[nagdu] guidedog and mobility skills

[Nicole Torcolini]

Danielle, that makes perfect sense. I know what you are talking about. I
think that all of us have had our sense of hearing temporarily impaired at
one time or another. The one that used to drive me crazy was the fire alarm
in the dorm. Luckily, it was pulsating instead of constant, but it still
made it impossible to hear anything or communicate. Apparently, Lexia
disliked it just as much if not more than I did as she did not need any
encouragement to find the way out of the building. I usually try to at least
have some sense of where I am, even if I let Lexia lead the way on a route
that she knows, but, yes, this is not always possible. One time, it was so
windy after work that I could not tell which way was up. I just picked up
the handle and told Lexia, "Forward, bus", and she got me to the bus stop
perfectly, which involved crossing an open courtyard between buildings where
it was somewhat easy to get turned around if you got pointed in the wrong
direction.

Nicole

-----Original Message-----
From: Danielle Burton [mailto:danielleburton94 at gmail.com] 
Sent: Saturday, November 01, 2014 6:20 PM
To: Nicole Torcolini; NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide
Dog Users
Cc: debby phillips; Deanna Lewis
Subject: Re: [nagdu] guidedog and mobility skills

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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