[nagdu] Dogs in the Dorms

Sat May 17 20:49:45 UTC 2014

Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that because I was thinking more about the dorm
than the campus and college in general. If I remember correctly, I moved in
early my freshmen year. The orientation and mobility instructor  who worked
with me had worked with guide dogs before, so that helped a little.
Occasionally, he would come back if one of my classes was on part of campus
that I had not explored before. However, this was not always necessary as
some of the classes were in the same buildings as other ones, and, once I
knew a general area, if another area was close by, I could usually branch
out to the new area without too much trouble. The one thing that made the
campus difficult and sometimes required help was the fact, like someone
already said, that the campus was not city blocks. In numerous places, there
were paths that were defined primarily by grass islands with subtly curving
edges, so it was very easy to inadvertently follow the curve and get
pointing in the wrong direction. For this reason, I often did not allow
Lexia to go on autopilot, as, sometimes, she would get in her head that she
knew where we were going, but, had I followed her, we would have ended up in
the wrong place. Usually, there was a way to get from place to place via
roads with sidewalks, but, unless you wanted a work out for both speed and
distance, the paths were much faster.
I like the story about your friend trying to feed your dog. I think that it
is a good example of how, sometimes, people don't do things because they are
trying to be mean or cause trouble but rather because they just don't know
better, particularly when it comes to not doing certain things, such as
feeding human food, that most people probably do for their pet dogs. Of
course, it's different if you have already asked someone not to do
something, but that person does it anyway.
That's kind of funny about the paint. However, I would have been quite mad,
at least for a little while. Guide dog related or not, I absolutely hate it
when I ask someone what happened or what are you doing or what-have-you, and
they reply "Oh, nothing", especially when I know that the person is lying
and/or it is something that I would be able to tell for myself if I was not
blind.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Raven Tolliver
via nagdu
Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2014 1:05 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Dogs in the Dorms

Whether going to college after getting a guide dog is a good idea or not
depends on a number of factors. There are a couple of people here at this
school that have done this, but after training they also visited the college
over the summer to receive o&m services to get acclimated to the campus.
This is not possible for everyone. You can also arrive on campus a week or
two early to have o&m training. I got the Golden Guy the June after my 3rd
semester, and after speaking to the dean of students, I moved onto the
campus a week early to get adjusted.
I haven't had many issues with other people trying to feed my dog. One of my
suite mates was eating cereal, and dropped some on the floor for my dog and
tried to get him to eat it. But He is trained not to eat off the ground, and
I quickly educated her when I understood what was happening.
I have allowed my roommate to give the Golden Guy some banana slices and
melon, but she has to put it in his bowl because I've also trained him not
to accept food from other people.

I said he came out of that chick's room a different color because when he
ran in to visit her, he knocked over a container of puffy paint with his
tail. It obviously got on the floor and his rear end, but the girl didn't
tell me. She just started cleaning the floor, and I asked her what happened
and she just said oh nothing. I walked out of her room and the Golden Guy
was rolling all over the floor. I had no idea what it was, I couldn't find
anything on his back or belly. I took him to one of the other girls, and she
saw blue paint on his head and in his skirt. I quickly got him in the shower
'cause that's all we had and scrubbed his skirt and head down. Afterward, I
took a damp dog to the first chick's room and asked her if he had any more
paint on him and she quickly realized what happened.
I was incredibly upset at the time, but I can joke about it now.

On 5/17/14, Nicole Torcolini via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Um, came out a different color? If you don't mind me asking, what 
> exactly do you mean by that?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Raven 
> Tolliver via nagdu
> Sent: Friday, May 16, 2014 7:42 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Dogs in the Dorms
>
> Hi Lizzy,
> Whether you walk around your dorm with your dog off leash depends on 
> your partnership. If you have a dog who will stay by your side and not 
> visit other people or go and explore things, or at least has a good 
> off-leash recall, then by all means, walk around without the leash. I 
> never had the Golden Guy on leash in the dorms unless he was working.
> I never took my dog to the laundry room because I did not want him in 
> the way. Also, other people use toxic laundry soaps and dryer sheets, 
> etc, that might be spilled a bit on the floor or just lying around, 
> and I did not want my boy exposed to that.
> I did not have a roommate because there is just no room. Two people 
> and a dog--you're all on top of each other in a dorm room cramped with 
> furniture for 2. I had half the furniture cleared out to make space for
play room.
> I also played with the Golden Guy in the halls a lot. They were 
> perfect for running, chasing, and playing fetch.
> I certainly allowed other girls in the dorm to play with him or just 
> pet him if we were out in the halls after a floor meeting, just 
> visiting with people, or playing.
> Just make sure that your dog doesn't wander into people's rooms. The 
> Golden Guy did that once to visit his favorite person, and he came out 
> a different color.
> Also, ensure that your dog doesn't get into garbage cans, unless yours 
> will be up high where it's not a concern. That was never an issue for 
> us, but I know some dogs can't be trusted.
>
>
> On 5/16/14, lizzy via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi All,
>> I will be moving into a college dorm this fall and just figured I'd 
>> ask for advice/tips from any of you who have had guide dogs while 
>> living in them.  Since I've never dealt with a situation like this, 
>> I'm open to any advice, warnings, tips etc.  Here are a few questions 
>> that I've been thinking about:
>> - Do you let your dog walk around the dorm off leash with you?
>> Ex: While you do some laundry your dog is sitting beside you but not 
>> necessarily on leash.
>> - Did you allow interactions with others while in the dorms?
>> - Did you have a roommate? If so, was the dog an issue at all?
>> - I've already purchased a compact pet vacuum and a huge sealed 
>> container for her food.  Are there any other extra supplies that I'll 
>> need to purchase?
>> - Anything else that I should know or prepare before moving in?
>> I know it's a while away, and that ultimately I'll have to decide how 
>> to handle these situations but I like to be prepared and it can't 
>> hurt to ask.
>> Thanks,
>> Lizzy
>>
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>
>
> --
> Raven
>
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--
Raven

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