[nagdu] Why, or why not?

[melissa R green]

As a dog user I always
imphasize the cons and pros
about having a dog.  I also
imphasize using having cane
skils because you never know
when the dog would be sick or
unable to work.  I agree
sherry that people need to
know the cons and the pros.  I
love my dog.  But there are
times when I remember that I
didn't have to take my cane
out in the snow and rain to go
to the bathroom.  Smile!


Have a blessed day.
Best regards,
Melissa R Green and Pj
Love is being committed with
out a guarantee.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu
[mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.o
rg] On Behalf Of Sherry Gomes
via nagdu
Sent: Saturday, June 20, 2015
4:03 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the
National Association of Guide
Dog Users'
Cc: Sherry Gomes
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Why, or
why not?

When I used to work at GDB in
Admissions, I used to tell
prospective students the
negatives right along with the
positives. I wanted people to
know about the 24/7 commitment
and the fact that there are
negatives, cons about working
with a dog. Funny thing,
though I worked with a couple
sighted people who had been in
the same admissions job for
years, eventually I started
hearing them add those cons to
their calls with applicants,
even though they hadn't done
so before. For me, I felt it
was better for people to make
a more informed decision, than
to think it was all wonderful
and get a dog, and maybe down
the road have to give them up
because the commitment and
sometimes negative or awkward
issues with family, friends
and coworkers were more than
they could handle. 

Sherry



-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu
[mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.o
rg] On Behalf Of Raven
Tolliver via nagdu
Sent: Saturday, June 20, 2015
3:21 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the
National Association of Guide
Dog Users
Cc: Raven Tolliver
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Why, or
why not?

Alysha,
You brought up some great
points. Stuff they definitely
don't warn you about when you
apply to get a guide dog. For
some people, it's worth it.
For others, it's too much of a
sacrifice. Guide dogs can
bring more freedom to you
depending on how independent
you were before getting one.
But they can restrict your
freedom in other aspects of
your life as well.
--
Raven
Founder of 1AM Editing &
Research
www.1am-editing.com

You are valuable because of
your potential, not because of
what you have or what you do.

