[nagdu] Guide dogs in other countries

[Tracy Carcione]

Hi Gary.
I'm sorry; I should have said North America instead of US.  I know our 
friends in Canada have lots of choice, too.
Tracy

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gary Steeves" <rainshadowmusic at shaw.ca>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2014 2:53 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Guide dogs in other countries


> Hi Tracy:
>
> As many of you know I'm in Canada. In Canada we have about 4 or 5 
> programs. At Dog Guides Canada they maintainBritish Columbia guide dogs? 
> Of course in Canada we are  able to go to any american school which many 
> canadians doe. So the option about picking a school that meets your values 
> is possible.
>
> For me, I don't like my schools paternalistic ownership policy but I made 
> the choice in order to get a poodle in a reasonable time.  Will I switch 
> schools next time? Probably not but that has more to do with the fact that 
> I've learned they will do a at home shortened program for graduates who 
> have reasons for not being able to go to their program. Losing a months 
> salary is the key ine.  Secondly, i've learned that the dog is trained 
> well and once I get him home Ican  mold him further to my desires. 
> Everytime I've contacted the school for advice from trainers, it turns out 
> that what I put in place was ppretty much what they advised. I will 
> continue to work on my school from the inside to try to change their 
> policies but also their paternalistic  attitutdes.  My partner was 
> commenting on the fact that we once had a session with a trainer where I 
> wanted to work on leash healing.  She couldn't understand why I wanted to 
> do tis and how I could walk with a cane and a dog.  One of h
> er
> drills was to walk and when the dog started pulling give a verbal 
> correction and turn 180 degrees around and walk in the other direction. 
> Continue doing this until the dog is watching  you for your next action. 
> She was surprised that a person who was blind could do trhese spins 
> without losing sense of direction.  Now I'm athletic and have atiny bit of 
> vision so maybe people who were newly blinded would have more trouble or 
> mayb e not, but the point is not to make grand assumptions but to see 
> where each person is at.
>
> I think people should think aboutthings like ownership and ask questions. 
> About differnt things.  If the school ha?
>
> Besides this list has such a wealth of information and opinions that i 
> feel we can solve any problem.
>
> Gary
> ownership, what happens to my dog if ?e is sick. Who makes tthe care 
> decisions? ownership.  Daryl what about Alberta
>
> On May 7, 2014 7:50:15 AM PDT, Tracy Carcione <carcione at access.net> wrote:
>>I think the biggest difference between the US and other countries,
>>where
>>guide dogs are concerned, is that we have several different schools,
>>and,
>>from what I've heard, other countries have one school, sometimes with
>>several branches, but still managed by one organization.
>>So, here, if you are dissatisfied with some aspect of a program, you
>>can go
>>to a different program. People in other countries don't seem to have as
>>much
>>choice.
>>I heard, because of this, that there were quite a few owner-trainers in
>>the
>>UK, because it's the only option for people who aren't happy with the
>>guide
>>dog program.  I heard that a long time ago, so it may no longer be
>>true.
>>Tracy
>>
>>
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> -- 
> Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.
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