[nagdu] an interesting conversation I just had

Thu Nov 21 01:45:18 UTC 2013

Kristen,

Good going! I've dealt with O&M instructors like that and wish I had 
been more proactive about seeing their behavior was dealt with. So still 
paying the bills and others still come out of that program needing 
treatment for the injuries. The verbal abuse she gave you sounds 
hauntingly familiar, too. Sorry you had to go through that!

Did she leave bruises when she grabbed your arm and yanked? If so, 
getting pics of them wouldn't hurt. And video of her behavior might 
prove helpful, too, while your mother is following! Those are just 
suggestions, of course, based on what I wish I had done.

Good luck and let us know what happens!

Tami

On 11/20/2013 04:47 PM, Kristen wrote:
> I will certainly keep you posted. My mother is going to walk with us
> next time (without telling the instructor ahead of time) to check it
> out, and we will go from there. We are also calling the school I went
> through before she gets to them first. It was very unprofessional and
> unsafe. I appreciate all of the positive feeedback and suggestions.
>
> Julie, last year, (I was using a cane, then) I had a para in my high
> school try to push me down the stairs, not telling me I was near them.
> She is gone now, but some people just have no clue! At the time, I
> grabbed on to her to balance and said, "If you're going to make me fall,
> you're going down with me!"
>
> Oh, and Abigail, thanks; he is from a fm-car-themed litter. :)
>
> --
> Kristen
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Marsha Drenth <marsha.drenth at gmail.com
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Date sent: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 18:24:36 -0500
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] an interesting conversation I just had
>
> Kristen,
> The O&M instructor you have, needs to be educated. It is never right for
> an instructor to put their hands on you and your dog. If the person
> claims they no nothing about guide dogs, then they should not be
> commenting. I would give the O&M supervisor a call, write up a
> description to what happened, and even get your guide dog school
> involved to educate the O&M instructor. Its no wonder the dog was so
> stressed out, because of that very poorly trained O&M instructor.
> Keep us updated on what happens.
>
> Marsha drenth
> Sent with my IPhone
>
> On Nov 20, 2013, at 5:21 PM, Kristen <kskristen at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 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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