[nagdu] teaching the public

Sun Apr 7 11:05:29 UTC 2013

I am actually trying to ignore people talking to my dog. It is so annoying that they do it anyway, but mostly I don't know that it distracts him that much; if I think it is distracting him, I give him a verbal reprimand to make sure he is on task; then when we have successfully completed our task, I praise him for it.

CL

On Apr 6, 2013, at 10:31 PM, d m gina wrote:

> Hello,
> As I was getting off the buss the new driver was talking to the dog.
> I don't know when I will see this driver again, I know he will drive the buss every third week of the month.
> I thought then I could ask for him to let the dog concentrate getting me off the buss.
> How do you folks handle this.
> I don't want the dog excited while I am trying to find the first step to step down three steps to the driveway.
> I call my dog buddy then folks won't know his name.
> Original message:
>> I find that the adults are the ones who need to be taught. I tell them that
>> her harrness is like her work uniform and when she has her uniform on she's
>> working and needs to concentrate.  It usually works.
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Eve Sanchez" <celticyaya at gmail.com>
>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Saturday, April 06, 2013 2:00 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] teaching the public
> 
> 
>>> Julie, A lot of good advice for everyone. What I like and think I will
>>> take with me today, is the 'just ask' lesson. That is a very important
>>> lesson. When I was teaching, all of my kindergarteners knew that they
>>> should never approach a dog they did not know without asking first.
>>> Now-a-days I am often approached by children asking and I explain to
>>> them why I do not allow her to be petted by others. They understand. I
>>> also thank them for asking. The adults on the other hand just act and
>>> never think to ask. I think, giving a lesson like this when in a mixed
>>> group is an excellent idea as it will teach the adults without them
>>> thinking or realizing they are being taught. Well, gotta get ready
>>> now. Thanks again for all of your great ideas. Eve
> 
>>> On Sat, Apr 6, 2013 at 4:38 AM, Julie J. <julielj at neb.rr.com> wrote:
>>>> Eve,
> 
>>>> I just did presentations for the Boy Scouts.  They had a disabilities
>>>> awareness day, which I think could use some improvement, but that's
>>>> another
>>>> post for another list.  Anyway I had only 10 minutes with each small
>>>> group
>>>> of boys.  I first explained that I'm blind, which means I need to use
>>>> other
>>>> ways of doing things instead of looking at them.  This would seem
>>>> obvious,
>>>> but I've learned that a lot of people don't really get "blind".  Then I
>>>> move
>>>> on to the two main ways blind people use to move about, cane or dog.  I
>>>> tell
>>>> them that both methods work just fine and that every blind person has to
>>>> figure out which they like or works best for them.  I introduce Monty,
>>>> who
>>>> was laying beside me.  I explain that when he is guiding me I hold onto
>>>> the
>>>> handle and walk a step behind his shoulders.  I feel which way he is
>>>> moving
>>>> from his shoulder movement, which travels through the harness handle.
>>>> This
>>>> is where I get a lot of odd questions.  I've found explaining it like
>>>> dancing gets my point across about the best.  I explain that Monty will
>>>> stop
>>>> if there's something he wants me to know about or if we can't go around,
>>>> but
>>>> that I make all the choices of which way we are going.  People think you
>>>> tell the dog "post office" and magically the dog takes you there.
> 
>>>> Over the years I have simplified my list of guide dog rules down to just
>>>> one, *ask*.  I think that one about covers it and if they can remember
>>>> just
>>>> one thing I hope it is that one thing.  I emphasize it a lot.  If they
>>>> want
>>>> to pet, ask.  If they want to give food, ask, If they want to talk to the
>>>> dog, ask.  Otherwise they should completely ignore the dog.  I think the
>>>> just ask approach does a lot of things extremely simply.  If the kids are
>>>> asking, then they are learning to view the blind person as the leader of
>>>> the
>>>> team.  They are learning basic dog etiquette that will serve them well
>>>> with
>>>> any sort of service dog team, police dog or even pets.  The just ask rule
>>>> is
>>>> extremely universal and flexible for any situation.  It allows each
>>>> handler
>>>> to manage the situation as he/she sees fit.
> 
>>>> Sometimes I let people pet, but usually not.  Either way I *always* smile
>>>> and tell them "thank you for asking".
> 
>>>> Then I take questions.  I don't do demonstrations unless I can't figure a
>>>> way out of it gracefully.  I've only ever done one.  Monty worked it
>>>> perfectly, but because the group didn't understand the finer points of
>>>> how
>>>> we work they all thought he had made several mistakes.  I tried to
>>>> explain
>>>> the subtleties, but there just isn't time in these sorts of
>>>> presentations. I
>>>> left feeling very frustrated.
> 
>>>> I have also done presentations at schools, visually impaired peer support
>>>> groups, the senior center and of course it comes up from time to time
>>>> when
>>>> I'm doing presentations for work.  A couple of years ago I was presenting
>>>> to
>>>> a group of business leaders about the county programs I administer and I
>>>> think there were just as many questions about the dog as juvenile crime.
>>>> *smile*
> 
>>>> If you enjoy these presentations and are looking for places to contact to
>>>> offer your time maybe look at church groups, Chamber of Commerce member
>>>> events, Health Department, schools, colleges especially the special ed or
>>>> diversity studies, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, leadership groups, 4-H,
>>>> children's museums, etc.  Something I have noticed through my county job
>>>> is
>>>> that more and more anytime there is state or federal grant funding, there
>>>> is
>>>> usually some component of diversity or disability or something.  There
>>>> are
>>>> trainings held to "educate" the people applying for and manageing these
>>>> grants about these topics.  Although I had never attended a "diversity"
>>>> training presented by a "diverse" person...except once.  I don't know of
>>>> any
>>>> easy way to find these opportunities though.
> 
>>>> HTH I hope you have fun and that the people learn a lot!
>>>> Julie
> 
> 
> 
> 
>>>> -----Original Message----- From: Eve Sanchez
>>>> Sent: Friday, April 05, 2013 11:35 PM
>>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>>> Subject: [nagdu] teaching the public
> 
> 
>>>> Tomorrow there is a canine fashion show being put on as a fund raising
>>>> event for a new K--9 for the Yavapaih County Marshalls. There are many
>>>> silly things going on to get the community happy. There also some
>>>> educational things going on to enlighten the community. First on the
>>>> agenda is a presentation by yours truly on guide dogs. I did a
>>>> presentation with my dog just last week during a dinner and know that
>>>> there is an upcoming presentation on the schedule with a local church
>>>> group. In other words, I am busy becoming an ambassador and educater
>>>> about guide dogs and guide dog users. I am sure that many of you have
>>>> done these types of things also and would love to hear about your
>>>> experiences. It is not that I am some great speaker or anything. I
>>>> just get asked. Also, in my community, there are a total of three
>>>> guide dogs. WE JUST DONT HAVE THE NUMBERS
>>>> I would really like to hear about what you all do with your dogs, not
>>>> to compare, but to get more ideas of how we could all get involved and
>>>> what others do that might be good ideas to borrow on. Thanks, Eve
> 
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> 
> 
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> 
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> 
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