[nagdu] John's remarks

[Matthew Dierckens]

Hi Anne and Ginger,
You're very welcome. I'm glad I could help out, even if it was a small bit.

On Jul 8, 2015, at 12:00, Ann Edie via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:

Hi, All,

Matthew, thanks for the link to John Bifield's talk on the comparison
between "in Class" and "at Home" training of guide dog teams. I thought the
talk was excellent. John was clear and direct, distilling his over half a
century of guide dog training and team instructing experience into a compact
presentation. He listed the pros and cons of each type of training, without
slanting the discussion toward his own personal preference. He left it to
the decision of each prospective blind person to evaluate which type of
program would best meet their needs and preferences. He encouraged
prospective guide dog users to contact the various programs as well as other
guide dog users to find out as much as they can about the programs before
making the decision about whether to become a guide dog user and which
program to apply to. He steadfastly refused to enter into any controversies
about training methods or "hard" vs. "soft" dogs, etc. He praised the
schools and guide dog handlers and asserted that the quality of guide dogs
and their training has continuously improved over the decades. Although it
would, I'm sure, be very interesting and instructive to hear John Bifield's
thoughts on the many more controvercial issues within the sphere of guide
dog training and handling, this was not the topic of his speech at the
convention. Perhaps that is a subject for another occasion. I wonder, has
John written any books or articles about his life as a guide dog trainer or
about his training philosophy or analysis of dog behavior? I, for one, would
be very interested to hear his well-reasoned thoughts on any matter related
to the training of guide dogs and the use of dogs as guides for blind
people.

Ann

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Matthew Dierckens
via nagdu
Sent: Tuesday, July 07, 2015 11:03 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Matthew Dierckens
Subject: [nagdu] John's remarks

Hi all,
Here is the dropbox link as requested.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cuwzmdscbi54g67/Guide%20dog%20training%20in%20clas
s%20vs.%20%20at%20home%20training.mp3?dl=1
Enjoy.

God bless.
Matthew Dierckens
Certified Assistive Technology Specialist Macintosh, Windows and IOS
Trainer U.S. number: 573-401-1018 Personal Email: matt.dierckens at me.com


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