[nagdu] guidedog and mobility skills
Danielle Burton
danielleburton94 at gmail.com
Sun Nov 2 01:20:06 UTC 2014
Hi everyone, I am a little late coming to this discussion but here's a slightly different situation. I am deaf-blind and I can use a cane but I travel best with a dog. Although I have only had a dog for 4 months I have experienced a significant amount of more confidence and less stress when travveling. I have mild to moderate hearing loss and wear hearing aids in both ears. My hearing isn't always a reliable source of information. Therefore, re, when I'm in a situation where I can't hear like a noisy room or a place with loud machinery outside I am kind of freaked out by it. With my dog I am considerably more calm because I can tell my dog which way I want to go but also trust that she's going to get me around the things that I cannot hear and it calms me down. Yes, I'm still in control because I decide where to go but she guides me safely in that situation where before I would just stand and wait for someone to guide me because I was terrified of traveling when I could not hear. Yes, I agree that you should be able to problem solve and be able to get from one place to another safely before getting a dog. But when I travel with my dog I can actually get more auditory information because I'm more relaxed and not worried about finding everything like I did with a cane if that makes any sense.
Danielle and Willa
> On Oct 31, 2014, at 8:13 PM, Nicole Torcolini via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> No, you don't have to be the perfect traveler, but there are certain things
> that, JMHO, it is unreasonable to expect from a guide dog. There are people
> out there who do not have good mobility skills who think that getting a
> guide dog will magically solve everything.
>
> Nicole
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: debby phillips [mailto:semisweetdebby at gmail.com]
> Sent: Friday, October 31, 2014 8:55 AM
> To: Deanna Lewis; NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog
> Users; ntorcolini at wavecable.com; nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] guidedog and mobility skills
>
> Well, I'm not always the sharpest tool in the drawer, not having the
> greatest sense of direction. So you don't have to be perfect. But you do
> have to be able to figure things out, or at least know the right questions
> to ask should someone offer to help. And dogs can help. After a dog has
> been with you a while they will often show you doors, even if they aren't
> the right door. This helps a lot when going to an unfamiliar place, as
> happens from time to time. But you do need to have fairly good skills. But
> don't let anyone tell you that you have to be the
> "perfect" traveler. That's just not true. Peace, Debby and
> Neena
>
>
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