[nagdu] an interesting conversation I just had

[Kristen]

I had a similar experience today with my dog on an O&M lesson.

The instructor attempted to direct me on how to properly command 
Corvette, even though she then admitted that she has no experence 
working with guide dogs. She kept turning us around, making 
Corvette very confused and unable to move forward. She wouldn't 
let him use the bathroom when he was anxious (that is always how 
I know when he has to go). I couldn't do anything right for her 
today.

She later yanked my arm and his leash to make us go the way she 
wanted. I moved my hand, so that I was holding on to her, but she 
said: "You're not even doing sighted guide correctly; does your 
mother let you get away with this when you hold on to her?" (She 
said that I needed to have my fingers on one side of her arm and 
my thumb on the other - like a pop can - whereas I put my whole 
hand around someone's arm.) When Corvette was extremely confused 
because of her, I asked her if she could guide me back to the 
car, but she refused. Later, she told me that I need to take the 
time to practice with Corvette because he is losing skills, which 
is untrue.

I think you did the right thing with the person walking with you. 
People who know nothing about guide dogs have no say. We have 
been through training and know what to do in these instances.

--
Kristen


 ----- Original Message -----
From: Aleeha Dudley <blindcowgirl1993 at gmail.com
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 15:03:22 -0500
Subject: [nagdu] an interesting conversation I just had

Hello all,
  My main point of this message is to see what you all thought of 
a
situation that just came up.
  I was walking with someone, on my way from my genetics class to
statistics. The minute we walked out the door of the biological
sciences building, I knew Dallas was not at all focused. He was
pulling left, nearly ran me into a pole, and being very sniffy. I 
gave
a verbal correction, a "hup-up" and we made it to the mid-block
crossing I had to use, which wasn't very far from  the building, 
We
got across the street OK. Dallas veered a bit, but the "straight"
command had him positioned beautifully for the up curb.
  After going up the curb, Dallas seemed very distracted, so I
stopped, gave a sharp correction, and tried to move on. The 
individual
walking with me said "Hey, don't do that! I'm right here!" I 
promptly
and rather sharply said: "If you weren't here, he's got to focus. 
I
could've just gotten hit by a car because he was not focused at 
all."
I got a grudging "OK" and we moved on.
  Not ten feet later, Dallas pulled off like he had to park. He 
didn't
have a regular stool this morning, so I let him go. 
Unfortunately, I
dropped the leash accidentally and my walking companion grabbed 
it and
would not give it back. All Dallas did was sniff, eat leaves, and 
chew
on nuts, so, when I heard he had a nut in his mouth, I took the 
leash,
grabbed the nut out of Dallas's mouth, and threw it away. Dallas 
never
did park, so I tried to move on. My companion asked me if I had 
fed
Dallas this morning, then went on to suggest that Dallas had
intestinal issues because he was trying to eat grass and leaves. 
I
told him that Dallas was just being stubborn and that he needed 
to
understand that I would not take this garbage from him. This 
person
said: "Well, right where you're correcting him is right on his
jugular, and you don't want to mess that up." I attempted to 
explain
the strength of the neck muscles, but this person just wouldn't 
stop.
Meanwhile, Dallas wouldn't go anywhere, so I chose to take the
person's arm and walk with Dallas at heel because I didn't have 
much
time and it was evident that all Dallas wanted to do was eat. I 
tried
to explain to this person that Dallas is a hard-headed dog and 
needs a
good "tail-kicking." This person said "well, don't hurt him!" I 
cannot
believe the ignorance of this individual. But was I right in what 
I
did? Shis person left me with a nasty comment of "well take care 
of
him." Like I don't love and deeply care for my dog. Oh, what a 
mess!
Aleeha and the insolent Dallas

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