[nagdu] Getting A Dog

Sat Oct 15 17:31:26 UTC 2011

Hannah,

Welcome to the list! I live in Portland, Oregon, and I am working my 
5-year-old owner-trained poodle guide Mitzi.

Just before I found Mitzi and decided to owner-train, I did apply to 
GDB, since they are close here, too. There is one person in the 
admissions department there that I noticed and that others have 
mentioned does give a bad vibe... Whether it is the same person you 
mention or not, I can't say, but I wanted you to know you're probably 
not alone there. The best description I've heard of the manner and 
behavior in question is "off putting." /smile/ I had been thinking of 
owner-training at some point anyway, but it was largely that manner that 
put me off enough that I decided to up and train my own darn dog the 
first time and hope for the best. That's me. I happened to get a really 
great pup, and she has turned into an excellent guide. Whew! /grin/

As for the notion that you need to sit home for 6 months with your guide 
dog... Others have already given their opinion of that one, and I'm sure 
more will. /smile/

Another west coast training program I am learning a lot about because 
they have a number of grads in this area is Guide Dogs of the Desert. 
They are a small school and are unable to pay transportation costs to 
and from the school, but at least one person I know was able to find 
assistance with that in order to get down to Palm Springs for training. 
So I've become very intrigued by this, especially since they offer 
poodles and a few other breeds.

Best of luck to you on your journey, and on many happy travels with a 
furry guide!

Tami

On 10/14/2011 04:01 AM, Larry D. Keeler wrote:
> Hannah, that sounds kind of goofy!  Not you but the school.  At Pilot, 
> they like you to be active with your dog.  I've never been told to 
> settle down! Unless maybe you don't have a permant place where you're 
> staying or something?  But even then, as long as yyou can take care of 
> a dog it shouldn't really matter.  Dogs do love to come home though.  
> when I come home Holly sort of lets her hair down.  Holly is a brown 
> labradoodle from Pilot Dogs.  My main reason for going there was to 
> make sure I got a poodle. Oops, half a poodle but she is great!  There 
> are so many differences in schools that you'll have to compare and 
> decide.  I called the school you applied to but they didn't do 
> poodles.  I have found most school representatives most pleasant and 
> willing to answer my questions.
> ----- 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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