[nagdu] Mobility and Dogs

Tami Kinney tamara.8024 at comcast.net
Mon Aug 22 14:10:25 UTC 2011


Well, I can't speak for what anyone else is doing, but I've been
thinking it's a discussion. /smile/ Discussion, I love. Hearing the
rhymes and reasons others give for their choices and ways of doing
things always gives me food for  thought and I learn something. Whether
what I learn is something I can or will apply to my own life and work
with my own guide, people ask questions of guide dog users -- at least
this one -- and I can give them better answers in order to educate them.
Sometimes, they're thinking about it, or their friend or their mother's
uncle's cousin is thinking about it or... So I can be better able to
give relevant points to ponder. And any good information is helpful in
eroding away those public myths and misconceptions that sometimes make
us all crazy. /smile/ I can live the rest of my life just fine without
trying to explain to anyone at all how the dog knows when to cross the
street since dogs are color blind and can't tell when the lights have
changed. /lol/ Or,when that one pops up in the alternative format, try
to explain to someone that my dog is trained just fine and is not going
to get me killed because she did not make the right decision about a
street crossing at a busy intersection from what they could see. Ya
know, when that one comes up, I always ask how we should have done it,
and the answer is never informative. What we should do, it turns out, is
go back to school. They can train my dog right or give me a new one that
knows how to decide when to cross and intersection and how, and then
they can teach me how to use that dog properly. What did we do wrong?
Just go back to school. Etc.

Yup! I can do just fine without those conversations. /lol/ Also without
those same people having called my dog to cross the street before I made
the decision to cross and gave the forward command. Then calling the dog
all the way across and telling her to hurry and, well, it's a wonder
they don't trip over the curb or get hit by a car, they're so busy
making sure my dog is following them. Until we briskly pass them so that
they can be walking forward instead of backwards, so then we show them
where the curb is. While they call her to slow down. /lol/ If we then
need to turn to wait for another crossing opportunity, then there goes
the lecture. Somebody needs to go back to school there, that's all I can
think.

Anyway, picking up useful ways of explaining that one from others gives
me a better chance of educating on person at a time, and I find I will
come out with other bits and pieces I've learned from others to educate
about guide dogs in general, why people use them, how people e use them,
etc., etc. 

So, discuss, discuss! /grin/ If you want to debate something to try to
convince me I'm wrong, well... You can certainly try! Teehee.Okay, I
confess. I like to debate, too, but just for fun.

Tami

On Mon, 2011-08-22 at 13:10 +0000, Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC) wrote: 
> Are we debating or are we discussing usage pros and cons. And everything has pros and cons to useage. 
> Debate means you try to convince and if done properly there are rules you must follow. 
> Discussing usage pros and cons also has rules, but you aren't really trying to convince anybody who is "right". 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Margo and Arrow
> Sent: Sunday, August 21, 2011 12:59 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Mobility and Dogs
> 
> Here's my take on it for me.  I could use a cane or a dog just fine.  if I 
> didn't have a dog for some reason, I'd use a cane, plain and simple.  I love 
> using a cane just as I love being a dog handler.  I could have a guide dog 
> or I could have a cane and a pet dog.  I prefer using a dog, but, that 
> doesn't mean a dog's better or a cane's better.  I was an ecellent cane user 
> before getting my first dog in 1981 and I still keep up cane skills to this 
> day.
> 
> I never get into the cane and dog debates because I personally think there's 
> nothing to debate.
> 
> Margo and Arrow
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Janice Toothman" <janice.toothman at verizon.net>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, August 21, 2011 10:10 AM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Mobility and Dogs
> 
> 
> > Hi Sheila,
> > You make a good point that a cane can provide information about the 
> > environment that our dog can't. They rely on different skills and we 
> > should practice them periodically to make sure that we are in top form.
> > Janice and Destiny
> >
> > On 8/21/2011 3:36 AM, Sheila Leigland wrote:
> >> Hi dan I tend to wonder the same thing. I know how to use a cane but much 
> >> prefer a dog. Using a dog requires different skills than a cane but not 
> >> less valid. It is still importnat to be able to solve problems no 
> >> directions and learn routes. A cane helps fine information just in a 
> >> different way.
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
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