Naturally-reared guide dogs
https://groups.google.com/d/fo
rum/nrguidedogs


On 6/20/15, Alysha via nagdu
<nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I thought I'd throw in my 2
cents about the cons of having
a guide 
> dog. I love working a dog
and have no intention to go
back to the 
> cane, but I think there are
certain cons that people
should consider 
> that aren't discussed
as
> often. Obviously we all have
to deal with annoying
questions from the 
> public, but there are also
other situations where having
a dog can 
> create issues with other
people. Say for example
everyone in your 
> office is going out for
lunch. If you want to join in,
you have to 
> find someone who is OK with
having some dog hair in their
car because 
> no matter how often you
groom, there will always be
hair. What if your 
> family or close friends
aren't dog people? I've seen
this cause some 
> very hurtful conflicts when,
for example, my friend's
family asked her 
> not to bring her very
well-behaved dog to Christmas
or to her 
> grandfather's funeral. Also,
the recent thread about
Deryl's coworker 
> who is afraid of dogs
illustrated that dogs can
sometimes cause 
> conflict and stress in the
workplace. I had a similar
situation a few 
> years ago where a coworker
claimed (and I think his
claims were not 
> completely true) that he had
allergies to my dog. This
meant that my 
> dog was restricted from
certain parts of the building,
and meetings
were
> always an issue. At work, I
have a large lab space, and my
dog has a 
> bed along one wall. A few
months ago, my supervisor
actually asked me 
> if we could buy some extra
furniture to hide my dog from
view because 
> he felt that people were
looking at him instead of
paying attention in 
> meetings. Of course, I said
no! If you live with someone
else, you 
> have to trust that they will
follow the rules you set
related to your 
> dog. For example, one
of
> my friends family members
left socks lying on the floor
that his dog ate.
> After a $4,000 surgery, his
dog was alright, but
carelessness by other 
> people you live with can
have serious consequences. All
of this can be
kind
> of exhausting sometimes, and
there was a time when issues
like these 
> made me think of not getting
another dog. I've decided
though that I 
> won't let other people
dictate what I do in my life,
and I'm not going 
> to sacrifice the awesomeness
of having a guide dog because
of other 
> people.
>
> Now I'd like to mention some
examples of problems that can
be caused 
> by
the
> dog itself. Both of my guide
dogs have had issues with dog
distractions.
> This means that every time I
pass by a dog on a walk, I
feel somewhat
tense
> and worried. I wish I could
go walking and not worry about
what 
> encounters I might have with
other dogs. Also, what if your
dog 
> becomes ill or temporarily
unable to work? Last year, the
night before 
> I was about to leave town
for an important meeting, my
dog began 
> vomiting and having
diarrhea.
I
> took him to the vet
immediately, but I wasn't able
to feed him a bland
diet
> of chicken and rice while in
a hotel, and I wasn't
comfortable with 
> the possibility of him
making a mess at this meeting.
I wound up 
> finding someone to watch him
while I was away, but I don't
know what I 
> would have done if
I
> hadn't found someone last
minute to take care of him.
When I take my 
> dog
to
> day long meetings or
conferences, I feel like my
time to network and 
> chat is limited because I
always have to make extra time
to take him 
> outside and get him water.
Usually, the amount of time
allotted for 
> breaks at these types of
events is sufficient for only
one of us, me 
> or my dog, to take a
restroom break. Having a dog
means that I will 
> always have to worry about
dog hair on my clothes. It
also requires me 
> to think ahead and plan
more. For example, I keep some
dog food at the 
> office in case I have to
unexpectedly work late, I
always carry a 
> portable water bowl in my
purse, and I have poop bags in
every bag or 
> pocket I own. With a dog, I
will never have leg room on
airplanes or 
> in cars. When I travel, my
bags are probably twice as
full as they 
> were before I got a dog
because of dog food and
supplies, and when
I'm
> on long flights, I
constantly worry in the back
of my mind if my dog 
> will be able to hold it the
entire time. Everyone says you
can walk 
> faster with a dog, but it
sometimes doesn't work out
that way if your 
> dog is bored or uncertain.
Sometimes I find myself
creeping down the 
> halls at work if my dog
isn't feeling too excited to
visit the break 
> room yet again. Working a
dog can be quite an emotional
roller 
> coaster. When you start
working with the dog, your
excited, nervous, 
> and probably frustrated as
you learn to work well as a
team. When you 
> have built a strong
partnership with your dog,
it's absolutely 
> wonderful. But you'll
inevitably have to retire the
dog which
is
> extremely difficult. So
those are just a few examples
of some cons of 
> having a guide dog apart
from the extra costs, work,
and public 
> attention they bring. I
think the positives of having
a guide dog 
> outweigh the negatives, but
it's important to consider all
the 
> negatives as well.
>
> Alysha
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu
[mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.o
rg] On Behalf Of daniel via
nagdu
> Sent: Saturday, June 20,
2015 12:14 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the
National Association of Guide
Dog Users'
> Cc: daniel
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Why, or
why not?
