[nagdu] Returned From The Seeing Eye

Wed Jul 27 17:44:04 UTC 2011

Tracy,

Any time! I think it's pretty silly, too, but if it works... Glad to
know someone else has a dog that can follow an itinerary. /grin/

Tami

On Wed, 2011-07-27 at 12:01 -0400, Tracy Carcione wrote: 
> Hi Bob.
> Congrats on your new partnership!
> When I have a new dog, I try to be patient and encourage him to figure out
> problems.  I think it helps build initiative.
> I've had guide dogs for more than 30 years now, but I decided to try
> something Tami Kinney does, telling the dog where I want to go sometime
> before we get there.  I always thought that was silly, but it actually
> seems to help Ben make right choices, or at least not hesitate by every
> possibility.  We go to several stores down on our main street, and I tell
> Ben which one we want maybe 20-50 yards before we come to the first one. 
> If I've told Ben we're going to the diner, he'll take a different line on
> the sidewalk and breeze right past the gym.  Then, when we get to the
> diner, which I have been telling him "Inside diner", he goes right to it
> and I say "Diner!"  with much happiness.  You might try it--tell Nick
> where you want to go, like "office", and direct him there, then say
> "office" a couple times in a happy way.  It won't hurt, and it might help.
> Thanks Tami!  We live and learn.
> Tracy
> 
> > Good Afternoon folks,
> >
> > I've found the comments resulting from my inquiry of a couple of   days
> > ago
> > very interesting and the varied  perspectives have been helpful.  My
> > reason
> > for asking about canes is that I'd like something relatively light,
> > perhaps
> > collapsible, in order to solve occasional problems of orientation
> > especially
> > in instances in which Nick encounters and obstruction and seems unable to
> > figure out how best to get me around it or when we overshoot a     turn or
> > when he takes a wrong intersecting sidewalk and I need to help him
> > reorient.
> > I recognize the need for a great deal of trust in the dog and this was
> > initially something of a challenge during my training but my confidence in
> > him is growing daily.  He does, however, make mistakes some of which I
> > contribute to and since he doesn't always know where I intend to go I
> > recognize that there are times when I will need to give helpful
> > instructions. Right now we're working on what will become routine routes
> > to
> > work and on the campus where I work and there are lots of walks that
> > intersect that confuse him.  I'm learning to give him time to work things
> > out for hmself but there are some things he can't work out because he
> > doesn't know where I need or want to go.  I'm confident that with a GPS
> > and
> > some kind of light cane there will come a time when I can go almost
> > anywhere.  Thanks again for the helpful comments.
> >
> > Bob
> >
> >        - Original Message -----
> > From: "Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC)" <REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com>
> > To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
> > <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> > Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 10:33 AM
> > Subject: Re: [nagdu] Returned From The Seeing Eye
> >
> >
> >> No, no, you don't need to know your neighborhood to have good cane
> >> skills,
> >> you need to be able to problem solve. That's what Bob?? is doing.
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> >> Behalf
> >> Of dmgina
> >> Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 11:30 AM
> >> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> >> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Returned From The Seeing Eye
> >>
> >> When I got my first dog it was mandatory to know my area. If I had not,
> >> I
> >> would have not gotten my dog.
> >> If it is required to have good cane skills, then you need to know your
> >> neighboorhod.
> >> Dar
> >>
> >> Sent from my iPhone
> >>
> >> On Jul 26, 2011, at 6:53 AM, "Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC)"
> >> <REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Maybe it's me but I found the "I hope you know your neighborhood"
> >>> comment
> >>> a bit insulting.  Even if he doesn't, for any number of reasons so
> >>> what?
> >>> We all must learn new things all the time.
> >>> To answer the question, you can heel your dog and use a cane when you
> >>> want to check things out.
> >>>
> >>> -----Original Message-----
> >>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> >>> Behalf Of dmgina
> >>> Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2011 10:13 PM
> >>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> >>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Returned From The Seeing Eye
> >>>
> >>> Dar here,
> >>> Welcome home.
> >>> One of the concerns I would have if you use a cane all the time, is
> >>> your
> >>> dog will become sloppy on the job.
> >>> Since you are trying to figure out the problen not letting the dog do
> >>> what he is trained to do.
> >>> Deciding what is best, and you trusting the dog.
> >>> I hope you know your neighborhood?
> >>> Dar
> >>>
> >>> Sent from my iPhone
> >>>
> >>> On Jul 24, 2011, at 6:30 PM, Robert Martin <robert.martin at cfu.net>
> >>> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> HI,
> >>>>
> >>>> Late on Thursday afternoon I returned to Iowa from three and a half
> >>>> weeks at The Seeing Eye In New Jersey.  I am now the partner of a
> >>>> sixty-pound Golden Retriever named Nick who is a very mellow and
> >>>> exceptionally friendly dog who also seems to be a very good worker.
> >>>> If
> >>>> I learn to be as effective as he is, we should have a wonderful
> >>>> partnership.  We have lots of learning and getting acquainted before
> >>>> us
> >>>> but I think we're well matched and well trained.  I was enormously
> >>>> impressed with the instructors and the staff at the Seeing Eye.  Like
> >>>> everyone I was apprehensive but quickly realized that I was in
> >>>> excellent
> >>>> hands and although I made this decision somewhat later than do most
> >>>> people, I do not regret it for one minute.  I will probably be calling
> >>>> on all of you for advice from time to time and I'm confident I will
> >>>> continue to benefit from the experiences of all of you.
> >>>>
> >>>> For the moment I have one questions.  It's quite an adjustment to move
> >>>> from the kind of information one receives from a cane to that which
> >>>> one
> >>>> receives from a dog.  I was told   that there is sometimes a benefit
> >>>> from coupling the work of the dog with the occasional use of a cane to
> >>>> figure out what kind of obstacles  the dog is trying to cope with or
> >>>> to
> >>>> get a better sense of orientation to an unfamiliar site.  Can any of
> >>>> you
> >>>> suggest what kind of cane you may occasionally use in conjunction with
> >>>> your dog?  Does a good collapsible cane work well for such situations
> >>>> where a cane might be appropriate?  Any advice will be much
> >>>> appreciated.
> >>>>
> >>>> Thanks,
> >>>>
> >>>> Bob
> >>>>
> >>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>> 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/dmgina%40samobile.net
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> 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/rebecca.pickrell%40tasc.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/dmgina%40samobile.net
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> 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/rebecca.pickrell%40tasc.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/robert.martin%40cfu.net
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > 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/carcione%40access.net
> >
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> 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/tamara.8024%40comcast.net