[nagdu] guide dog question for a 7 year old girl

Fri Dec 14 18:11:47 UTC 2012

I'm wondering if the school that wants to train a seven year old kid with a 
guide dog is thinking about how schools like Canine Companions for 
Independence does.  CCI trains kids as young as five with a service dog but 
the parent MUST train along with their kid and the parent has the 
responsibility to the dog's care - rather makes sure the kid takes care of 
the dog as much as the kid is able.  The parent is the dog's "safety net". 
This seems to work with CCI but all their graduates are sighted.

I imagine this may not work so well with a blind kid unless the kid is 
accompanied by an adult - which to me would really negate the child's need 
for a guide dog.

Most schools will not train a student under 16 or 18.  In many cases, the 
maturity level in these folks can be debateable!  I had a friend who was 
very mature and was trained with her first guide at age 14 and it went well 
for her.

Lyn and Landon
"Education creates tolerance towards diversity."
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Buddy Brannan" <buddy at brannan.name>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 5:27 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] guide dog question for a 7 year old girl

there's one other issue with younger kids, especially *this* young, getting 
guide dogs. All other things being equal, which they aren't, here's one huge 
problem. OK, kids? Kids are terrible, or they can be. That's a big problem. 
The kid being mature enough to be responsible for a dog? Yeah, very rare. 
You have to pick up dog crap even when you don't eel like it. Your dog needs 
fed even if you don't feel like it. You have to do those things even when 
yo'd rather be doing stuff with your friends, or sleeping, or what have you. 
But there's one more. What will the kid do when some adult comes up and pets 
his dog? The kid will have to be the boss when it comes to his dog and tell 
potential authority figures that no, they may not interfere with his dog, 
because it's working. But since adults are authority figures and "know 
better", there's a huge potential for them to blow the kid off and really 
mess with that relationship, not to mention the whole "kids need to mind 
what adults say" and the "kids shouldn't talk back to adults" thing. Less of 
a problem with teenagers, but still a problem, but that problem would be 
absolutely astronomically huge with a young kid.
--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY

On Dec 11, 2012, at 6:55 PM, "Larry D. Keeler" <lkeeler at comcast.net> wrote:

> I was really younge wen I got my first guide dog, 45!  I do know some kids 
> who could do it but those are rare.  Dogs are sort of like kids who never 
> grow up. And, they come with a lot of responsibility.  Also, her peers 
> would be a potential issue.  Even if she was really good with the dog, a 
> clas full of other kids wanting to pet, feed or otherwise interact with 
> the dog could cause the girrl a lot of stress.
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "rhonda cruz" 
> <rhondaprincess at gmail.com>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 5:09 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] guide dog question for a 7 year old girl
>
>
> i was 22 when i got my first dog.
>
> On Dec 11, 2012, at 1:45 PM, Shannon Dyer wrote:
>
>> I can't imagine a school would train a dog for a seven-year-old. I was 
>> seventeen when i got my first dog, and not all schools were crazy about 
>> training a dog for a teenager.
>>
>> Shannon and Ace
>> Shannon Dyer
>> Alumni Council Member,
>> Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc
>> ®  and
>> America's VetDogs®,  The Veteran's K-9 Corps Inc ®
>> Providing "Second Sight" ® since 1946
>> 371 E. Jericho Turnpike, Smithtown, NY 11787
>> Office: 631-930-9000, Toll-free: 866-282-8047
>> solsticesinger at gmail.com
>> To make a donation that can change a life...contact the Guide Dog 
>> Foundation at
>> www.guidedog.org
>> or America's VetDogs the Veterans K-9 Corps at
>> www.vetdogs.org
>> Visit us on facebook at:
>> www.facebook.com/GuideDogFoundation or www.facebook.com/AmericasVetDogs
>>
>> On Dec 11, 2012, at 3:27 PM, Passle Helminski <passle at roadrunner.com> 
>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> A friend wants to know if there are any dog guide schools who will train 
>>> a blind 7 year girl.  She uses her white cane very well. I told that I 
>>> thought the girl was too young. Please give me your advice.
>>>
>>> Thank you,
>>>
>>> Passle
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>
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