[nagdu] Questions about Pilot

Wed Apr 1 15:17:45 UTC 2015

sandra how long was your original harness handle? just wondering because 
sometimes I think mine is to short but ray doesn't think so.

On 3/30/2015 10:47 AM, S L Johnson via nagdu wrote:
>      Hello Kerri:
>
> You will find Pilot Dogs quite different from Seeing Eye.  Pilot isn't the
> big fancy school that Seeing Eye is.  It is an older building.  Student
> rooms are double occupancy.  There is a phone but, no computer access.  If
> you are an experienced guide dog user, you will probably be scheduled for
> the twelve day.  That's ten days of training and your two travel days.
>
> Below is what my trainer did.  I do not know if all the trainers do the same
> things so, other people's experiences may be different.
>
> You'll arrive on Sunday.  They'll show you around the school and explain the
> program to you.  The next morning they'll do a short Juno walk and show you
> where you'll be relieving your dog.  Then after lunch you will be given your
> dog.  After some time alone with your dog, the trainer will come back and
> you'll go out to relieve the dog.  Then you'll take a short walk.  Sometime
> later that day, you will give your new dog a bath.  The trainer will be with
> you to show how it is done.  They feel this is a good way to bond with your
> new dog.  They do not use tie-down chains.  There is a crate next to each
> bed.
>
> Now for the relieving issue.  They have a rectangle shaped area in the
> courtyard.  It has a metal railing, about waist high, around this area.  You
> put the dog under the railing down into the relief area.  There are three
> spots along this railing.  Unlike other schools, everyone does not go out at
> the same time.  The word they use is "potty Potty".  They tell you to stay
> out there for about ten minutes.  That first day, you will take your dog out
> about every 40 minutes until bedtime.  They say this is to establish good
> housebreaking habits.  As class goes on, the time between relief times will
> increase.  This will depend on your particular dog.    They have radio
> speakers in the room that will blast you awake at 6:00 am.  They tell you to
> get the dogs out before breakfast.  They only had me pick up once just to
> show that I knew how to do it.
>
> You will feed twice a day, morning and evening.  My trainer said we could
> either choose before or after breakfast.  The second feeding is after
> dinner.  You have to feed them outside in the courtyard.  You go to the feed
> room, fill the dish and go outside, hoping your new excited dog doesn't make
> you drop that full bowl of food.  The dishes are small, maybe quart size,
> hard plastic, not metal like most other schools.   You will be given two
> dishes, one for food and one for water.
>
> Most commands are the same.  Pilot does not teach the dogs to find or
> follow.  The command to get your dog to slow down is "easy" instead of
> "steady".
>
> Grooming is also done outside whenever you have time during your day.  They
> use a large pin brush.  Even though I got a golden, they did not give me a
> comb.
>
> The daily training is not like other schools.  Since Pilot is located right
> in the city, you will not have to get into vans and be driven to the
> designated route for the days training.  You will relax in your room or the
> lounge until it is your turn.  The only time we used a van to take us to our
> training was for country travel and to a department store.  I can't describe
> the usual routes because due to medical issues and physical limitations my
> walks were shortened.  Pilot seems to plan walks more on an individuals
> needs.  As with all schools, you will start out in quiet areas and progress
> to downtown and riding the city bus.  If you stay for ten days, you'll have
> two test walks, one the first Friday and the second, the following
> Wednesday.  That second walk has you walk to the bus stop, ride downtown, do
> a prescribed route, including into a CVS and an office building.  On that
> walk, you'll be accompanied by a trainer you and your dog don't know.  After
> that walk you will be told whether you passed or failed.
>
> Other things you will find that are different is the equipment.  The Pilot
> leash is much longer than what you are used to from Seeing Eye.  It will
> have some extra snaps and a buckle that form a muzzle.  The harness body is
> almost the same but, the handle is permanently attached to the body.  Also,
> I noticed the length of the handle is much shorter than some other schools
> use.  It has leather on the top and about two inches down each side, the
> rest is white venal.  On the chest strap there are two snaps where a strip
> of   plastic spikes can be inserted to stop dogs from pulling too hard.  If
> your dog doesn't need this, your harness will have a strip of plain leather
> that snaps into that place.  Personally, I don't like the leashes or the
> harness handles.  I've already replaced the leash and if I could find a 16
> inch all leather handle, I'd replace that too.
>
> I hope this helps.  Hopefully in October, they'll have good news for you.
> Good luck.  If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.
>
> Sandra and Eva
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kerri Stovall via nagdu
> Sent: Monday, March 30, 2015 8:30 AM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nagdu] Questions about Pilot
>
>> Good morning listers,
>> Hey there from Texas. I was just curious if any of you Pilot Dogs
>> graduates would be willing to either write me off list, or continue this
>> thread with some information about the training techniques and methods
>> that Pilot uses. What are the typical training walks like? How do they
>> differ from other schools' methods of training? Just any info possible is
>> great. I have heard conflicting things about Pilot training you to pick up
>> after your dog, and some pilot grads I have heard from say no. Things like
>> that make me curious. I'm going to be a third time guide hander, so I'm
>> not too concerned with it since I already know how, but it'll be good to
>> be aware of how other grads have experienced this particular school, since
>> this is my first time to go there. I went to Seeing Eye twice, so their
>> methods may be similar or completely different. I'd like to know what they
>> train the dogs to do other than the obvious, guiding, such as finding
>> things or certain commands. I'd also like to hear people's perspectives on
>> anything else I didn't touch on, such as what they teach in their daily
>> lectures,  crate training,  and I have heard from others that you take
>> your dog out quite a bit more than I've ever done. What do the trainers
>> recommend for certain behaviors? Ok, that's plenty of things to start
>> with, but if I missed something, please fill me in, either off here or in
>> this message.
>> Thank you in advance, and I'm looking forward to October when they'll
>> possibly be done training the new litter of poodles and I get a call to
>> let me know about it. My email address is: spedangel84 at gmail.com
>> Talk soon,
>> Kerri
> Sent from my iPhone
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