[nagdu] From Cane To Dog

Raven Tolliver ravend729 at gmail.com
Mon Aug 25 08:13:53 UTC 2014


As someone who lost her sight at three, I used a cane for 18 years of
my life. My cane was definitely like a body part to me. Walking around
in public without it was like walking around naked. Before my
adolescence, I would leave my cane behind whenever I played outdoors.
Playing ball in the street and tag at the park didn't exactly allow or
require cane usage. But otherwise, my cane was always in my right
hand.
Personally, I had the hardest time transitioning from cane to dog. I
feel as if out of everyone in my class, I had the hardest time of all.
Others were not as attached to their canes, and/or had not been blind
for as long as I had.
First, let me tell you, your school will not teach you how to trust
your dog. They will tell you to, saying things like "follow your dog,"
and "trust your dog." But they will not show you how to trust the dog.
They simply can't. Trust is something that is earned, and will happen
overtime. It relies heavily on your willingness to relinquish some of
the control over traveling. It will be both foreign and freeing to
relinquish control, contact, and constant feedback. Letting go will be
difficult, but as Buddy stated, you don't need that constant feedback
with landmarks any longer because it is no longer necessary to have
that information to know where you are going. You will come to
recognize where you are through the texture of the ground beneath your
feet. Whether the ground is smooth or rough, where certain cracks are,
whether there's an incline, decline, or levelness--all these things
and more will matter more than every little landmark you pass. It is
important to pay attention to these things because as Buddy said, you
will get confused and so will your dog. Because you and your dog will
recognize the environment in different ways, you must do your part by
paying attention to the tactile and aural while your dog pays
attention to the visual aspects.
Another aspect of guide dog travel that takes getting used to is
understanding and following your dog's movements. Your dog will move
in different ways when he is pulling or pushing you around things,
pushing or pulling you toward something like a door or chair,
navigating parking lots compared to sidewalks, distracted and going
after or looking at something, indicating that he needs to relieve
himself, approaching curbs, and more. It will be up to you to pay
attention to your dog's movements in order to provide your dog with
direction or redirection if the dog has been distracted or gone off
route.
Obviously, it is incredibly overwhelming, or at least it was for me,
to gain an understanding of my dog's movements and of how to get
tactile feedback through my feet. I definitely was not able to
understand it all at once, though I tried. What I suggest is getting
used to your dog's movements as much as you can while your in the
structured environment in class. It will take longer than that period
of time, but at least start paying close attention.
My personal experience during my transition was that guide dog class
instructors are not typically trained O&M specialists, so they
typically don't tell you what you need to know most. They don't know
what you need to know, and as a first time student, you might not
either. However, when I returned to Michigan and worked with an
experienced O&M specialist, these are the things that helped me most.
And I suggest you ask your instructor for this information.
1. When my dog moved a certain way and I seemed hesitant to follow him
or let him lead, she would inform me of what my dog was doing. This
helped me gain insight into his body language and what his different
movements meant. So rather than just saying "follow your dog," or
"trust your dog," as guide dog instructors are notorious for saying,
my O&M instructor would say: "follow your dog, he's taking you around
this bend," "move with your dog, he's taking you around construction
barrels," or "let your dog pull you toward this side of the driveway."
Don't hesitate to ask your instructor what your dog is doing at any
time. You will be in a strange environment and the dog will be on
familiar ground, so what feels normal to the instructor and dog will
not feel normal to you.
2. Whenever my dog would stop and I didn't know why, she instructed me
to examine my environment with my feet first, or if I could hear
something in front of us, to reach my arms out to figure out what was
there.
3. This will be more necessary after you return home, but I find it
tremendously helpful to know what it looks like when I pass my
destination while working my dog. Sometimes, your dog will pass the
door or driveway you want, so whenever I learn a new route, I always
explore what it looks like beyond my destination: what the ground
feels like, what different landmarks I might run into, whether there's
a parking lot crossing, and so on. That way, I will know right away if
we are somewhere we are not supposed to be. This might not matter to
you as much or at all, but it's just a suggestion.
Other than that, have patience with both yourself and your dog. Just
as you are getting used to your dog, your dog must also get used to
you and a new home and working environment. You both will get
confused, lost, and make mistakes. Don't be rough on yourself or your
dog.
Also, be consistent with your dog. Be consistent in the methods you
use and when you use them. Of course, we've all praised for the wrong
thing or corrected the dog when he was doing something right, but it's
all of apart of figuring things out.
Aside from that, I hope that you find guide dog travel as freeing,
fluid, and Heavenly as I do. The six months of distrust, confusion,
and struggling to relinquish control and gain understanding was worth
it for what I have now. There is nothing like the special dance of
moving with your dog down sidewalks, across streets, and through
parking lots. There is nothing like the strong bond you will develop:
when you and your dog know the meaning of every movement and gesture,
and you almost believe that your dog is telepathic when you're going
somewhere new and you barely need to provide direction, or you want to
change route or destination and don't even need to communicate it to
your dog. You and your dog will compliment each other, and you each
will make up for the others weaknesses. I hope you will fall in love
with guide dog travel as I have. You and your dog will struggle, but
you both will grow as a team because of it.

On 8/24/14, Alyssa via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> What you're feeling is normal. Taking that step with a first dog is
> difficult. You will both make mistakes. You will both have good and bad
> days. It's all part of the guide dog lifestyle. In time, you will feel more
> confident with the dog. I can use a dog and a cane without too much struggle
> with the transition, and you will get there. Your instructor will be there
> to support you when you get the dog. That's why the school is there. I wish
> you luck whenever you get your new partner.
> Alyssa and Magnificent Melody
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Aug 24, 2014, at 9:29 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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-- 
Raven
"if God didn't make it, don't eat it." - John B. Symes, D.V.M.
http://dogtorj.com




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