[nagdu] The matching process

Wed Sep 25 02:47:24 UTC 2013

Hi Nicole,

I think most of the reason we don't know the dogs we get until the day 
of is simply that instructors may have pre-matched everyone in their 
class before your arrival. This would work fine, except those initial 
matches may, and often do, change after a couple of juno walks and 
interviews with the handler. I'm sure the instructors also enjoy 
building up the suspense just a teensie bit. :D

Shanna and Diamond
On4/2013 7:48 PM, Nicole Torcolini wrote:
> I don't know exactly why you are not allowed to know what dog you are going
> to receive before you get it. Maybe it has something to do with the fact
> that people might possibly talk about it and think that someone else was
> going to receive the dog that he/she thought should be for him/her instead.
> Not sure The idea of getting to meet different dogs sounds interesting, but
> I am not exactly sure how it would work if you only have enough dogs for the
> exact number of people. Also, I don't know if only a few minutes with a dog
> is long enough to make a real decision about if the dog is right for you.
> The trainers have been working with the dogs for months and know them well.
> Hopefully, the trainers will use that knowledge when making decisions.
> If you leave training without a dog for whatever reason, it does not
> necessarily mean that you failed. Sometimes, things just don't work the way
> that we want them to, but that does not mean that we did anything wrong.
> I agree that different interpretations can be a problem sometimes. I don't
> exactly remember what all I told GDB besides that I wanted a dog with
> personality. I think that I did explain that that did not mean hard to
> handle. I got exactly what I wanted.
> I agree that it might be very easy to fall in love with a dog that you
> thought was for you but was not really.
> Although GDB does not let you meet the perspective dogs, they do, or at
> least did, do two things that I think help a little. First, if they think
> that you should get a guide dog but are not quite sure, they have you go to
> an extended evaluation where you do more Juno walks on longer routes and get
> to work with one or two dogs. Second, even though you do not actually work
> them, one of the activities during the few days before D Day is to do
> obedience with some of the dogs from the next class. This gives the trainers
> a better idea of what you can handle. I remember the two dogs with which I
> did obedience. One was a slightly stubborn male and the other was a more
> agreeable female. Although I think that the trainers already had a pretty
> good idea of what dog was right for me--Lexia was picked out for me before
> class started--I think that it showed the trainers that a dog like the male
> dog would not be a good dog for me.
>
> Nicole
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Darla Rogers
> Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 10:57 AM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] The matching process
>
> Good points, Julie and Tracy.  I think that might have happened to me--it
> was down to a couple of dogs--and it was pointed out to me, I didn't walk as
> fast as they thought I meant by fast, and so far, I couldn't be happier with
> Huck.
> 	He has initiative to help me find places--or my way out--if I give
> wrong directions; he will stand his ground if he thinks he's right; he
> remembers well; his pull isn't too hard for me, and the biggest plus, he
> makes it very clear to me, that his main mission in life is to please me.
> Darla & Huck
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione
> Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 12:45 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] The matching process
>
> Julie, you are too right!  It makes me hesitant to ask for a confident dog,
> in case I get a monster, or an easy-to-handle dog, in case I get a total
> marshmallow.  Maybe it's best to just let the trainer know as much as I can
> about my lifestyle--where I work, what I like to do, and what I expect of my
> dog, like the ability to handle crowds and traffic, or to lie quietly while
> I sit at my desk for hours.
> I believe strongly that it's important to try to communicate these things,
> tricky as it can be, and to speak up if a match doesn't seem to be working.
> I always feel happiest when I have plenty of information on which to base a
> decision, so I assume the trainer would also rather have lots of info,
> rather than making his or her best guess based on a chat and a couple Juno
> walks.
> Tracy
>
>> Recently, when I was picking Jetta from the litter, I had discussed
>> what sort of dog I was looking for with the breeder.  she made two
>> suggestions, neither were Jetta.  I was struggling with whether or not
>> to go with a puppy she was suggesting or to go with my own hunch.  So
>> I asked her why she picked those particular puppies.  She explained
>> and it made sense, they did have the traits I was looking for.
>> However they had them in greater quantities than I was prepared for.
>> In the end it came down to an issue of communication.  I said I wanted
>> a bold, confident dog and she suggested puppies based on what bold and
>> confident meant to her.  Sure I want a confident dog, but I also don't
>> want a constant battle of wills, but I didn't make that as clear as I
>> could have.
>>
>> I think the same goes for every other trait, what exactly is a high
>> energy dog?  Is my definition of high energy the same as everyone
>> else's?  How much pull exactly constitutes a hard pull?What do you
>> mean when you ask for an easy to handle dog?  There are so many
>> variables and perceptions  of those variables.  You could express the
>> same exact criteria to two different trainers and they could very well
>> suggest two different dogs because their perception of what you want
>> is going to be different based on their different experiences.
>>
>> There are certainly things that can be measured mathematically, pace
>> and pull come to mind.  It would be easy enough to match person and
>> dog on these factors, but how do you measure initiative or confidence?
>>
>> Julie
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Star Gazer
>> Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 11:18 AM
>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] The matching process
>>
>> I was thinking more along the lines of the schools not telling
>> customers how they came to the decision of matching a person with a
>> dog.
>> If we're going to work successfully with a dog, then we should have
>> some visibility as to how and why that dog was selected, along with
>> the option to say no, or to discuss with the school why the match may
>> not work.
>> When I was using dogs, I always knew I could push back, but I also had
>> the very strong sense that if I did, and I left without a dog, then I
>> had failed.
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy
>> Carcione
>> Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 11:30 AM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] The matching process
>>
>> What I meant by "mystery" is that it seems traditional for the
>> identity of the dog to be a surprise, kinda like not knowing the sex
>> of a baby until it's born.  It's amusing, trying to guess before the
>> fact, but it doesn't really make much sense.  Why should it be a big
> secret?
>> I forgot to say before that sometimes picking one's own dog from some
>> possibilities doesn't always work, either.  At least, one of my
>> classmates fell in love with a very playful golden, and was matched
>> with him, but his extreme playfullness wore her out, along with other
>> unanticipated characteristics.  She was smart enough to see it wasn't
>> going to work, and get a re-match in class.
>> Tracy
>>
>>> I don't know why the schools can't say "We use a b and c criteria
>>> because that is what has worked in the past". They could also say
>>> "And sometimes we guess along with these criteria".
>>> I am not sure why the mystery aspect is even a factor.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy
>>> Carcione
>>> Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 10:34 AM
>>> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>> Subject: [nagdu] The matching process
>>>
>>> The last 2 times I was at GDB, my trainer called me before I came to
>>> talk about the dogs they had in mind for me.  They told me some of
>>> the characteristics of each, and asked if I had a preference.  I
>>> really liked that.  I had some idea of what I was going to get, and
>>> could get used to the idea.  Last time a friend went to TSE, they
>>> actually let her try out the 2 prospective dogs, and discussed the
>>> traits of each at length.  In the end, she chose the one she wanted,
>>> and was ready for the challenges it presented.
>>> I like that, too.
>>> Somehow, it seems traditional to keep the match a mystery until it
>>> happens, but it doesn't really have to be that way, and perhaps it
>>> shouldn't be, especially if the student and school have a
>>> long-standing relationship, so that the school has a pretty good idea
>>> of what the student needs.
>>> Tracy
>>>
>>>
>>>
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