[nagdu] Guide Dog School
Aleeha Dudley
blindcowgirl1993 at gmail.com
Tue Mar 10 22:06:15 UTC 2015
I don't understand how a dog can be reliable if it is trained, six weeks or six months, but very young age as many dogs seem to be. My friend just returned with a 15-month-old dog, who, quite honestly, could have definitely used some more training time.
Sent from my iPhone
> On Mar 10, 2015, at 5:37 PM, Passle Helminski via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> 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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