[nagdu] a cane and dog discussion

Steven Johnson blinddog3 at charter.net
Mon Jun 20 23:01:19 UTC 2011


Sheila, you make a great point to where a dog may have a slight advantage
over a cane when working in snow conditions, or at least, this is my
experience.  I have been using guides for almost 20 years now, and feel I am
independent.  Let me give a shot at the questions though...
So, here are my thoughts at this time on the questions you have posed:

*Do you think that guide dog users are just as independent as cane users
when it comes to travelling?
Absolutely as independence is very subjective , and how it is viewed from
one's own perception.  I feel that as a guide dog handler of almost 20
years, I am able to navigate with both a dog and a cane, but if you were to
take my guide away at this point, it would take a while for me to attain the
skill level that I left off at.

*Do you think you lose cane skills if  you use a dog the majority of the
time?  
I think that this is a very subjective question as some will vary using
their dog and a cane, while others will use a dog the majority of the time,
and vise versa, a cane most of the time.  Different situations warrant
different tools for some, but my preference is and has been a guide.  I feel
there are very few things I cannot navigate on the first try, but having
confidence in one's own skills whether it be with a cane or a dog makes a
big difference.

*Do you think that the majority of dog handlers are bad cane users?
Absolutely not.  But I would tend to guess that the majority of cane users
are bad guide dog handlers/smile!  All kidding aside, it depends on how well
we, as both dog guide users and cane users in the same breath, keep those
skills sharp.  At first, if we are without our guides, this may indeed be
the case, but once we are up to speed with the skill level where we had left
off, there should not be a question as it is a requirement for most schools
to have solid O&M skills.

Steve


-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Sheila Leigland
Sent: Monday, June 20, 2011 9:06 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] a cane and dog discussion

I think it depends on the situations that a person deals with daily. I do
much better with a dog in snow and on ice than I did with a cane. I used a
cane exclusivily until almost eleven years ago when I got my first dog.my
first dog. I've known cane users that have no interest in getting a dog and
that is fine. I don't know people that have lost there cane skills but I've
heard of it.. 

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