[nagdu] could have, would have, should have
Mark J. Cadigan
kramc11 at gmail.com
Wed Feb 29 23:26:40 UTC 2012
Sometimes it is amazing how well the schools match the clients with there
dogs.
There is a girl in my dorm with a guide dog. She has a very petite lab. This
lab is so gentle and careful that when I took him out when she was not
feeling well, I was astonished by the difference. On the other hand, I have
an 80lb GSD this girl could never handle him, because he is way to strong,
walks way to fast, pulls way too hard on the harness and requires a you to
pay attention or he will just mess with you. However, he is perfect for me,
because I do walk fast, and am strong enough to handle him.
----- 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>
Sent: Wednesday, February 29, 2012 3:06 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] could have, would have, should have
> DAniel,
> That TRAINER should have had the choke collar on and given a huge leash
> correction for not listening to yhou and your very valid concerns while on
> class! LOL!
>
> I wonder at times as to what thought processes are going through some
> trainers's heads when they match a dog to someone. Your description of
> the dog and what happened even while at school was so obvious that it was
> a poor match to begin with.
>
> A friend of mine, a very petite woman, was matched with this huge Lab who
> was very energetic. The dog had dog distraction problems and he also was
> attacked. He began to lunge at other dogs and he sucessfully pulled away
> from this woman on many occassions. I saw this in action one time and I
> had to grab her dog's leash as he was pulling away from her to go after a
> barking dog that was with a homeless guy. I pulled up on the leash until
> the dog stopped lunging and handed him back to her. I did this when she
> yelled, Lyn, help me!" Having some vision, I was able to assess the
> situation and help my friend out. My friend did struggle with this dog
> for about 6 years and the dog finally had to be retired due to health
> issues. The dog was a really nice dog but a poor match for my friend. He
> was more of a guy's kind of dog. After that dog, my friend applied for a
> dog at another school and she was matched perfectly with a little, petite
> Lab and they are a great match for each other. The trainer at her new
> school was right on with this.
>
> You may want to make sure that the school you attend will listen to your
> concerns. Your school failed YOU and there's no excuse for that at all.
>
> Regards,
>
> Lyn and Landon
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "DJS" <falcoisking at comcast.net>
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, February 27, 2012 1:42 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] could have, would have, should have
>
>
>> Hi Bibi,
>>
>> Thanks for your thoughtful words. You are so right when you say when you
>> say
>> that other people that do not have a service animal can even begin to
>> understand the loss. I had a pet for 11 years before I got Scout. His
>> name
>> was Falco. I raised him from a pup of 5 weeks. He knew me better than I
>> knew
>> myself. It was when I had him that I lost my sight. He was about 3 years
>> old. We had gone through training because I knew he would be a handful if
>> I
>> did not as he weighed 125 pounds. He was the most perfect dog. He heeled
>> right next to me. He stopped at every curb. When we went to the dog park
>> by
>> my house, he never left my side unless I said it was ok, and then he came
>> back every few minutes to check on me. He never let anyone get too close
>> to
>> me unless he knew it was ok. We would walk every morning and afternoon
>> and
>> evening with my white cane.
>> I told him if I ever got another dog it would be a guide dog, so he could
>> go
>> with me everywhere that Falco could not.
>> When I went to Michigan to get Scout, I knew something was wrong. I knew
>> nothing about guide dogs, but I knew dogs. When I went out on the course
>> just to heel Scout, I was exhausted. He was way too fast, and I kept
>> telling
>> the trainers this. "Keep working on this", "back up when he goes too
>> fast",
>> "make him sit until he calms down" - I did all of these things, and it
>> was
>> like he ignored me.
>> When we did a training in Detroit, we were on a train, and my trainer had
>> us
>> enter the train and told me to have the dog sit. Scout proceeded to lay
>> down
>> in a sprawl. Her response was "at least he is down, so that's ok" -
>> REALLY?
>> On another trip in a small town, we made an excursion over railroad
>> tracks,
>> past some vacant lots, and some sidewalk dining. The first thing Scout
>> did
>> was to take me off of the sidewalk into a vacant lot and on to dirt path
>> to
>> sniff around through the trail. The trainer rescued me, we continued. I
>> walked toward the dining tables, and he walked me right into a parked
>> car. I
>> expressed how dissatisfied I was and all they said was it would take a
>> lot
>> of work for to be a team. I told them I did better with a pet.
>> By the time I left I was furious.
>> I know I should have been more vocal, but they kept saying it would just
>> take work.
>> When I got home, to Denver, it was even worse. I would walk down the
>> street
>> and he would not even pay attention to me. I could not even get his
>> attention with food.
>> I asked for help from a trainer, but they could not even have one
>> available
>> for at least 5 months.
>> In the meantime - I was guided into my pond, broke my tooth, sprained my
>> ankle, and so much more. I just kept remembering it takes at least a
>> year. I
>> believed that crap, and wasn't going to give up.
