[nagdu] From Cane To Dog

Buddy Brannan buddy at brannan.name
Mon Aug 25 02:42:08 UTC 2014


Howdy Elise,

Yep. I definitely remember worrying about this. Being one who was well traveled with a cane, I couldn’t imagine how, as I said then, one would coordinate the movement of two brains and six legs. On top of that, how to know where you were without the feedback from your cane? Learning to give up the need to be in control of every aspect of travel and give up that measure of it required to the dog was hard. In fact, learning to trust a new dog is the hardest part of it, every time, for me. So, yeah, it really is a thing. I don’t have a very satisfying answer, but I’ll take a whack at it anyway. 

With a cane, you get a very close up micro view of your environment. You simply don’t get that same view with a dog. It’s a much more general, macro view of the world. That means you don’t know about every mailbox, pole, planter, garbage can, sidewalk, door, branch, etc. you pass by when you’re using a dog. The good news is that, in general, you don’t have to have that level of detail. You’ll learn to use different kinds of landmarks and clues. Things like sounds, changes in acoustics, changes in the feel of the surfaces under your shoes. Sure, these are things you already use with your cane, but you’ll be more reliant on them with your dog. Besides, your dog will learn many of your usual routes, and so once you’ve found the fourth sidewalk on the left, followed by the third door on your right a few times, you won’t have to be as concerned about them, because your dog will have already patterned to those things. Doesn’t mean they won’t make mistakes sometimes and you’ll get confused, because they will, and you will. But lots of things are easier, like crossing parking lots for instance. Once your dog knows to find doors, you can direct him to find a door, and he’ll generally take you right to one. (No, it may not be exactly the one you wanted, but that’s only because they haven’t taught dogs to read yet.) 

So all of this is great, but it doesn’t really answer your question of how you mentally make that shift. “You just do” sounds like a wholly inadequate answer, but it’s no more nor less than a truthful one. It isn’t by any means instaneous. You won’t get your dog on Wednesday, then wake up on Thursday and say, “Oh, I get this now”. Doesn’t work like that. But it will come, and you’ll be all right. 

— 
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: 814-860-3194 
Mobile: 814-431-0962
Email: buddy at brannan.name



> On Aug 24, 2014, at 10:29 PM, Elise Berkley via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello, all!  I have just been approved with Guide Dogs For The Blind in San
> Rafael for my first dog.  It will be some time before I get a match and I am
> so excited.  But, I am also scared.  I have been using constant contact with
> my cane for about 15 years now.  I cannot fathom walking with my dog and not
> having contact with anything but the harness and my dog.  How did you all
> transpose from using a cane with contact to using your dogs with no contact
> but your dogs?  Thanks for your advice and tips!  
> 
> 
> 
> Elise, Still Using My Cane
> 
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