[nagdu] blind dog training

[Michael Hingson]

Hi Mariea,

I think I know what you are asking, but some clarification is good to have.
When you say "blind dog" I assume you really mean "guide dog" and not a dog
who is really blind?

Assuming my observation is correct you would do best to work with one of the
existing guide dog schools to get the maximum amount of information in the
shortest amount of time.  There is a lot to giving a guide dog good
training.

There are several people on this list who have trained their own guides.
The are successful because they know about blindness, and they have learned
much about the training of dogs in general and they have seen what goes into
training a guide dog in specific.  Many of us can train our own guides, and
people on this list can offer advice.  However, if you want to be successful
at training guide dogs as a career, then taking advantage of the knowledge
collected by one or more guide dog schools is definitely something to
consider.


Best,


Michael Hingson

Vice President,  NAGDU

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-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Mariea Harris
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2012 5:17 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] blind dog training

I'm not sure if this is off topic or not, but it is slightly dog 
related. I want to become a dog trainer and was wondering if anyone knew 
of a blind dog trainer I might could consult with. I looked into Animal 
Behavior College, but they will not approve me unless I can find someone 
willing to mentor me. Basically it is liability, but they didn't and 
couldn't say that of course. It also was discrimination. They didn't 
feel comfortable letting me do the course since they require hands-on 
training. They said that I needed to be able to see what was going on in 
the group setting to make sure everyone was doing as I asked. They also 
spoke with a service dog school that they do externships with. They 
claim that school said they didn't have the accommodations to provide 
the proper hands-on training for me. I think it was all BS, but what 
could I do? I am looking into finding someone who coordinates puppy 
meetings here and another person who trains service dogs and has been 
around disabled people her entire life. My friend is contacting these 
people for me. I'm also looking into Penn Foster. They do not require 
hands-on training and they are cheaper. I do want hands-on, but I may 
have to do some sitting in on some dog training classes and show them I 
know my stuff. That will be after the course though. I really am unsure 
where else to look and am afraid I'm the first blind person attempting 
this. I did Google it and didn't see anything on the first page of 
results. If anyone has any suggestions, please message me off list at 
the e-mail below. If this is out of term with the rules, someone please 
let me know. I figured this list was my best bet though.

e-mail: mariea1979 at gmail.com

-- 


Mariea and Valiant


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