[nagdu] questions about having a guide dog

Wed Aug 31 19:36:54 UTC 2011

Hi. I am Wayne from Austin, Texas. I use a German Shepherd from The
Seeing Eye. She is my second dog guide. When I had my home interview
when applying for my first guide, I recall the trainer taking me out
to see how my mobility skills were. We came to a crossing and the
trainer told me to listen and let him know when to cross. I listened
for a few seconds and realized that we had come in the middle of a
cycle. I waited a few seconds, and after a few more, the trainer
asked, "Aren't you going to cross?" I replied, "Well yes, but not now
since we didn't walk up at the beginning cycle. I'm going to wait for
the next full walk cycle." I think this impressed him. In my mind,
even though it wasn't a big crossing and we probably could have made
it before the cross street's traffic starting, we had come up during
the cycle. And well, that just seemed to break a cardinal rule of
street crossings for me, *grin*.

Wayne

On 8/31/11, Shannon Dyer <solsticesinger at gmail.com> wrote:
> This could be tricky. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a great cane
> traveler. However, I am able to orient myself fairly well, and so, I was
> able to work a dog. I think each school has different ideas on the subject.
> You might talk to the schools you're looking to attend, and see what they
> think, or what they're mobility requirements are.
>
> In my personal experience, crossing major intersections is much easier with
> a dog than without one. There are just some crossings I wouldn't make with
> just a cane, but that's just me.
>
> Shannon and Caroline
> Are you a fan of women's music? If so, join me each Thursday from noon until
> three for the Eclectic Collection: a Celebration of Women In Music. Point
> your media player to:
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> or
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>
> On Aug 30, 2011, at 9:30 PM, Tatyana wrote:
>
>> 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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>>
>>
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