>
> Thank you all for all the
input! One thing that I've
knowticed is that 
> the overall feeling that the
public asks too many
questions. I think 
> it's probably because I'm
pretty straight forward and
say what I'm 
> thinking. So if they do get
on my nerves (unlikely)
they'll know. But 
> I do generally enjoy
educating the public so that's
not an issue for 
> me. Even though I have had a
dog (all be it shortly) in the
past 
> another thing I'm worried
about is exploring new places
from 
> time-to-time. When I got my
first seeing eye Dog the first
2 months or 
> so back home I didn't really
want to try exploring new
places without 
> someone sighted to at least
have had seen roughly the area
I
> would be going so I could
know kinda sorta what to
expect (it should 
> be noted that at that time I
had just moved into a new
apartment so I 
> had to learn new places).
But after that initial 2 or 3
month period 
> is when my dog started
having issues with vehicles so
I tried my 
> hardest to avoid any
type
> of transportation therefore
I didn't really get to go new
places. 
> Anyway, the upshot of this
is this: I feel that some
people really 
> push me to only stay on
routes I know unless I have
sighted assistance 
> that can help me with a
otherwise unseen route. This
just doesn't mesh 
> with me though; I like to
get out and find something new
from 
> time-to-time, maybe go
walking
downtown
> and find a new place to eat
at (Austin has a lot of
amazing restaurants).
> So
> I'm kinda curious about what
yalls thoughts are on going
new places 
> with your dog? What do you
do in this situation if maybe
sighted 
> assistance
just
> isn't available? I'd also be
interested in hearing from
anyone that 
> has decided that a dog just
really isn't for you and the
reasoning behind it.
I
> know that isn't related to
this topic so if you want, you
can email me at:
> Gutz2020 at gmail.com
> Thanks a bunch,
> Dan G!!!
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu
[mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.o
rg] On Behalf Of Star Gazer 
> via nagdu
> Sent: Friday, June 19, 2015
6:11 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the
National Association of Guide
Dog Users'
> Cc: Star Gazer
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Why, or
why not?
>
>
Daniel,
> I'd suggest that if your
previous dog shed *that* much,
then she had a 
> medical issue, I'd guess
hypothyroidism(sp?) I had a
dog like this, 
> and I didn't know what was
going on. All I knew was that
I would 
> cringe because
I
> heard "You need to brush
that dog more" and I could
have brushed her 
> literally all day everyday
and still gotten lots of hair
out.
> I did take her to the vet
and they swore up and down she
was healthy...
> because the school wouldn't
send "you home with an
unhealthy dog". 
> This
was
> nearly twenty years ago, and
I lacked the resources to dig
into what 
> was really going on. I still
feel a little guilty about
that.
> Now that we've gotten the
shedding licked (sorry I had
to go there) 
> what are your other
concerns? I ask because you're
not wrong for 
> having them. I no longer use
a dog, and you aren't wrong if
you decide 
> you don't want to.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu
[mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.o
rg] On Behalf Of daniel via
nagdu
> Sent: Friday, June 19, 2015
12:05 PM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Cc: daniel
> Subject: [nagdu] Why, or why
not?
>
> Hey guys, I haven't posted
to the list in a while mainly
because I 
> don't have my dog anymore;
she was terrified of cars and
couldn't do 
> work properly because of it.
I know this is going to come
off a bit 
> negatively but I don't mean
it that way: I feel as if,
guide dog users 
> we have a tendency to
extol
> the greatness of using a
guide dog, we always say how
amazing it is 
> and wonderful having one by
our side is but I feel that
the cons 
> aren't ever really
discussed. I retired my dog
roughly a year ago and, 
> at the time, it was pretty
tramatic (I literally cried
for like an 
> hour at a time). I'm
now
> really contemplating going
back to The Seeing Eye again
and am really 
> honestly wondering what kind
of cons or negative things
yall have ran 
> into while using a dog? I
know there is a huuuge range
of people from 
> just starting out to have
had a dog for the past 20
years so I feel 
> like I can get some really
good feedback. I know one for
me was (and 
> this may sound odd or vain)
was excessive shedding. I
could brush and 
> comb Irene for 30-45 minutes
every evening and morning and
yet, every 
> time I got in a car there
would be fur everywhere and
when I vacuumed 
> I could've probably made a
pillow every time. I have
literally never 
> in my life seen a dog shed
as much as that and am quite
frankly not 
> sure where all the fur came
from off a 45 pound dog.
However, I think 
> I could deal with it again
if I were to get another guide
dog; I would 
> just have to get even better
at managing. I
have
> a few others but I'm
wondering what are some for
yall?
>
> Again, I really am not
trying to be negative just
really trying to get 
> the whole story.again.
>
> I'm also (obviously) trying
to decide if I want to go back
again 
> (that's a whole other post
though, I think). I'm also not
really 
> trying to say (nor do I want
yet another debate) that canes
are better 
> than dogs or vice versa.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dan.
>
>
>
> P.s: This is a sort of
spinoff from "would I ever
give up having a dog?"
>
>
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