[nagdu] a cane and dog discussion

[Tami Kinney]

Julie,

Okay, here's my current rambling thought on the subject. I make no
guarantees as to whether it will make any sense at all to anyone. /lol/

As an owner-trainer who prefers dog but will grab a cane if that makes
sense -- in addition to keeping a carry cane about my person at all
times until I lose it. Again.  /lol/ I stil have a gzillion canes, and I
have taken to naming them by function or location.  So there's the Truck
Cane, the Sunday Go Ta Meetin' Cane, the Backyard Cane, the Hiking Cane,
the Where the Heck Did This Cane Come From and What Is It Doing *Here*?
cane or two that I don't even remember getting, but there it is!  Good
grief!

Then there are the times I use the cane with the dog on leash -- but she
is still guiding loosely while I use the cane more as a supplement than
primary information source.  Or when she's running off leash while I'm
using the cane to tell me about the ground or obstacles while she guides
me around them by her jingle or by squeaking her ball in a certain
way... Silly poodle!  But very, very clever.

I also practice with my cane on my own for a few hours every 4 to 8
weeks while she is at the groomers.  /smile/  Mostly what I'm working on
then is my awareness of the environment around me and using that
awareness to move around in it as fluidly as possible.  Also, to find
doors, restrooms, elevators, stairs, the store I actually want to get
to, etc., etc., all by myself.  That's where I foresee having the most
trouble if, heaven forbid, I need to go flying around daily life (the
version I'm working on getting to, where I do more flying around) with
my cane because my dog is out of action.  I live in fear that I will
discover I have become so dependent on her finding everything for me
that I will not be able to find my way out of a paper bag on my
own.  /shudder/  So that's what I work on most when I'm doing cane
practice for the sake of practicing.

I've started noticing something else, though, over the past few
months... First, even if I make a conscious choice to put the clicker
away, it ends up in my hand.  Even when I'm using the cane.  Mitzi
doesn't need that training tool, hasn't for a long time, but things just
seem to go better when I have it in my hand.  I will catch myself
clicking randomly and wonder why and what is wrong with me...  The Mitzi
lost her tags, then her bells, then her other bells...  This messed me
up like you would not believe, even around the house...  WTF???

Oh.  I wonder how long I've been using the sounds of the tags and/or
bells for echolocation.  Along with the clicker!  /lol/  That probably
explains why I'm so persnickety about *which* clicker I must have... I
have a number of them of the same type, but they don't all sound the
same.  So I always pick the same one, and DD makes fun of me for
scurrying around to make sure I have it when any clicker should do... 

That also seems to explain why I always seem to be talking to my dog --
or my cane -- when I'm in unfamiliar territory -- or even in familiar
territory like the house after another jump in vision loss.  I'm talking
just to hear the sound of my own voice.  Which is annoying after
awhile.  /lol/

Anyway, I don't know if any of that is helpful, but it's what I know and
how I manage my own choices for independent travel and orientation.

Have fun learning and refining what works best for you!