[nagdu] Guide Dog School

Tue Mar 10 21:37:08 UTC 2015

Hello,

Thank you Sandra for a very well worded post.  I want to add that I am  in contact with the Pilot with our yearly alumni convections over the recent months.  They do not train dogs in 6 weeks.  The fact is 6 months.

Best,

Passle

On Mar 10, 2015, at 4:59 PM, S L Johnson via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Hello:
> 
> I prefer ownership too.  However, I can understand why some schools are
> concerned about the dog's health and weight.  I've seen some extremely
> overweight guide dogs, some as much as ten to twenty pounds too heavy.  This
> can cause all kinds of health problems.  It also looks horrible to the
> public.  
> 
> I have to object to your statement about Pilot Dogs.  You said you don't
> like where they get their dogs.  They have their own breeding program for
> most of the breeds they use, otherwise they obtain dogs from breeders.  For
> example, they do not breed their golden retrievers but get them from
> reliable breeders.  My dog is a perfect temperament and very intelligent.
> She is very well behaved and very   well trained.  
> 
> Oh, by the way, be careful with Guide Dog Foundation.  They put my last dog
> Tara out even though they knew she had hip dysplasia.  Tara also developed
> cataracts, that resulted from hereditary cysts in her eyes.   She was only
> six years old.  So, if you want to question the quality of dogs, think of
> getting a dog with health issues.  
> 
> I think the important thing we can learn from this discussion is that we
> have a lot of work to do in order to get the guide dog schools to do a
> better job of breeding, raising and  training.  They should be willing to
> respect us and to welcome our input as to what we want from the school and
> the dogs we receive.  Even those schools that have graduate councils only
> select grads for the council who will agree with everything the director and
> board wants.  We need grad councils who will speak up and disagree when they
> don't like what is happening.   
> 
> One final point.  Whether you are getting your first dog or a successor dog,
> it is important to be a good consumer.  Fortunately with the internet, it is
> very easy to check out the web sites for all the schools.  Discussion lists
> like this one are also an excellent source of information.  I know many
> people are loyal to their schools but, times change so, that school might
> not be your best choice.  Last year when I knew it was time for Tara to
> retire, I applied to several schools.  
> 
> Sandra and Eva
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nimer Jaber via
> nagdu
> Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 2:04 PM
> To: milissa61; 'Debby Phillips'; 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National
> Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Guide Dog School
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> Thanks for your responses about the various guide schools.  I am in
> agreement with Marion on his points...I don't like a school that will retain
> ownership for any amount of time.  I don't like a school that mandates
> weight requirements, and I certainly don't like a school that attempts to
> force grads to send medical info.  This is just like going out and buying a
> car and having the dealership tell you that they wish to see a log of all
> the places you go with that car.  This isn't something I'm willing to
> accept.  As it stands, it seems that most schools retain ownership.  There
> seems to be only a couple of schools that purport to hand over ownership to
> their grads.  It's a shame that things are going down the way they are with
> TSE as I support their model the most and would love to pay for my dog.
> Looks like I'll be checking out GDF and GDA as they seem to be the ones that
> hand ownership.  I have heard and seen too many cases of pretty bad training
> with Pilot...and I don't like where they get their dogs from, either.
> Southeastern seems to have a forced retirement age that is in-congruent with
> providing ownership.  If anyone has anything additional to add about this,
> please let me know.  I wish that more schools would provide ownership and
> would stop treating blind people with such disrespect, but I suppose I can
> continue dreaming...
> 
> Thanks all for all of your advice on this topic.
> 
> On 09-Mar-15 10:29, milissa61 wrote:
>> Hi,
>> 
>> All my dogs have been from Guiding Eyes. They are a great school and 
>> the director of training is phenomenal. When you get a dog from 
>> Guiding Eyes, GEB owns the dog for the first two years. After that, 
>> you are able to apply for ownership provided your dog is in good 
>> health. GEB is very strict about making sure their dogs are not over 
>> weight. I like GEB's ownership policy because if anything goes wrong, 
>> (like the dog is being abused) GEB can step in and take the dog. They 
>> are not in the practice of taking people's dogs away. If something is 
>> wrong, they really go out of their way to help you straighten things 
>> out. But, I am glad it's an option. I've seen way to many dogs from 
>> schools that give ownership right away not be able to do anything if a 
>> dog is not being treated well or if the dog is overweight. Let me know if
> you have any other questions about GEB.
>> 
>> Just my two cents.
>> 
>> Milissa
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Debby 
>> Phillips via nagdu
>> Sent: Monday, March 9, 2015 11:27 AM
>> To: nimerjaber1 at gmail.com; semisweetdebby at gmail.com; nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Guide Dog School
>> 
>> You might want to look at Guiding EYES.  They produce some great dogs, 
>> the training is very good, I'm told, (the Director of training was my 
>> first instructor at Seeing Eye).  I'm not sure what their ownership 
>> policy is.  I almost applied there before I got Neena, but at the last 
>> moment, I just couldn't make the change.  I've been getting dogs from 
>> TSE since 1981.  I have concerns too about some of the direction then 
>> are going, and concerns about their ability to do good follow up.  But 
>> for me, I just couldn't make the change.  Neena is a great dog, and I 
>> love how she works.  We will see, in the future, if I need follow-up
>> if it will happen or not.  Good luck with your search.    Peace,    
>> Debby with Neena
>> 
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> 
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