[nagdu] questions about having a guide dog

Wed Aug 31 01:30:39 UTC 2011

Hi all,
Thanks to you  all so much for your detailed and informative answers. I very 
appreciate  that you take my  questions so closely. I need to process 
through all that you've said.  Of cause I'll have  more questions. My 
neighborhood is very walkable so I can rich  any place myself but from other 
hand if I would have a dog I could expand an area of my trips. I feel very 
limited with my mobility skills crossing major intersections without an 
audio signal. And  I can't cross an  unfamiliar intersection

Would a having a dog make a difference?

I understand,  that I do give a command to a dog not a dog walk me to other 
side.

Does that mean I need to be  first a great cane user traveler before getting 
a dog?

If so, what would  be a role of a dog crossing streets if I would be a great 
traveler my self? Why I would need it?

Thanks again for your time.

Tatyana.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Julie J." <julielj at neb.rr.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2011 8:30 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] questions about having a guide dog

> Tatyana,
>
> Thanks for joining us on the list!  I'm Julie, one of the moderators. 
> Your questions don't have any hard and fast answers, but I'll give you my 
> take.
>
> Can a dog handle a plane ride of 11 hours?
> Depends on the dog.  Some dogs could do it.  Don't feed or water before 
> going and be sure to give ample opportunity to relieve beforehand.  If you 
> can work the trip into an overnight thing so the dog will be sleeping that 
> would probably be best.   My older retired guide dog frequently goes from 
> 8 pm to 8 am or later without going outside.  She has the opportunity, she 
> just chooses not to take it sometimes.
>
> Can a guide dog go two weeks without working and maintain it's skills?
> Yes, absolutely.  Last summer I had an accident and couldn't work Monty 
> for a couple of weeks.  He jumped back into guiding like he hadn't missed 
> a day.  this summer I broke my foot.  Monty hasn't worked in 5 weeks and I 
> expect it will be another 8 before he'll be working again.  He may need a 
> bit of brush up training to get back into tip top condition, but I expect 
> the core skills will still be there.
>
> Now if you are asking about being separated from the dog for two weeks 
> that is a bit different.  I do send my guide to the dog sitter sometimes 
> when I travel.  He really likes it there.  The longest I've ever left him 
> was 10 days.  I think if I had it to do over I'd try to limit the 
> separation to a week.  I also don't leave him frequently, maybe once a 
> year or less.  all that said, life happens and you do what you have to do. 
> If you need to be separated for two weeks or longer it can be worked out.
>
> Do I have access problems frequently?
> No.  Actually I've only had one and it was resolved through my explaining 
> things to the hotel clerk.  the entire episode lasted only a few minutes 
> and was resolved to my complete satisfaction.  I live in the U.S. in a 
> rural agricultural based area.  People here are used to dogs with jobs.  I 
> don't use taxi's since there aren't any.  Access problems and their 
> frequency seem to vary quite a bit depending on location and type of 
> places you frequent.  I don't want to sound judgmental, but ethnic 
> restaurants are notorious for access issues as are taxi's with ethnically 
> diverse drivers.
>
> I'm glad you're asking questions!  It would be concerning if you had no 
> questions about getting a guide dog.  Again, welcome to the list!  If you 
> think of anything else ask away!
> Julie
>
>
> On 8/30/2011 6:35 PM, Tatyana wrote:
>> Hi,
>> I'm not a guide dog user, still can't decide.Many, many questions.
>>
>> Can a dog stand 11 hours in an airplane before to relief?
>>
>> If you are not taking a dog with you while you're on leave, can a dog 
>> stay without  you for 2 weeks and not lose its shape as a service dog? 
>> Wouldn't it be also  a bad psychological impact?
>>
>> How often do you need to fight for the  right  to bring  a   dog with you 
>> in restaurants, pools,  medical offices and other public places? Is it 
>> something that you do all the time or you get  mostly normal attitude 
>> from employees?
>>
>> Thank you and all the best
>> Tatyana.
>>
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>
>
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