[nagdu] guide dog decisions, et.

[Lisa]

Hey all,

I enjoyed reading your priorities/preferences during the chosing process of 
a school.
Since my school is Germany, no one will know it but I can tell you why I 
decided to go there anyway.

It is the only guide dog school that does home training in Germany. This was 
a huge advantage for me. And to me it also seemed clever to walk in a more 
familiar area when everything else is so new. Taylor is my first guide dog 
so I thought home training would be a good choice because I could crawl into 
my own bed at night.

Apart from that, my school also has adult dogs only.
But most importantly, their philosophy on their website said alot about the 
fact that a guide dog is never only something to help you with your mobility 
but also always a dog, an animal with its needs and mannerisms. That you 
become a dog owner as well as a guide dog handler. And that you can't expect 
your dog to just guide you around nicely and then lie down until you need 
them again.
Sadly enough, I had heard other things from other schools and other guide 
dog handlers. And I wanted a dog just as much as I wanted a guide. So this 
was the aspect that made me chose this school in the end.

Regarding the breed discussion: When I first got in touch with the school, I 
had no real preference. The school trains goldens, labradors, German 
shepherds, flat-coated retrievers and Schnauzers. The trainer recommended me 
to get a labrador and explained that a Shepherd is not the best dog for a 
beginner but if I had a strong desire to get a Shepherd, this wouldn't have 
been a problem either. But since I was familiar with labradors and fell in 
love with Taylor at first sight, the breed decision was easy.

Lisa
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Elizabeth Campbell via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 21, 2015 3:20 PM
Subject: [nagdu] guide dog decisions, et.


> Hi all,
>
>
>
> I havent' posted in a while due to a busy schedule, but I do want to 
> respond
> to a couple of posts here.
>
>
>
> First, I got both of my dogs from The Seeing Eye. I like the school's
> philosophy that we own our guides upon graduation. Yes, there is a nominal
> fee, but it did not deter me from getting a dog. I also appreciate the
> school's thorough training, especially when it comes to traffic and 
> dealing
> with the ever-increasing number of "quiet cars" on our roads.
>
> Second, regarding Joe Orosco's post. I believe he wrote in a somewhat
> tongue-in-cheek manner because he is trying to make a very personal choice
> on what to do in terms of getting another guide. I responded to his post 
> by
> stating that while it is inconvenient to take our dogs out in snow or ice,
> for me the rewards far outweigh the annoyances.
>
> I brought up the quiet car example earlier. I can't tell you the number of
> times that Gabe, my current guide, has pulled me away from driveways or
> intersections where cars were turning in front of us. Even the gasoline
> engines are quieter these days, and it is just more difficult to hear the
> traffic.
>
> There are lots of other advantages, but that is the one that comes to mind
> at this point.
>
>
>
> Have a great weekend all.
>
>
>
> Liz
>
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