[nagdu] Why German Shepherds was Re: new guide dog.

Sun Feb 6 01:51:21 UTC 2011

As far as I know Fidelco is the only organization that trains only one 
breed. Does anyone know why this is and why German Shepherds?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tamara Smith-Kinney" <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2011 5:43 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] new guide dog.

> Oh!  Now that you mention that, my memory serves the same thing.  D'oh!
>
> Tami Smith-Kinney
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Nicole B. Torcolini at Home
> Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2011 5:39 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] new guide dog.
>
> Tami,
>
>    If my memory serves, I seem to recall hearing that Fidelco only trains
> German Shepherds. Correct me if I am wrong.
>
> Nicole
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Tamara Smith-Kinney" <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2011 5:29 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] new guide dog.
>
>
>> Alex,
>>
>> I got my poodle from a breeder in Grants Pass, Oregon.  Mitzi was six
>> months
>> old when I first heard of her, nearly 7 mnths when she arrived at my 
>> home.
>> /smile/  I was planning at the time for her to be a companion pet first
>> and
>> foremost, as I was recovering from PTSD from an assault.  I chose a
>> smallish
>> standard poodle -- she's about 50 lbs -- because I also needed to walk a
>> lot
>> for physical therapy to recover from the injuries.  And, I was really,
>> really hoping I would get a good guide dog prospect while I was at it.
>> My
>> hopes were fulfilled!  I had always planned -- in a kinda sorta way -- to
>> train my own guide dog at some point, just not my first one.  Still, I'm
>> glad I did, and she has turned out really great -- in a poodly way --
>> despite my utter cluelessness about what it was I was training her for.
>> /smile/  I got lots of good suggestions and tips and how tos about guide
>> dog
>> use from this list and more about the training parts from the
>> owner-trainers
>> I met here.
>>
>> Some guide dog programs have gotten good poodle lines going over the past
>> several years, but they're still pretty hard to get apparently, unless 
>> you
>> qualify by having allergies or needing a hypoallergenic dog for some
>> reason.
>> So we only just got another poodle guide here, so I can finally hear
>> someone
>> else say, "Well, he's a poodle, remember," and such.  /lol/
>>
>> Do you know what kind of dog you will be getting yet?  What was your 
>> first
>> dog?
>>
>> For my guide dog harnesses and such, I order from Pawpower Creations.
>> Since
>> you will get all of that from Fidelco, I don't have anything else useful
>> to
>> offer.  A lot of people know where to get some really cool stuff, though,
>> so
>> you should be getting plenty of places to look.  /smile/
>>
>> Tami Smith-Kinney
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
>> Behalf
>> Of alex
>> Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2011 4:48 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] new guide dog.
>>
>> thank you Tami,
>> may I ask where did you get your poodle from?
>> On 2011-02-05, at 7:40 PM, Tamara Smith-Kinney wrote:
>>
>>> Well said, Marsha!
>>>
>>> Alex, congratulations!
>>>
>>> It is true, we have been discussing some possibly questionable behavior
>>> by
>>> Fidelco towards some consumers.  We also have happy Fidelco graduates,
>> like
>>> Hope, some of them repeat graduates and at least who is, if I recall
>>> correctly, in the process of retiring a current Fidelco dog and 
>>> returning
>>> there for a replacement.  We're not here to make your decisions for you
>>> or
>>> to go around slamming guide dog programs, but the information that there
>> are
>>> questions might be useful to you if you wish to know more.
>>>
>>> Don't worry.  If you were headed for certain doom, we would just go 
>>> ahead
>>> and tell you. /grin/  We would, of course, respectfully leave the choice
>> of
>>> whether to walk off the cliff entirely up to you.  It would at least be
>>> an
>>> informed choice! /lol/
>>>
>>> As for reading the archives...  It's probably not my place to say this,
>> but
>>> it's been pretty hectic on this list lately, and the dust is still
>> settling
>>> after some problems caused by a troller -- if that term is even in use
>>> anymore.  That's somebody who joins a discussion to cause trouble and
>>> tick
>>> people off and stuff, then gets kicked out of the group and comes back
>> under
>>> a different name, and so on.  The moderators and others in leadership
>>> have
>>> gotten this troller permanently out of hair, but recent archives are no
>>> doubt pretty messy and not representative of us as a group.  /smile/
>>>
>>> Anyway, welcome and best wishes.  I am looking to hear more from you as
>> you
>>> go.  As for me,  I am still on my first guide, an owner-trained poodle
>> named
>>> Mitzi.  She has just turned the corner from 4-1/2 to almost 5, and I am
>>> enjoying the experience of being an experienced (by my own lights) guide
>> dog
