[nagdu] The Differences in Dogs and Canes

[Julie McGinnity]

Hi Nicole.

I agree with you.  I think in a perfect world, all people would be
great travelers, and canes and dogs would simply be the tools we use
to get around.  That is, in fact, what they are supposed to be: tools
for our independence.  They both have their advantages and
disadvantages.  There are some environments that are better for a cane
and some where working a dog might be preferable.  Dogs have annoying
habbits(like getting distracted), while canes trip people and get
caught in things.

We could argue all day long about the specifics of dogs verses canes,
but I think that people are having the wrong conversation.  We argue
one against the other as though it is impossible to use one along with
the other .  I actually don't think that this conversation occurs
enough in the proper manner.  The dog users think they are superior
because their dogs can find buildings blocks away, and the cane users
think that they don't need a dog to be independent and that dog users
are just blind people who can't use a cane.  Yes, I am exaggerating,
but in the end, that's the impression that I get--either that people
don't want to talk about cane and dog or that they want to turn it
into an argument.

All that to say that I think it's a topic worth discussing.

On 6/23/13, Nicole Torcolini <ntorcolini at wavecable.com> wrote:
> OK, yeah, but there are things that a dog doesn't detech that a cane does,
>
> Agreed, especially if you are talking about texture of ground or finding
> obstacles verses just going around them.
>
> especially if said dog is distracted.
>
> And that is why I wrote "a well trained dog usually".
>
> And sometimes they will come to stairs and not stop; they shouldn't, and
> you
> can correct the behavior, but you could get hurt. Stuff happens, and it
> does
> even if you are sighted.
>
> I never said that using a guide dog instead of a cane was going to keep you
> from getting hurt. I also specifically did not use the word "better". My
> point was that the difference of clearing overhead obstacles is one that
> seems to be overlooked sometimes. However, like all aspects of guide dog
> training, it only works if:
> A. The dog is paying attention, and
> B. If the dog is good at that particular aspect.
> Whether a difference between cane travel and guide dog travel is considered
> a good thing or a bad thing depends on the person, the dog, the situation,
> and a million and one other things; sometimes, a difference is not even
> labelled as good or bad.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Cindy Ray
> Sent: Sunday, June 23, 2013 1:40 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] The Differences in Dogs and Canes
>
> OK, yeah, but there are things that a dog doesn't detech that a cane does,
> especially if said dog is distracted. And sometimes they will come to
> stairs
> and not stop; they shouldn't, and you can correct the behavior, but you
> could get hurt. Stuff happens, and it does even if you are sighted.
>
> CL
>
> On Jun 23, 2013, at 2:08 PM, "Nicole Torcolini" <ntorcolini at wavecable.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Okay, yes, I know that this one has gone round and round before, but I
>> had something happen today that made me just have to bring it up one more
> time.
>> There is the way of thinking that says that the good cane user should
>> be able to travel as quickly and as safely with a cane as with a dog.
>> However, unless you wear a full body shield, I just don't think that that
> is true.
>> For reasons that I will not discuss here, I was out walking today with
>> my cane rather than Lexia. I was traversing a route that I have taken
>> numerous times with Lexia. Lexia usually stays a tiny bit from the
>> edge of the side walk. However, as I was using my cane rather than
>> Lexia, I was trailing the edge. There is a staircase that comes down
>> from a building that has a railing that sticks out farther than the
>> bottom step. With Lexia, this had never before posed a problem as she
>> had cleared it as an obstacle. However, I had no way of detecting it
>> without her; it was at hip level. As a result, I ran right into it. I
>> was not hurt or anything, but it just goes to show that there are
>> those things that a guide dog, at least a well trained one, usually
> detects that a cane cannot.
>>
>> Nicole
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>
>
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-- 
Julie McG
National Association of Guide dog Users board member,  National
Federation of the Blind performing arts division secretary,
Missouri Association of Guide dog Users President,
and Guiding Eyes for the Blind graduate 2008
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
life."
John 3:16