[nagdu] The Differences in Dogs and Canes

[Raven Tolliver]

Hi,
If I ever said a cane was better than a dog, I wouldn't be using a dog
as a mobility aid. Frankly, the dog is better. I don't have to hit
things to find my way around them. Things like that are important when
you use a cane for landmark information, but as a dog user, I don't
need so much of that anymore. It's great that there's a tree across
the sidewalk from the bus stop I need, and it's awesome that there is
a cement flower pot outside that shop, but those things don't need to
be noted now that my dog knows right where the bus stop and shop are
located.
I see constantly hitting things then having to find a way around them
as failure, or an impediment at the very least. Why do I say this?
Because from the sighted perspective, you're still running into
things, no matter if you or your cane hits it. I hate running into
things, so I got a dog. I hate hitting chairs that are pulled out as I
walk through a cafe. I hate walking through the dining hall and
hitting people's bags and backpacks; I hate searching for a line of
people or getting through a crowd of people and having to hit feet.
Maybe other cane users don't mind, or have found some great way to get
around this stuff without using a sighted guide, but I haven't.
Furthermore, I believe the saying "Two heads are better than one." For
instance, let's use the classic traffic check scenario. I walk out of
a store toward a parking lot. My dog puts the breaks on immediately. I
tell him forward, and he continues to stand still. Come to find out,
there was a car backing out several feet in front of us. If I had been
a cane user, I hope I would have figured that out before coming into
cruel contact with the car. With a cane, you can only know what you
can find out through your cane, which is not much, or at least not
enough to make decisions ahead of time about how to react and which
way to go. With a dog, you and the dog both know an abundance of
information about your surroundings. Some things, you and your dog
know, some things only you know, such as this street is under
construction, or there's an alleyway if I pass this building, and
other things, your dog knows but hasn't communicated them to you yet,
such as the car blocking the cross walk, or the construction barriers
blocking the path, or the huge pile of snow six feet ahead of you.
I have been in the all-for-canes-and-totally-against-dogs boat. Dogs
get distracted, cost way more time and money, and need far more
attention. I tell everyone this whenever they talk about getting their
first dog, or about how they push so-and-so to get a dog. It is not
the same. You have to learn to trust another being, and work with it
when it gets distracted. Some people couldn't handle it; I get it. But
that does not mean the dog isn't better as a mobility aid. I walk
faster, and find myself more comfortable and confident traveling
through certain environments with a dog by my side. I no longer have
problems walking angled sidewalks and crossings, through deep snow,
extremely noisy environments, or through lines and crowds of people.
With my dog, it doesn't matter if I forgot that a trash can was in a
certain place, or where the bus stop was exactly; he will locate
things and get me around them perfectly. My dog is better than a cane
as a mobility aid because he gets me where I need to go as quickly,
safely, and conveniently as possible. We don't run into things, I
don't trip, and I rarely  veer or get disoriented. The dog is better
because I am given the larger part of the ability to react to my
environment similar to the way that, or exactly as a sighted person
would react.
It does not come down to personal preference because that does not
determine which mobility aid is better; it simply speaks for which is
more preferable. Flat out, dogs have far more capabilities than a
cane, making them a better mobility aid.
-- 
Raven