[nagdu] From Cane To Dog

[Stephanie]

 Hi all,
I have to write on this, because I can relate. I used my can since I was young. I am mid 30's, it it was a problem. First of all, I went through a grieving process as I realized that soon I was going to be with out the cane. I even doubted if a dog was for me. I did not get a dog for many years, because I thought I could never trust an animal to guide me. But I heard about the benifits and decided to try for a dog. 
The first day of training, I was told to put my cane away, and that we would be learning the lay out of the building with out my cane. I felt dread and wondered how the hell I was going to do this. I got lost a lot those first few days.
But soon, I found my dog was guiding me, and I didn't feel so lost. There were some things that really puzzled me though. Obstacle work caused a real problem to me. I kept failing the obstacle work because I just couldn't understand how I could tell the dog to find my way around something when I had no idea what, or where the obstacle was. After a frustrating time of it, I told the instructor my issue and that she would have to show me how to do this because I just couldn't get my mind around it. So we worked through each obstacle and I was able to work out how to use my feet, hands etc instead of a cane.
The other thing I found was trying to work out why my dog stopped some times. And thefeeling the loss of land marks that I'd gotten used too.
Now, I'll never go back to the cane. I don't have to count steps, work out land marks as much. I can just remember the turns and how to get some where. I can go straight across streets, no more indents or anything like that. No more having to find a pole to tell me we were close to something. No more having to stress about an open space because Gypsy guides me through all that. 
Last christmas, I used my cane for the first time since getting my dog 15 months ago. I got to the shops ok, but my mind was telling me where the counter was, but I forgot the obstacles in my road. I also nearly crashed in to some one on the way out, and couldn't find the door. Like I couldn't glide gracefully to the door. I was so thankful for my dog!
Anyway, it will take time to trust the dog. But if you give it time, and you want to, you will never look back.
Steph
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