[nagdu] Wanted: opinions about guide dogs

Tue Jul 28 23:02:15 UTC 2015

				You've gotten some good advice. 
A guide dog will move you through your environment the way you'd be moving
as if you could see. Is that what you want? 

Realize that people don't "get" guide dogs. I've had two dogs, and I have
two children, both still little. I can tell you that having children is by
far easier because the world understands. This isn't so with a guide dog.
People expect the dog to be fully functional, and that is based on their
definitions (note the plural) which may or may not be based in reality. 
With a guide dog, you need to keep at the front of your mind the working
relationship. If the dog has a bad day or couple of days, you will be
thinking "Is it time for retirement?" or "How do I fix this". I don't expect
or need my kids to be functional components of a working system... with a
guide dog, you do. You will need to love your dog while keeping in mind why
they are there. 
The cycle of getting a dog, learning to work with it, enjoying that dog and
the process, retiring the dog and starting over again with a new dog is very
difficult emotionally. You have to decide if that is how you want to spend
your emotional energy. 
You will have access issues which you will need to deal with one way or
another. 
Some of your friends and family may or may not adjust well to you having a
dog. That's true of all phases of life, it is just something to know. 

As for schools, what matters to you. Does ownership of the dog matter? Why
or why not? Does follow-up matter? Does the type of training methods used
matter? 
You don't have to decide this tonight or even tomorrow. You can also change
your mind at any time. Many people have gotten dogs, then stopped using dogs
then gone back to using them. 

Others have covered the care and feeding aspects of a guide dog. Will those
aspects integrate well into your lifestyle? When you get home from anything,
do you think "I sure wish I had a dog to cuddle or play with and care for"
or do you think "I want to talk with my husband, read a nice book, play with
my kids..."
A dog won't mature the way a human does. This sounds obvious but it means
that a dog will never be able to fix itself a sandwich or go potty by
itself. If Grandma doesn't like dogs and won't look after your dog while you
go dancing, nothing will change that. It's not like a grandma that says "My
poop days are over, Johnny is welcome to stay with me when he can reliably
use the potty". 
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Buddy Brannan via
nagdu
Sent: Monday, July 27, 2015 11:56 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Buddy Brannan <buddy at brannan.name>
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Wanted: opinions about guide dogs

Wow...you ask the big $64K questions. And you won't get short answers, at
least, not on the pros and cons question. 

Best program? Mine, of course, which is what most people will tell you.
You've got your work cut out for you there. Personally, I think the Seeing
Eye offers the most comprehensive and thorough traffic training in the biz,
period amen. However, all the programs do a good job I think, though there
are certainly philosophical differences. The ownership question, for
instance, may or may not be important to you. I am concerned, too, with the
trend at some schools towards shorter training programs for students. Simply
put, I don't believe two weeks is long enough for a first-time guide dog
handler to adjust to a dog for the first time. Sure, the mechanics of guide
work are the easy part, but there's a lot of material to absorb, and I don't
just mean the mechanics of guide work. But that's my opinion, and I'm an
expert on my opinion. It is entirely possible that I'm wrong. 

Breeds: usually, labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, crosses of these,
and German shepherds, though sometimes other breeds are tossed in for fun
and variety. Make your preferences known when you apply, although I think
size isn't quite as important as exactly what you're looking for in a dog's
work. Put another way, do you want a smaller dog because you're a smaller
person? Do you want a smaller dog because you're afraid a bigger one might
pull you off your feet by accident? All things being equal, which they
rarely are, would you be OK with a larger dog if in most other respects, it
was a good personality and working match for you? 

Pros and cons. Oh goodness. This one will generate all manner of cussing and
discussing. From my perspective:

Pros: Wide open spaces. Oh yes. You'll find it a lot easier to get across
wide open spaces with a dog. More than that, you'll find it easier to get
across wide open spaces and to doors with a dog. For places you visit often,
you'll find that your dog remembers them and indicates them to you. Those
are the biggest advantages. You'll also avoid all the poles, holes, benches,
and other obstacles you might otherwise find. This can, of course, sometimes
be a disadvantage if you regularly use these things as landmarks. You'll
likely learn to use different kinds of landmarks with a dog though. Still,
making that adjustment is a process. Also, having that extra bit of help in
traffic is a real advantage. 

Disadvantages: biggest one in my expert opinion (see above) is public
interference and, well, just the public generally. Not only will people
always be wanting to, or in fact, petting your dog, but you'll hear all
about the dog that every person on earth has had that looks just like your
dog, except it was bigger, or smaller, or was a different color, or a
different breed, but otherwise identical. You will have your dinners with
friends interrupted by such people. Ditto books you're reading on the bus,
or any number of other things. Naturally, there are all the usual sorts of
things with all critters. Vet bills, food bills, picking up doggie poo and
responsibly disposing of same. Some may consider those disadvantages. I say
they're just a thing, not a huge deal. The biggest disadvantage, I mean
second, next to public interference, is that dogs don't live forever, and
you'll be doing it all again in, if you're lucky, 6-8 years, and if you're
exceeding lucky, longer than that. I have been lucky so far. A possible
disadvantage: if you don't actually like dogs, you might not be happy with a
guide dog. This seems to be common sense, but you'd be surprised. 

I won't mention things like the epic battles of wills we sometimes have with
our dogs. Sometimes we're right, and other times we are very, very wrong.
Fortunately, these dogs are usually pretty resilient, and they're also very
forgiving. A good thing, too. 

Well, that should be a start for you anyway. 

--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: 814-860-3194 
Mobile: 814-431-0962
Email: buddy at brannan.name

> On Jul 27, 2015, at 11:23 PM, Mikaela Stevens via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
wrote:
> 
> Dear guide dog users:
> 
> I am considering getting a guide dog. I am a little person, so I hope to
> get a smaller dog. What kinds of dogs are available? What is the best
> training program to use? Finally, what are the pros and cons of having a
> dog?
> 
> Thank you for your time and help.
> 
> Best,
> Mikaela
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