[nagdu] Guide dogs and haunted houses

Raven Tolliver ravend729 at gmail.com
Sat Oct 31 05:49:37 UTC 2015


Hi,
I wasn't looking for help. Just curious about other people's experiences.
Like I've said, I've already taken my dog through a haunted playspace,
and it was very entertaining.

So I went to the haunted house tonight, and it went well. I kept him
in harness, though I did not use him to guide because we would have
practically sped through the place without experiencing much. I hung
onto my sister, who purposely walked in front of me to slow me down.
At one point, I did let go of her and pick up the harness because
there was a monster (a woman) standing in front of me screaming in my
face, so I wanted to get out of that room and keep moving, but my
sister was blocking me and she couldn't find the door out.
The Golden Guy kept trying to walk fast to interact with the people,
so I kept him on a very short leash. He wanted to sniff all the
monsters and a stiff lying on an exam table.
One of the monsters actually didn't jump down to scare us because he
was afraid of my dog. Haha! And a guy playing a clown told me that he
totally dug my dog.
It was very exciting with all the screaming, graning, slamming, and
pounding on the walls. There was also surround sound music, which I
didn't like because I couldn't hear where anything was to avoid things
hanging from the ceiling like curtains and fake slabs of meat. But my
sister said it was worse for the sighted people because in some rooms
it was very bright, and in the next place it would be pitch black, and
there was also fog in some areas.
At the end, all the sighted people freaked out because they couldn't
find a door. I tried to get the Golden Guy to but he couldn't because
the door just looked like another knob. There was no knob or visible
hinges.

Over all, it was very fun. Yes, there were lots of loud noises.
Screaming, hollering, popping/snapping, spurts of compressed air,
train horns, and so on. I think dogs should be exposed to this kind of
stuff considering there are loud noises in life all the time.
Thunderstorms, trucks, nearby fireworks, and even some kid play spaces
can be pretty noisy.
I've taken my dog to smaller concerts, upbeat church services, and I
also took him through a haunted house simulation at my college, so I
figured he'd do perfectly fine at a real haunted house. He's also been
to fireworks shows, so he's ready for just about anything.
Part of the Guiding Eyes in for training assessment is seeing how dogs
react to sudden loud noises and movements. So At least that school
expects that this kind of stuff will happen and does not want their
dogs to be fearful in these circumstances.

I would like to do a haunted house every year from now on. I really
enjoy horror movies and haunted houses/playspaces, and the Golden Guy
does, too.
-- 
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/forum/nrguidedogs

On 10/30/15, Danielle Sykora via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I haven't been to a haunted house with my dog, but he's had a lot of
> experience with strange and/or loud noises and has had his fair share
> of unusual situations so I don't think it would be a problem. I think
> this is a situation that really depends on the personality of the dog.
> Thai is a very curious, go-with-the-flow kind of dog. He's more likely
> to want to look at or sniff something unusual rather than be scared of
> it and recovers quickly when startled. He tends to become a bit
> excited by running people or people on his level, but nothing too
> extreme. I would definitely work him through a haunted house, because
> his reactions are usually more moderate when he knows he's supposed to
> be professional. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, but I really think
> this is a situation in which you must know your own dog's
> capabilities.
>
> Danielle and Thai
>
> On 10/30/15, Scott Berry via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi Cindy and all,
>>
>> I agree with you Cindy.  In fact, our instructor at Pilot told us not to
>> take our dog around very loud noises so if I go to concerts or haunted
>> houses I’d leave my dog at home.
>>
>>
>>> On Oct 30, 2015, at 4:29 PM, Cindy Ray via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Well, I have never done it, and I probably never would. I have come to be
>>> very cautious about things such as this since the time I took that dog to
>>> a
>>> concert where they fired off a Powitzer at the end of 1812 Overture. I
>>> thought she was a calm, laid back dog, but I had misjudged who she was at
>>> a
>>> time like that. I would have more fun going without my dog, but I will be
>>> interested to hear what you think afterwards. Maybe I'm just over
>>> cautious.
>>> Cindy Lou Ray
>>> cindyray at gmail.com
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Raven Tolliver
>>> via nagdu
>>> Sent: Friday, October 30, 2015 5:12 PM
>>> To: nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Cc: Raven Tolliver <ravend729 at gmail.com>
>>> Subject: [nagdu] Guide dogs and haunted houses
>>>
>>> Has anyone taken their guide dog to a haunted house or through a haunted
>>> playspace before? What was your experience?
>>>
>>> Tonight, I am taking the Golden Guy through a haunted house, and I think
>>> it
>>> will be his first time. I will take his harness off and carry it with me,
>>> as
>>> I expect him to get excited by a lot of the sudden noises, movements, and
>>> antics.
>>>
>>> When I was in college, the school did an annual haunted hallways, where
>>> they
>>> turned a 3-story dorm into a haunted house with a theme such as insane
>>> asylum, abandoned factory, etc. When I went through that, I also walked
>>> with
>>> the Golden Guy out of harness. He was very excited by the shrill
>>> screaming,
>>> people slamming and banging on doors, people lying or crawling on the
>>> floor,
>>> etc. I did not let him interact with the people, even though he
>>> definitely
>>> wanted to investigate the people lying on the floor, and jump up on the
>>> woman running down the hall screaming. It was very funny, and an
>>> opportunity
>>> for him to enjoy the event.
>>>
>>> What are others' experiences?
>>> --
>>> 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/forum/nrguidedogs
>>>
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>>
>>
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