so each way, plus work in the evenings and on
weekends. Many guide dog users say I will "ruin the dog," and it is not good
to make a dog change routine so drastically because it takes six months to a
year to become solid. However, I think learning the discovery method will
help us be a more solid team because I will be able to travel with
confidence to familiar and unfamiliar places. Is it expectations preached by
the guide dog schools because they don't believe blind people can handle
sudden change? Is it that some guide dog users have less confidence in
themselves and don't believe change is good for them or their dogs, or am I
way off base thinking like this?

Martha
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