[nagdu] preparing for my first guide dog

[Kristen]

Hi Rachel--

Did you used to attend Iowa Braille School events in the Council 
Bluffs area? You may or may not remember me, but I think you're 
the same person I'm thinking of.

Anyway, congrats on receiving your first guide soon! It is 
definitely an exciting adventure. I received Corvette, a Golden 
Retriever and my first guide, last summer from KSDS. The hardest 
part about the transition for me was learning to trust him and 
having confidence that he wouldn't run me into things or forget 
to stop and let me know about upcoming stairs, etc. I was so used 
to feeling for those things on my own with a cane and found 
myself stopping a lot or going really slow when I was first 
walking with him to make sure I would be safe. You have to trust 
your dog in order to work as a team and bond together.

Good luck with him/her on a college campus. I work Corvette in my 
high school now (I'll be graduating this December midterm), and 
luckily, haven't had much trouble with students wanting to pet. 
However, when you go to public places, often, there are many 
people asking if it's okay to pet, which is a personal preference 
for you. (I never let anyone, as it will distract Corvette, and 
sometimes, he will bring me up to random people afterward, 
wanting a pet from them.) You do have to have a response ready 
for them on cue, which was a bit difficult at first for me, not 
knowing who they were or when they were petting to stop them.

Wishing you the best,
--
Kristen Steele


----- Original Message -----
From: Rachel Becker via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org
To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sun, 22 Jun 2014 20:13:31 -0400
Subject: [nagdu] preparing for my first guide dog

Hi. My name is Rachel Becker. I joined the list awhile ago when I 
first
applied for a guide dog but I'm generally quiet. I'm currently 
staying with
my parents in MD but I am a student at Princeton Theological 
Seminary in New
Jersey. I will be going into class at Guiding Eyes for my first 
guide dog on
July 27. *34 days*! As you can imagine, I'm pretty nervous. Any 
advice on
how to make the transition as smooth as possible for me and my 
new guide.
I've never even had a pet dog so this is all new to me. I will be 
going back
to NJ after class and will have about three weeks before school 
starts so
I'm grateful for that. What was the most difficult or surprising 
thing about
making the transition to working with and taking care of a guide 
dog?

See you in Orlando!

Rachel

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