[nagdu] I was not excepted

Mon Mar 18 00:38:52 UTC 2013

Hi!

Every time, except one, I've been interviewed by a trainer, only the Juno
walk with the instructor was done. Of course for my first dog I just assumed
that this would be like walking with a real dog. After I got my first dog, I
knew better. From then on, I say jokingly to the trainer who comes for the
interview, "We should put the harness on you and let you do the walk with
you on your hands and knees." The trainer gets a laugh out of that request. 

The one exception was when I was getting my third dog in a year and a half
(first dog didn't work out and second dog got cancer), and the school was
doing home training for repeat students while building a new dorm. Instead
of doing a usual interview, two trainers came down with three dogs. I got to
do a Juno walk with all three. The trainers let me picked the order which I
wanted to try out the dogs. I liked the first two dogs. The third one pulled
so hard that my shoulder was killing me. When we reached the end of my
street, I dropped the harness handle and emphatically said, "No!" One of the
trainers asked whether I wanded to work him home and I declined. As we
walked back to my house we discussed the pros and cons of the first two
dogs. We agreed that the first dog was the best dog for me. So one month
later another trainer came back with the first dog, and I began working with
Sport.

Even though Sport was my seventh dog I had completed training with, I wasn't
ready to trust the dog on our first trip out. It had snowed quite heavily
two days before , and there were mounds of snow at the curbs and in
crosswalks. As we were crossing a street, Sport started to pull slightly
left. AS he was pulling toward parallel traffic, I started to resist. The
trainer called out, "Go with him. He's taking you around a large mound of
snow." By the end of the eighth day of training I was comfortable with
Sport's way of dealing with mounds of snow.

By the way, Seeing Eye has a mechanical dog that you can walk with. This, of
course, doesn't give a real idea of what walking with a real dog would be
like, but it does give the applicant some of what it's like walking while
holding the harness with the hand positioned closer to what it would be with
a real dog.

Toni

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Julie J.
Sent: Sunday, March 17, 2013 9:11 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] I was not excepted

I have done both the Juno walk with an empty harness and a test walk with a
demo dog.  I have actually worked 3 or 4 demo dogs.  I'm a bit nutty, but I
am extremely interested to know how the different schools teach the details.
There are small differences which helps me to think through which I like
better and why.

Anyway,  I do like the idea of working an actual dog during the interview.
I think it gives a much more accurate representation of working with a guide
dog.  However, I think it is extremely unrealistic to assume that you are
going to be able to trust that dog in the 5 or 10 minutes that you will work
with him.  Ideally I think both the empty harness and a live dog should be
used in the interview process.  I think each allows for different types of
information.  the empty harness gives the instructor info about pace pull,
how the person could move with a dog.  A live dog gives a more accurate feel
for the blind person because a dog moves differently than a person pulling
an empty harness.

Of the demo dogs I've tried, one worked wonderfully for me.  I could have
taken that dog home and been quite happy.  Another dog was thinner than the
harness he was wearing, so there was a lot of handle rocking back and forth,
making it very hard to feel the movements of the dog accurately.  I think a
smaller, better fitted harness would have solved this problem, but that
isn't something a person brand new to guide dogs would know.  Another dog
moved very slowly and had a feather light pull.  I also had a lot of
difficulty working this dog.  If the only experience I had was the second
two dogs, I might come to the conclusion that a guide dog wouldn't work for
me or that I needed to change how I walked.  The instructor holding an empty
harness can provide the pace and pull that you prefer, but won't be able to
give you a very accurate idea of what it is like to work a real dog.  It's
like driving a car video game and driving a real car.  They just aren't the
same.

Julie

On 3/16/2013 10:48 PM, Julie McGinnity wrote:
> Hi Jenny,
>
> So sorry to hear about this.  I can't imagine them telling you that if 
> you can't walk fast, you wouldn't make it.  I believe you, but...
> Wow.  I am only slightly taller than you are, so I know that those of 
> us who are short can only walk so fast.
>
> Also, I know some schools make a bigger deal out of how much you walk, 
> but I would say that as long as the dog is worked enough, you 
> shouldn't have a problem.  What about the people who are older or have 
> medical conditions that prevent them from leaving the house every day?
>   I know they aren't always denied dogs.  Also, when I got my dog, the 
> trainers were well aware that I was in high school and wouldn't do a 
> lot of straight walking.  Like you, I did a lot of walking 
> speratically throughout the day.  I was never told that was a problem.
>
> Now I have a question from others on the list.  Is it common practice 
> to bring a dog for home interviews?  I was not given a random dog to 
> work with at my home interview with Guiding Eyes 6 years ago.  What is 
> their rationale for doing this?  Why does a simple Juno Walk not 
> suffice?
>
> On 3/16/13, rhonda cruz<rhondaprincess at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>   i went to pilot dogs. and i got in just fine.
>>
>> On Mar 15, 2013, at 3:29 PM, RJ Sandefur wrote:
>>
>>> I was told by a guide dog school don't worry about applying because 
>>> I'd get denied. RJ
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "rhonda cruz"
>>> <rhondaprincess at gmail.com>
>>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Friday, March 15, 2013 6:25 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] I was not excepted
>>>
>>>
>>>> hi i am so sorry. hugs.
>>>>
>>>> On Mar 14, 2013, at 9:30 PM, Sheila Leigland wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hi, I'm sorry you weren't accepted. The first school I applied to 
>>>>> turned me down also for rediculous reasons so I applied at a different
school.
>>>>>
>>>>> Sheila Leigland
>>>>>
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