[nagdu] How does your dog help you?

[Darla]

Excellent post, Nicole; your pup sounds so great--and funny, too--mine
remind me when I have had too much computer time, too.
Darla & Huck


-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nicole Torcolini
via nagdu
Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2014 5:41 PM
To: 'Dan Weiner'; 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog
Users'; 'Amber M'
Subject: Re: [nagdu] How does your dog help you?

First, one thing to keep in mind when talking to people from other countries
is that they may have a different view of guide dogs and dogs in general
because of the culture. That aside...
Of course, there are the things that most guide dogs can do that a cane
cannot. A cane can only explore one point in space at a time whereas a dog
can see the whole picture. Even though Lexia obviously cannot communicate to
me exactly what she sees in words, she can make decisions based on all of
the information. Lexia takes me around above ground obstacles, which a cane
will not find. Most guide dogs are trained in intelligence
disobedience--including traffic checks--and are trained to find specific
objects, such as chairs, elevators, and stairs. Lexia will help me find
things that I have dropped; I trained her to do that. Lexia will learn
routes. Lexia will find the entrance or exit to a room or building. Lexia is
extremely good at backtracking. Lexia will show me places that I have been
before or objects at which I have stopped. Lexia enables me to sometimes
take a shorter route across an open space rather than taking the long way
around by following the edge because she understands where our destination
is and that the route across the open space is shorter; she actually makes
these decisions on her own.
Sometimes, I think that having a dog gives people more confidence in
difficult situations because they know that they have to support the dog as
well.
And then there are all of the things not related to guide work. People don't
talk to you about a cane. A cane does not provide companionship. A cane does
not make you laugh, cry, and/or smile. A cane does not come over and poke
you to suggest that you might have been sitting at that computer for just a
little too long. A cane does not run over to see you after you hang up the
phone (yes, Lexia does do this; don't ask).
I would tell the person all of this. Also, when talking about things like
intelligence disobedience, I would give an example and explain how having a
dog would be better than having a cane for that situation.

Nicole and Lexia

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dan Weiner via
nagdu
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2014 4:00 PM
To: 'Amber M'; 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog
Users'
Subject: Re: [nagdu] How does your dog help you?

Hello to all.
Well I thought this would be a fun question for the list.
I was talking by Skype with a Russian partially-sighted lady who speaks good
English and she asked me how my dog helped me and why can't I do the same
things with a cane.

I gave her an answer which I don't think convinced her very much, not that I
really want to convince but it made me think that that would be fun to see
how people on the list answer that question.
I told her I would ask on the list and see what people say.
I said that my dog takes me around obstacles, stops at steps and curbs,
finds things for me, helps me keep walking in a straight line and generally
I felt made me safer and more efficient.
I said that when it's working out well with the dog it is the closest
feeling that I can come across to walking as a sighted person since I
remember that a little bit from being akid, though I will say the memories
are fading--lol

I also explained intelligent disobedience.

So if you all have nothing better to do, right answers  to that question and
maybe we will all learn a thing or two about each other and our experience.
I also wrote that since I only hear out of one ear that I veer terribly and
I  walk straighter with a dog who keeps me on the straight and narrow.

I suppose I must like it after all, I've been doing the dog thing as a
friend of mine calls it for twenty years--lol
 

Yours,
Dan Weiner'

dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net


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