>> At home Scout was a perfect pup, and so full of love, who would put his
>> huge
>> head on my foot and sleep. He was my shadow, licked my tears when I
>> cried.
>> And so it went on for 3 and a half years. I really thought about keeping
>> as
>> a pet, but I could even walk him on a leash. He was just too much dog.
>> The school has not even contacted me to see if I am ok. All they wanted
>> is
>> to get the dog back. Maybe they thought I would cause trouble because of
>> my
>> accident and it would look bad for one of their dogs. They have provided
>> no
>> type of support for grief counseling, no kind words, or nothing.
>> My thanks go out to people like you and people on this list for being my
>> comfort and support. I certainly appreciate it.
>> I will probably get another guide dog someday, but Scout restricted my
>> freedom in so many ways, I need to work on mobility again, and I am so
>> behind on adaptive technology, I have to try to find out where to go from
>> here.
>> I am glad to know you are here in Denver, maybe we can meet for coffee or
>> lunch sometime.
>>
>> Thanks so much for letting me rant.
>>
>> Daniel
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf
>> Of Criminal Justice Major
>> Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2012 8:55 PM
>> To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] could have, would have, should have
>>
>> hi, Daniel,
>> This is Bibi and retired Pilot Dogs guide dog son Odie from Denver,
>> Colorado.
>> Feel free to send me an email off list anytime at:
>> orleans24 at comcast.net
>> Please don't beat yourself over it and don't take it hard on yourself
>> either.
>> I've had a mismatch which I tried to work with the dog for seven months.
>> Yes, I experienced the same devastation too, but it was much rougher
>> during
>> training when I got Odie.
>> I had to retire Freedom David Berry the same day I ended up getting Odie
>> Harley Davidson five and a half hours later.
>> I'll admit that the director of training at Pilot wasn't too positive and
>> he
>>
>> was very negative where he just wanted me to give up on Freedom and send
>> him
>>
>> back.
>> The rest of the staff at Pilot didn't see it his way.
>> They encouraged me to try different techniques and I also went as far as
>> to
>> enroll him into obedience training classes at Petsmart, more because he
>> was
>> very skittish of noises.
>> The executive director of Pilot Dogs told me he was taking full
>> responsibility for what had happened upon stating that Freedom should
>> have
>> never been allowed to be a guide dog in the first place because of the
>> type
>> of environment he was raised in.
>> Freedom was raised in a PBB (Puppy Behind Bars) program in a female
>> setting
>> prison.
>> He wasn't fond of men and he'd growl at them if felt threatened which
>> majority of the time, it wasn't necessary.
>> My father began to suspect that Freedom had been beaten by a man, causing
>> the dog to be intimidated.
>> Freedom David Berry took to very few men and sadly, it stayed that way.
>> Once I ended up with Odie, things slowly began to look up, despite that I
>> still had painful feelings of letting Freedom go.
>> When I did talk with the executive director during the last week of
>> training
>>
>> at Pilot, I told him that I felt like I was a total failure that I failed
>> Freedom David Berry completely.
>> He reassured me I wasn't a failure and explained the only reason why he
>> had
>> me come back to retrain with another guide dog was that I didn't give up
>> and
>>
>> continued to keep trying regardless of how stressful it was.
>> Confession time. I almost wanted to pack up my belongs and leave without
>> another guide dog, more because Odie decided to be a big brat during
>> training and he definitely gave me a run for my money.
>> I look back now and it was really worth it.
>> I would definitely encourage you to get another guide dog, but allow
>> yourself to have some grieving time.
>> Take your time grieving for how long you need to.
>> you may also want to look into other guide dog schools as there are many
>> others to choose from and what will fit your needs.
>> Guide dog users aren't the only ones who go through that agonizing
>> feeling
>> too as I've seen others with different types of service dogs experience
>> mismatches or where the dog simply just just doesn't want to be a working
>> dog.
>> My friend Amanda Dreher experienced it with her first hearing dog, Buddy.
>> She said that although he was a smart dog and International Hearing Dogs
>> did
>>
>> admit to putting out a dog who should have not been put out as a service
>> dog, she tried everything and didn't give up.
>> She's on her second hearing dog, a Wheaton/caron terior mix who has been
>> her
>>
>> ears for three years and the match has worked out well for the two of
>> them.
>> Although words don't really help anyone heal from a painful experience as
>> this one, we're all here for you and remember that good things do come
>> out
>> of a negative impact.
>> Bibi, husband Dale and Odie
>> medical alert service dog
>> the happy spirited bounty labra wolf
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nagdu mailing list
>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nagdu:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/falcoisking%40comcast.net
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nagdu mailing list
>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nagdu:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/linda.gwizdak%40cox.net
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/kramc11%40gmail.com
More information about the NAGDU
mailing list