>>> handler with a mature, experienced dog.  Relative to this time last 
>>> year,
>>> and we just won't talk about the year before that...  Or the year before
>>> that ...  /lol/  We have had a fun adventure together, but I am glad to
>>> be
>>> able to just sit back and enjoy the ride for awhile.  /smile/
>>> Owner-trainer, if that is a new term to you, means that I trained the 
>>> dog
>> I
>>> own.  Some people use the term self-trained dog instead of owner-trained
>>> dog...  But not if they've actually done it.  /grin/  As we
>>> owner-trainers
>>> like to remind people, the dogs don't train themselves!  /grin/
>>>
>>> Who retains legal ownership of the guide dog upon graduation at this 
>>> time
>>> varies from program to program.  It is true that at this time Fidelco
>>> does
>>> retain legal ownership of the guide after you graduation from their
>> training
>>> and return home.  I apologize that I can't remember specifics.  Some
>>> programs retain legal ownership for a specific period of time, some for
>> the
>>> life of the dog (could be wrong there, but I think there is or has been
>>> one), others something in between.  Only two programs currently grant
>> legal
>>> ownership of the dog upon graduation from the program.
>>>
>>> Since I trained my own dog, I suppose I don't need to clarify my
>> preference
>>> on that score.  /smile/  Others feel differently and make their choices
>>> based on other factors.
>>>
>>> Changes in the overall system are another matter we all discuss, debate,
>>> argue, discuss...  /smile/  We're an opinionated lot here, but we do our
>>> best to respect others, except for when somebody gets excited about
>>> something and slips up there.  /smile/
>>>
>>> Tami Smith-Kinney
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>> Behalf
>>> Of Marsha Drenth
>>> Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2011 12:05 PM
>>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] new guide dog.
>>>
>>> Alex,
>>>
>>> If you feel as a person who is about to get a guide from a program, and
>> you
>>> have done all your homework, or in other words, you have made an 
>>> informed
>>> choice. And that is what is best for you then, that is what you need to
>> do.
>>> Yes there have been issues with Fidelco as of recently. But what is true
>> for
>>> the other people have issues with, may not be the same for you. Just 
>>> like
>>> some those on this list do not like GDB or TSE or Southeastern, it is
>>> your
>>> choice. No one on this list can not say that you should not get a dog
>>> from
>>> any program, but the ONLY point I will agree with Peter on is, that you
>>> should read the archives of the list. So you know what the issues of
>> Fidelco
>>> have been. Again this is informed choice. But if you have already seen
>>> the
>>> list messages concerning Fidelco, and know what your getting into, and
>> that
>>> is what you want, and what you think is right to do, then go for it. 
>>> This
>> is
>>> the same for those who do not like GDB, TSE or whatever school. We all
>> have
>>> our opinions, and others should respect that.
>>>
>>> Marsha
>>> Co-Moderator
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>> Behalf
>>> Of alex
>>> Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2011 1:43 PM
>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] new guide dog.
>>>
>>> Peter are you saying that I should not get a guide dog from Fidelco?
>>> On 2011-02-05, at 1:01 PM, Peter Donahue wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hello everyone,
>>>>
>>>>   You might also wish to read archives of this list concerning 
>>>> Fidelco's
>>>> ownership policy before following through with your plans to get a dog
>>> from
>>>> them. One way to stop the kind of behavior we've seen from our guide 
>>>> dog
>>>> programs is if people stopped seeking their services and use programs
>> that
>>>
>>>> treat the blind in a more respectable fashion. Please consider this as 
>>>> a
>>>> general comment not an attack against anyone. Thank you.
>>>>
>>>> Peter Donahue
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>>> From: "Hope Paulos" <hope.paulos at gmail.com>
>>>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2011 11:19 AM
>>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] new guide dog.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> What type of supplies are you looking for? Fidelco provides all the
>>>> equipment needed-- harness, leash, brush, comb,  stationing mat,
>>> sterilized
>>>> bone,  etc.
>>>> Hope and Beignet from Fidelcos
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>>> From: "alex" <AAAtlantic at aol.com>
>>>> To: <NAGDU at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2011 11:43 AM
>>>> Subject: [nagdu] new guide dog.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> hello all,
>>>>> I am going to get my second guide dog but this time from fidelco
>>> sometimes
>>>>> in march.  I am looking for websites that sales guide dog supplies.
>>>>> thank you all
>>>>> Alexander Atlantic
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>>>>
>>>>
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