[nagdu] An Indian with a million Questions

Nicole Torcolini ntorcolini at wavecable.com
Sat Aug 2 00:20:33 UTC 2014


Another thing is, since the buffalos are walking that road, there is dung
everywhere and I keep stepping in it. That's one more difference between our
countries. Still, the silver lining is that I won't have to bag my dog's
droppings, if I did people would stare at me and even laugh, whereas there
it's the law, i think.

As others have already stated, there are reasons that you want to pick up
after your dog and keep some kind of routine.

1. Suppose you have to go for some kind of event or something where dogs
aren't allowed or rather, appreciated, would it be okay to leave the dog
behind at home alone? How many hours can you leave him or her there?  I used
to leave my dog home alone for eight hours at a stretch when I used to go to
college before, does that same rule apply to a guide dog?

This question concerns me. In the United States, the law is that service
dogs are allowed, so, even though people occasionally do not take the dog,
it is usually because the dog will be uncomfortable or scared (e.g., a loud,
crowded rock concert) or the activity is hard to have a dog as part of it
(e.g., dancing). How often would you be leaving your dog because you felt
that the dog was not welcome? Yes, service dogs are not supposed to go in
kitchens and food preparation areas, but they are allowed in grocery stores
and restaurants. Usually, on a regular feeding schedule, the longest that I
go between relieving Lexia is seven hours, preferably more like five and a
half. Finally, JMHO, it is not a good idea to leave your service dog alone
for long periods of time on a regular basis. These dogs work with us and
have a close relation with us. Leaving your dog alone for long periods of
time often is going to hurt that relation.

2. When you take your dog out to do his thing, if you know what I mean, how
often do you have to do it a day? I hear it has to be done regularly, at the
same time?

For Lexia, on a normal day, it is four times. It is best if it is kind of on
a schedule, especially in the beginning, but it can change a little. For
example, I sleep in a few hours on the weekend. Lexia is okay with this
because I take her out later the last time the night before, and she is not
consuming food or water while sleeping.

3. How do you handle this situation in a airplane, for example, especially a
nine hour flight?

Some people reduce the amount of food and water that they give their dogs.
The only problem with this is that some dogs do not handle having an empty
stomach well and will vomit, but this can be solved by giving the dog a low
dose of human antacid, such as Pepcid.

4. I have heard and also think it's important for the dog to get out and
romp about. Where do you guys take him for such a thing?

For me, I do not have a fenced in area for Lexia to play. I play with her
with her toys for several minutes each day. Some people say not to play tug
and/or fetch, but I do not think that there is anything wrong with either of
these, as long as the dog understands that drop it means drop it. Also,
especially if you get a Labrador, know that dogs will occasionally have an
energy burst and start racing around the house.

Nicole and Lexia who loves to play tug and run
	
-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Poonam via nagdu
Sent: Friday, August 01, 2014 12:07 AM
To: Star Gazer; NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog
Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] An Indian with a million Questions

Dear vivianna and I think Rebecca )stargazer)

This is one real issue I have been thinking about for a while now. The
concept is really, really rare in my country. Chew on this:there is a
buffalo herder who takes his herd to graze in the fields every morning, and
passes by my locality. Now, I live in the city and not a village, one of the
most populus ones )Bangalore), but this happens every day and I am scared
stiff thinking I might wack a buffalo if I am going out. 
What's worse, the buffalo man has a different language from mine, so we have
no way to communicate.

Can you imagine a herd of buffalos walking around in a crowded city with
traffic everywhere? That would be a strange site in your country, I think,
as would be a guide dog. So I am going to fight for my rights, and I am
prepared for it. Another thing is that seeing me would inspire other blind
people to have a guide dog. I don't even think I had heard of this concept
before I became blind 4 years ago and am not sure others, even if blind
have, either.

However, having a dog would guarantee people don't come up to me, rather
than if I am with a white cane. This is a  reverse from what is usually
stated I know, as here, people fear rather than like dogs. But I welcome the
change, as whenever I leave the house for even half an hour, I have around
ten people asking me if I want help and around 2 insisting that they want to
help me. It gets tiring to tell people that you can manage about 15 times an
hour, so I sometimes decide  never to leave the house because of that.

Another thing is that in my country, we have no real pavements. We also have
several open manholes and people leave uncovered ditches in the middle of
the road. In fact, a blind student just fell in a hole and broke his arm
around my locality yesterday. Read
http://www.bangaloremirror.com/bangalore/cover-story
This is where I feel my guide dog would be a great help.

