[nagdu] guide dog school problem

Fri May 16 13:20:48 UTC 2014

Thank you Buddy. 
I was meaning that when you get a new dog, people expect total
functionality. The dog is trained after all, and they view it as "better
then cane". If you have any kinks, well shouldn't those have been resolved
during training? If the dog needs to rest, well it's there to help you after
all, why should it need to rest. If it has trouble handling a situation
well, why wasn't that anticipated and resolved before? 
You don't have any of that with a baby. I was encouraged to rest and enjoy
myself with my kids way more then I ever was with my dogs. When my kids
cried and I didn't have a clue what they wanted, that was ok, in time I'd
figure it out. When they barfed, maybe they didn't digest the food properly,
it would all sort itself in time. If they wouldn't nap, adjusting to being
in the outside world is tricky, they'll get used to it. 
The expection that I'd have it all figured out from day one wasn't there. 
That wasn't true with either of my dogs. I was expected to hit the ground
running and to keep on running. The dogs are there to work and by God they'd
better do it. They're there to enhance your life and they'd better not do
anything that puts a damper on what you want to do. They'd better eat the
food they're given and handle it properly. I think part of this may be that
we disappear to get new dogs and our friends and families don't really know
what goes on when we're gone. 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Buddy Brannan via
nagdu
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2014 7:59 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] guide dog school problem

Far be it for me to stick up for Rebecca, I'm sure she can stick up for
herself, but.

To be fair, she ain't the only one. Many's the time (as grammatically
incorrect as that may be) that I've seen the same comparison, although, in
fact, comparing the actual guide dog to a child. I think Rebecca's
comparison is actually pretty fair, insofar as she has both given birth and
gotten a first guide dog. I have not given birth, but in some ways, the
adjustment to a dog, especially a first dog, has its own special set of
difficulties. Sometimes the problems are the same. For instance, the friends
who come by to see the cute baby (or guide dog) may become reluctant to
visit or socialize (or in our cases, sometimes, let us ride in their cars)
because of the cute baby or guide dog. While it's true that this sometimes
separates true friends from your casual hangers-on, it doesn't make the
problems and the adjustments any less real. I'm sure we could take the
analogy further if we wanted, but there seems to be little need. 

Where I will agree with you is when we talk about how some people accept
some behaviors from children while other behaviors are not acceptable by
guide dogs; cleaning up after a guide dog is like cleaning up after the spew
from a child; the whole (to my mind) nausea-inducing "I'm my doggie's
mommy/daddy" thing, and on and on. Such comparisons do not, in my mind,
advance our cause any and are, again to my way of thinking, on which I am an
expert, usually not accurate or appropriate. My dog is not a child in a fur
coat with four legs. He is a dog, with his own mind, very different from
mine, his own needs, again very different from mine, and society's own
expectations of him, again very different from the expectations of a human
child. This by no means says I think guide dog handlers should be more lax,
or that parents of children should be less strict. Far from it, I think some
of us could stand to be less lenient on both counts. 

So all that to say, before you jump on a knee-jerk reaction to the
comparison, please evaluate its usefulness first. 
On May 15, 2014, at 7:34 PM, Nicole Torcolini via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
wrote:

> Rebecca,
> 
> Why do you always compare guide dogs to children?
> 
> Nicole
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On May 15, 2014, at 12:37 PM, Star Gazer via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
wrote:
> 
> Add to this that people will expect your dog to be a fully functional 
> guide, and you to be a fully functional handler.
> You don't have that dynamic in play when you get a puppy. 
> I've said it before, and I'll say it now, having a new baby is easier 
> then getting your first guide dog.
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of via nagdu
> Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2014 11:03 AM
> To: Name, Full
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] guide dog school problem
> 
> Well said, and very good point. 
> To me getting a new guide is like getting a new puppy, you have to 
> take time to get to know each other, how each other works and there 
> needs. You need to bond, and the dog needs to know that you are one he 
> is to work with, and not every other person who comes by. the big 
> thing I believe is that the dog needs to know that you are the boss, 
> and not to pay attention to everyone else.
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> 
> From: "Name, Full" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> To: "Name, Full" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2014 7:35:41 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] guide dog school problem
> 
> John,
> 
> A couple of things. First, some of the things that you are telling us 
> are not making sense and are contradicting each other. What exactly 
> has happened, in order, with applications and acceptance?
> Second, if there is a possibility that you might go to get a dog in 
> August, you really need to stop and think this over more. Yes, things 
> that cannot be avoided happen, and colleges make exceptions, but I 
> feel that this is different. You cannot miss four weeks of a class and 
> still pass it, at least not with a half way decent grade, unless it's 
> a class where there is only one class a week with a really light work 
> load. Even if you can retake the class, do you really want to have to? 
> Retaking a class often means paying
> 
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