[nagdu] Suggestions needed!

Sat Aug 17 05:11:41 UTC 2013

Well, if there were a way for that to be administered that would 
actually work, it could be worth consideration, at least. There is the 
question of how that is paid for and by whom, to begin with. Where would 
the testing take place? And so on.

Also, to what extent would the test guarantee that the dogs continue to 
be well-behaved and that the handlers continue to maintain that part of 
the training and so on.

Also, how is that certification then used? Do we have to show it 
everywhere we go? Is that a good idea? Can we produce a proof of this 
certification that cannot be forged?

I've seen some proposed sample tests that seem sensible and reasonable, 
with fairly specific requirements for the testing. However, there is 
still the problem of administration and financing on a large scale. So I 
have never come up with an idea of how to even start there. Maybe 
someone else has?

On 08/16/2013 08:27 PM, Nicole Torcolini wrote:
> Would requiring some kind of behavior  test be considered too much
> certification?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Larry D. Keeler
> Sent: Friday, August 16, 2013 8:13 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Suggestions needed!
>
> Tami, I think the formost issue with me is does the dog behave when asked
> and does the handler know how to handle the dog! Grooming and general health
> is also important because iether the dog may be bringing its own pets with
> it or sometimes, Not always, it can reflect badly on the handler. A handler
> may be slipping in maintaining the dogs appearance due to lack of money,
> time or just lack of interest. I know that many folks will disaggree with me
> but I also think that an ID, tradmark harness or for owner trained teams
> some kind of state issued sticker be obtained so that a service dog can be
> distinguished from any other dog. A perfect example is my dughters friend.
> She has a jack Russell terrier named Trouble! She is a owner trained hearing
> dog. The dog is cute and well behaved but, I can forsee many folks confusing
> her with a pet. For me, I wonder wher the line between being private about
> why you need a dog and what that dog does for you conflicts with the general
> publics seeming need to declare there dogs as service dogs! At some point,
> there has to be a clear line instead of the big grey void folks seem to have
> now. I met a woman at the train station last year on the way to convention.
> William and I were taking the train and I sure hope she wasn't! At least she
> wasn't in our car! Anyway, she had a little terier, and the thing barked,
> growled and tried to come at our dogs! She had to walk down the tracks quite
> away down the tracks and her dog was still going off! Interestingly, she
> claimed it was for PTSD. That thing would have caused it instead of
> relieving it! I really didn't know how to handle the situation other than
> william and I controlling our dogs while hers cut loose! I mean, who or how
> do you report a situation where the dog is clearly in dubious territory
> iether because of its or the handlers lack of controlling behavior? At least
> with guide dogs you can call a school or talk to a friend and check to see
> if the behavior is normal for a service dog! And, I can tell good owner
> trainers because they keep there dogs under control. I wonder what or how
> penalties can be assessed to folks who are not being truthful about the
> service or lack of services that the dog performs. As long as there is no
> requirment that can't be faked or we are not required to have some proof
> that the dog does the service. we'll always have folks sneaking nonservice
> animals under the wire!
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tami Jarvis" <tami at poodlemutt.com>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, August 16, 2013 10:39 PM
> Subject: [nagdu] Suggestions needed!
>
>
>> Okay, following up on Ken's suggestion, I opened my mouth and now have
>> a writing project. I blame Ken! /grin/
>>
>> Seriously, I do think it might be nice to have some semi-formalized
>> collection of those rules of etiquette that most of us here just take
>> for granted and that we work so diligently to follow. The
> "responsibilities"
>> part of our rights and responsibilities. Most of those I have learned
>> from a lot of you, whether it's what you learned from your schools or
>> the experience of years of real world guide dog use. So this seemed a
>> good place to ask again! /smile/
>>
>> What do we -- with "we" being responsible, considerate service dog
>> users -- consider important when we take our dogs into public? What is
>> good etiquette in our dogs? What is good etiquette for us humans?
>>
>> I'm thinking of a couple of categories for the dogs:
>>
>> 1) Grooming and health
>> 2) public behavior
>>
>> For the humans... I haven't figured out neat categories for that yet.
>> I'm thinking of good dog management -- keep the dog out of the aisle,
>> stuff like that. Maybe a bit about how to manage lines and so forth.
>>
>> I think I'll include a "what to do when..." As we have seen from the
>> convention debriefing... Not everybody knows that it's bad form to
>> walk off and leave the smelling mess for someone to step in. Ugh! And
>> what about those times your perfectly well trained dog goes klepto in
>> the supermarket? I say pay for it; others say, "oh, well." I've only
>> had to buy an unintended stuffed animal, if anyone is wondering. /lol/
>>
>> I have a few items I might address for interactions with other service
>> dog users... Hm...
>>
>> Anyway, if anyone has suggestions they would like to see included, you
>> can write me off list at tami at poodlemutt.com. It might also be fun to
>> discuss some of these things on the list. I'm thinking of the recent
>> discussion about riding in cabs. We all have different ways of doing
>> the same thing and smoothing over the rough spots we encounter in a
> crowded busy world.
>>
>> Tami
>>
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