[nagdu] GDB anyone?

[craig.heaps at comcast.net]

I received my first and only guide dog last July from GDB.  I have no complaints.  I found the training to be thorough and well adapted to my situation.  Since I ride the BART train to work every day, my trainer took me on BART several times during the second week of training. 
I found them willing to adapt to my needs.  The first dog assigned to me did not walk fast enough.  After we tried for a day or two to get her to walk faster, they offered to switch dogs.  That worked out well. 
  
A big plus for me was that the course was two weeks long rather than four weeks.  I work full time and it would have been difficult to arrange for four weeks off. 
  
Since graduation, I have had excellent support.  I have used the toll free support line several times to talk through issues I've had with Chase's performance or behavior.  They gave me practical steps to follow, sometimes reminding me of things I learned in class and other times offiering new suggestions.  I also had a visit at six months from the field representative who gave me some good pointers on how better to handle Chase, who he called an "assertive dog." 
  
All in all, I'm very happy with my experience with GDB.  I say that with the proviso that I've never been to another school and don't really have a basis for comparison. 
  
Good luck. 
  
Craig and Chase 

----- Original Message -----

From: "Matthew Dierckens" <matt.dierckens at me.com> 
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 6:21:49 AM 
Subject: [nagdu] GDB anyone? 

Good morning all. 
I am sure that some of you have gone to GDB, and I would be interested in hearing your experiences. 
Matthew Dierckens 
Macintosh Trainer 
Blind Access Training 
www.blindaccesstraining.com 
1-877-774-7670 ext. 4 




_______________________________________________ 
nagdu mailing list 
nagdu at nfbnet.org 
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org 
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu: 
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/craig.heaps%40comcast.net