Another thing is, since the buffalos are walking that road, there is dung
everywhere and I keep stepping in it. That's one more difference between our
countries. Still, the silver lining is that I won't have to bag my dog's
droppings, if I did people would stare at me and even laugh, whereas there
it's the law, i think.

We sort of don't really have rules here, I mean we don't do things more
because people will stare or comment than if we are prohibited to do it by
law. We still are using the British rule book to govern most of our affairs.
However, I still would like to question some managers at some malls and also
a few clubs I am a member of.

Using transportation would be a bit of a challenge, though. Buses are
already packed to bursting point and I am not sure how auto (small three
wheeled drivers would react to my dog.

To those who aren't tired of my cultural rambling, I have some more
questions for you.

1. Suppose you have to go for some kind of event or something where dogs
aren't allowed or rather, appreciated, would it be okay to leave the dog
behind at home alone? How many hours can you leave him or her there?  I used
to leave my dog home alone for eight hours at a stretch when I used to go to
college before, does that same rule apply to a guide dog?
2. When you take your dog out to do his thing, if you know what I mean, how
often do you have to do it a day? I hear it has to be done regularly, at the
same time?
3. How do you handle this situation in a airplane, for example, especially a
nine hour flight?
4. I have heard and also think it's important for the dog to get out and
romp about. Where do you guys take him for such a thing?

I'll have more as I learn more.

Thanks everyone,
Poonam


On 31-07-2014 PM 10:40, Star Gazer via nagdu wrote:
> And, if the law isn't on your side, are you willing and able to change
that?
> You won't bennifit from a dog if you can't take him or her where you 
> need and want to go, or if you can't or aren't willing to advocate as 
> to why the dog should be allowed to be with you.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Vivianna 
> via nagdu
> Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2014 12:00 PM
> To: Passle Helminski; NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of 
> Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] An Indian with a million Questions
>
> i have never been to india, however, my best friend did go there.  she 
> said that not only are there packs of wild dogs but, lots of cows and
monkeys.
> also, how does the public and businesses deal with guide dogs over there?
> will you be allowed to take the dog into restaurants, buses, trains, 
> into the work place, hospitals, in short, whereever you want to go?
> IMO these are major things to be considered.
> good luck.
>
> vivianna
>
> On Jul 31, 2014, at 10:54 AM, Passle Helminski via nagdu 
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
>
>>>> Hello Poonam,
>>>> Pilot Dogs, in Ohio, will do international training.  You have to 
>>>> pay
> your way to USA port of entry and they will pay your travel from the 
> port of entry to the school.  You will have free room and board and a 
> free guide dog.  Contact me of list at passle at roadrunner.com for more
information.
>>>> Passle
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Poonam via nagdu
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2014 3:20 PM
>>>> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>>> Subject: [nagdu] An Indian with a million Questions
>>>>
>>>> Dear all,
>>>> I just joined this mailing list in order to know a bit more about 
>>>> guide dogs. I am not sure if we are supposed to limit our queries 
>>>> to one question, but if yes, the moderator will probably take care of
it.
>>>>
>>>> So here are my questions:
>>>> 1. There is just one guide dog school in India called the 'Drushti 
>>>> Guide Dog School. It was founded in 2005, but there is absolutely 
>>>> no information about it online apart from that. I was hoping 
>>>> someone has visited or has some information about it?
>>>> 2. Anyone been to India with their guide dog? Do describe your 
>>>> experience. I have read one popularized article, but that's all.
>>>> 3. One problem I am having, apart from others in my country, is 
>>>> that there are packs of stray dogs running about. When I was a 
>>>> sighted person, I did own a dog and these packs of dogs would 
>>>> attack him whenever we went for a walk. I used to throw or rather 
>>>> pretend to throw pebbles at them before they ran away before. 
>>>> Keeping this in mind, how do I deal with them? Has anyone had such an
experience?
>>>> 4. Is it possible to get a dog transported from another country to
mine?
>>>> If yes, how much would I need to pay, if anything and how would I 
>>>> go about training for myself?
>>>> 5. How difficult is it to train your own guide dog? I know it is 
>>>> not strictly reccomended, but i'd like to give it a try and want to 
>>>> know if any of you have tried.
>>>>
>>>> I have a few more questions, but will resist for now.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks, everyone.
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Regards,
>>>> Poonam
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>
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--
Regards,
Poonam


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