[nagdu] Getting A Dog

Fri Oct 14 17:43:20 UTC 2011

Hi Hannah,
Welcome to the list!  About your search for a good guide dog school for 
yourself:  Talk to people who got dogs from various schools and also get the 
literature and talk to people who work at various schools.  This is what I 
did and it has worked out well for me and I got a rounded view of the 
schools.

There's a book that you can get from NLS for the Blind called "Guide To 
Guide Dog Schools" by Toni and Ed Eames.  I highly recommend this book to 
anyone who is considering their first guide dog.  Toni and Ed were NFB 
members - Ed died a couple of years ago, but I think, Toni still belongs to 
NAGDU.  The book is well written and treats the issue like one does when 
you're looking for a college to attend.  Also, they include the realities on 
guide dog ownership, rights and responsibilities.  This is geared for the 
first time guide dog user to help them to decide if a guide dog is right for 
yourself.  Toni lives in Fresno, CA.  The book was written in the early 
1990s with a second edition several years later, but the info is still 
relevant today.  And, there's always the option to pick our brains here on 
the list!

I'm Lyn and I'm on my eighth dog, Landon who is a Lab/Golden cross from The 
Seeing Eye.  I got Landon in October 2007.  We live in San Diego and work as 
pet assisted therapists through the Humane Society and the local military 
hospital.

HTH

Lyn and Landon
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "cheryl echevarria" <cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2011 10:48 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Getting A Dog

> Hannah, I was replying to you about that the schools do re-evaluations, 
> etc.
>
> I think some of the e-mails I was sending was getting confused with the 
> other person.
>
> I hope if you need some help you will find it here.
>
> Leading the Way in Independent Travel!
>
> Cheryl Echevarria
> http://www.echevarriatravel.com
> 631-456-5394
> reservations at echevarriatravel.com
>
> Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Superior Travel, located in 
> Baldwin, NY. www.superiortravel.com
>
> Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Absolute Cruise & Travel, 
> Inc.
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Hannah Chadwick" <sparklylicious at suddenlink.net>
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2011 11:07 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Getting A Dog
>
>
>> Hi everyone,
>> Thanks for all the warm welcomes!
>> I have not done much research on the various schools, and I don't know 
>> what
>> I expect/want from a dog or the dog school because this will be my first
>> time looking in to everything. I live in northern California, and the
>> closest school to me is in San Rafael, guide dogs for the blind. I hear 
>> that
>> they are a good school and so I applied a year or so ago.
>> I was supposed to get a dog over the summer but then something came up,
>> which made it not possible for me to attend the training. I put it off 
>> until
>> now and they are re-evaluating my application. I like to be doing stuff 
>> at
>> all times, especially traveling and I was told that I needed to settle 
>> down
>> for at least six months.
>> Now I am just waiting to hear back from them but I didn't get a good vibe
>> from talking to the admissions manager. So I'm just checking to see where
>> you guys got your dogs and what your experiences were upon attending the
>> training sessions.
>> Again, thank you so much for the warm welcomes :)
>> Cheers, hannah
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
>> Behalf
>> Of Julie J.
>> Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2011 2:51 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Getting A Dog
>>
>> Welcome Hannah!
>>
>> I'm Julie, one of the moderators.  I'm currently recovering from breaking 
>> my
>> foot, but in a few weeks I'll be working with Monty my lab and Boxer mix
>> guide again.  We are both looking forward to it quite a lot!
>>
>> I have no advice for guide dog school selection. I owner train my guides. 
>> I
>> usually tell people to figure out what it is you want from a guide dog
>> school.  Then prioritize the list.  When you start looking at schools it
>> will be much easier to find one that most closely matches your needs.
>> Others have mentioned location, but you might also consider what breeds 
>> they
>> offer, facilities, other amenities, size of classes, length of training,
>> availability of follow up services and any manner of other thing that is
>> important to you.
>>
>> What is important to me may not be important to you.  If you could share
>> some specific things you are looking for in a guide dog program, I think 
>> the
>> people here would more easily be able to help you.
>>
>> Again welcome!
>> Julie
>>
>>
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>>
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>
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