[nagdu] Considering A Dog

[Tracy Carcione]

Yes, TSE takes breed preference into account.  If you say nothing but a
shepherd will suit, then a shepherd you will get, though you may have to
wait longer than you would otherwise.  Sometimes there are lots of
shepherds coming into class, and sometimes not so many.
I've taught all 6 of my dogs the find command.  Some of them are better at
it than others, but they all got it pretty easily.
This very morning, I told Ben to find the stairs down into the bus
terminal, which he does all the time.  Today, he apparently saw that the
stairs were blocked, and took me around to the escalator instead.  He's so
smart!
Recently, the Port Authority changed the gate my bus home leaves from, so
I am teaching Ben to find the new gate.  It's taking some time, because
it's in a long line of similar things, but he's doing very well.  Which is
just to say that the things you want the dog to find may change from time
to time, so it's good to know how to teach new things.

Kody, I'd put a lot more emphasis on a dog's skill in dodging traffic and
dealing with crowds, living in NYC, than I would on the find command.  I
think that TSE has some of the best traffic training you'll find anywhere.
 Ben has saved me many times from some idiot driver flying around a corner
without looking.  TSE also has some "city dogs"--dogs who thrive on the
craziness that is New York.  They tend to have a lot of chutzpah, and can
be demanding to handle, but they have the confidence and initiative to
deal with NYC.
When we were working in Morristown, Ben was an OK worker.  The first day
we came into NYC, he became much more focussed.  His tail went up, and he
seemed to be saying "At last, a real challenge!"  That day, president Bush
happened to be in town, right by where we were working, so there were huge
crowds milling around, turfed out of their offices by the Secret Service. 
Ben was brilliant! and I saw that he really was the dog for me.
Fidelco also has city dogs.  Other places do too, but I think they're more
common at TSE, Fidelco, and GEB, and, so far as I know, GEB only has labs.
Tracy

> Thank you for all the help/info everyone!  I appreciate it a lot.
>
> I am confused, though. Pilot DOES teach "find" commands? A Facebook friend
> of mine with a dog from Pilot told me they didn't when she was there, and
> that (plus the lack of subway training, being in Columbus) is one of the
> only reasons it moved down from the top of my list.  But if they DO teach
> 'find" then I'll consider them again.
>
> I was wondering re: TSE - do they take breed preference into account if I
> said I wanted a German Shepherd? I know they still breed them, but I
> wasn't
> sure if you could specify on the application.  Also, I find it interesting
> that they teach you HOW to teach "find."  Has anyone had experience doing
> this? How well did it work?
>
> On Thu, Sep 20, 2012 at 11:01 AM, Tracy Carcione
> <carcione at access.net>wrote:
>
>> Hi Cody.
>> Welcome to the list.
>> The Seeing Eye has very nice shepherds.  They're generally smaller than
>> Fidelco shepherds.  I work in NYC, and used to live there, and I think a
>> smaller dog is a big plus.  Much easier to keep out of the way on buses,
>> subways, and in small, crowded restaurants.
>> TSE does not teach the find commands, but they will teach you how to
>> teach
>> it, which is in some ways better, and they will help you with it in
>> class.
>> I live in Jersey, and it was good for me to work in Morristown, which is
>> similar in traffic and crowds to my town.  We went into NYC at least
>> twice, and my trainer changed the usual routes so that I could work my
>> dog
>> around where I usually go.
>> Their follow-up is excellent.
>> First-timers have to stay in class for 4 weeks.
>> I'm not sure how long the application process takes; I was leisurely
>> about
>> it because I was waiting for my previous dog to be ready to retire.
>> Tracy
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> *Kody Keplinger*
> http://kodykeplinger.com
>
> author of:
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> Reluctant Young Readers.*
> *AVAILABLE NOW!*
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