[nagdu] a little help calming me down please

Sat Dec 1 13:03:47 UTC 2012

Dear Daniel,
Lyn's advice is so right on!!!
I understand so well how you are feeling.  In 2004 I was sent 
home from a guide dog schl because I was falling.  Unlike you, I 
didn't have a dog who didn't work out  well, but my self esteem 
was down to zero.
This past February,  2012 I finally received my beauitiful 
balance dog, my black lab male, Felix.   The first time I fell in 
trainIng, I started crying.  I knew they would send me home.  My 
trainer stuck with me and said that she was going to be there for 
me to succeed.  I didn't have a brace on my left leg that worked 
properly, and the people at the schl helped me get it fixed.  
They still worked with me even though I couldn't go as far as 
many of the other students in my class could walk.  I even fell 
and got a black eye.
Please have a great training time at your schl.  May you have a 
wonderful new dog.  I will pray for you.
Sincerely,
Mary and Felix

> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "Lyn Gwizdak" <linda.gwizdak at cox.net
>To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org
>Date sent: Fri, 30 Nov 2012 11:23:42 -0800
>Subject: Re: [nagdu] a little help calming me down please

>Hi Daniel,
>Remember, this new dog isn't Scout.  Just relax and start with a 
new slate.
>I don't remember what Scout's problems were but I do remember you 
talking
>about his failure to work properly.  It was obvious that Scout 
didn't want
>to be a guide.

>While you are at school, be sure to talk to the trainers or the 
counsellor -
>if they still have one - about your fears.  Talk to your trainer 
so they can
>take special care to get you the right dog that you can learn to 
trust.  The
>fact that you are willing to try again is good.  Work with the 
dog in the
>manner you are trained to at the school and continue that when 
you come home
>with the dog.

>Ask any question or concern you have WHILE STILL AT SCHOOL.  No 
question is
>stupid and no concern is unfounded.  You feel them - ask.  That 
way, you can
>go home with your new dog feeling confident and ready for the new 
working
>relationship.  Do as the trainer tells you with the dog.  He or 
she knows
>that dog better than you do and knows how to work that dog.  
Don't get lax
>in your obedience routine with that dog.  Do not deviate from 
what you learn
>at school.  the dog needs that continuity to feel comfortable in 
being with
>strangers in a strange place.  You will be the only person the 
dog knows and
>will need that consistancy in its life.

>I wish you well.

>Lyn and Landon
>"Education creates tolerance towards diversity."
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Daniel" <daniel.sweeney1 at comcast.net
>To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users'"
><nagdu at nfbnet.org
>Sent: Friday, November 30, 2012 10:15 AM
>Subject: [nagdu] a little help calming me down please

>> Hi everyone,

>> I have not been on the list in quite a long time.  Some of you 
may remember
>> me.  My nam is Daniel and I had the guide dog that didn't, named 
Scout.
>> Well,
>> Scout retired back to the school he came from back in February 
of this
>> year.
>> I went back and forth over whether to do this all over again, 
but doing it
>> again won over.

>> I applied to GDB back in July, and was accepted.  I leave this 
Sunday
>> morning
>> for my 2 week training.  I should be very excited and happy, 
which I am,
>> but
>> I am also having extreme anxiety attacks.  I assume this is 
normal, I just
>> don't remember them being this bad before.

>> Do you think it is because the last dog did not work out so 
well, and I am
>> worried? Even while I am sitting here typing, I am shaking like 
a fool.

>> I am going to the Oregon campus.  It is supposed to be cold and 
rainy, and
>> I
>> am leaving Denver, which is 60 degrees and sunny, maybe that is 
part of
>> it.
>> Maybe it is I have been without a dog/companion for 10months, 
and I forgot
>> what it is like to have a dog again.

>> I have been reading everyone's post lately, and relishing in all 
the
>> stories
>> of dogs in trash, scarfing up snippets of food, stress and 
massage, and
>> getting the dog for more exercise.  All of these things I am so 
looking
>> forward to, with a dog that will not take me into a pond, pull 
me over a
>> shopping cart, and most of all, walk me behind a moving truck to 
be hit
>> and
>> knocked into a road of traffic.

>> I have learned very much from having a dog before.  I know what 
is not
>> acceptable from the start, which is something I did not know the 
first
>> time.

>> I also know that this is not the same dog, and I am going into 
this with
>> full trust in my new dog.  I will have faith in this dog and 
praise her/him
>> from the beginning for every good move and have no negative 
feelings for
>> any
>> unwanted behavior.  I feel that enough time has elapsed to let 
go of the
>> problems that Scout and I experienced.

>> I guess what I am seeking from you guys is just a few words of
>> encouragement.  I do so look forward to talking to all of you 
again, and
>> sharing all of my successes and funny stories in the future.

>> Thanks for being there for me in the past, and I look forward to 
be here
>> for
>> you in the future.

>> May the powers that be bless all of you now, especially in this 
season of
>> thanksgiving, friendship, sharing, and celebration of all we 
have in
>> common?

>> Daniel.

>> Daniel Sweeney

>> Lakewood, CO

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