[nagdu] leaving campus with your dog

Buddy Brannan buddy at brannan.name
Wed Feb 2 02:51:21 UTC 2011


Hi Pete,

Daytona has absolutely nothing to do with this issue. Not even figuratively. This isn't about our capabilities. It's about the dogs and all the variables associated with putting two living beings together. That's it and that's all. 
--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY



On Feb 1, 2011, at 9:31 PM, Peter Donahue wrote:

> Hello everyone,
> 
> Remember Daytona.
> 
> Peter Donahue
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Jenine Stanley" <jeninems at wowway.com>
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2011 6:02 PM
> Subject: [nagdu] leaving campus with your dog
> 
> 
> OK, this is not GDF official position on this issue but my own opinion as a
> handler of nearly 25 years and someone who has worked on classes now doing
> various things and who has worked 7, yes 7, different dogs.
> 
> It can take people some time to understand and interpret their dog's
> movements. This doesn't mean the staff thinks blind people are stupid or
> incapable. Remember, this relationship is between two beings. It's not all
> about you as the blind person, but you and the dog. There's a reason for
> some down time during class. Dogs absorb training during down time. They get
> used to you and how you move as a person who lives with blindness in any
> degree, which is very different from how they interacted with sighted
> instructors and kennel staff. Some dogs take longer to acclimate to their
> new handlers.
> 
> Again, using my own experience, it takes me a long time during class to get
> used to the movements of a new dog, how that dog indicates stops, subtle
> movements, like going around things, indications of objects, etc. I'd like
> to think I'm a pretty capable person but I'd never take a dog on class out
> with me without an instructor in unfamiliar territory until maybe the last
> few days. I'd want to be sure I was not only able to interpret what the dog
> was telling me but that I was giving the right type of correction to match
> the offense and to be effective for that dog.
> 
> Some people might be able to do this far earlier with some dogs but in terms
> of sheer logistics, that dog is not officially graduated yet and hence is
> still property of the school. If it damages something while out and about
> without staff what do you do? Are you willing to sign something saying you
> are fully responsible if you take a dog out without supervision? Some people
> might and that's fine. I'm not there.
> 
> This has nothing to do with how I think the school views me. It has to do
> with my own feelings about how I adjust to each dog. I need a lot of time
> and walks under my feet to get to know each dog. I'm a firm believer in the
> standard line from the schools that it usually takes a while for a team to
> gel. I've had those dogs who just snapped into place for me and I've had
> those whom I've struggled with for our entire partnership. In both cases
> I've had to put in a lot of work to get used to the little things, the
> things that make me feel safe with a dog, the stopping, straight street
> crossing, etc. I can override a dog faster than you'd know and in the
> beginning, my dogs have, as Tracy's and my mutual friend says, to learn to
> yell at me to get my attention.
> 
> Jenine Stanley
> jeninems at wowway.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/pdonahue2%40satx.rr.com 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/buddy%40brannan.name





More information about the NAGDU mailing list