[nagdu] Guide dogs and haunted houses

Becky Frankeberger b.butterfly at comcast.net
Sat Oct 31 16:40:07 UTC 2015


My first dog and I went through a haunted house at an amusement park. Baylor was like so board he just wanted to move through it all.  The bar things that you went into to confuse you he ran under practically avoiding the bars. I wanted to experience everything so made him go through. I hated the bouncy bridge thing gave me the creeps like I was going to fall through, so I gave him his head and let him get me out of that part. So all in all an enjoyable time. There wasn't that much screaming which thrilled me, smile. 

Becky and Jake, who says, ims brave, toothy grin.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Raven Tolliver via nagdu
Sent: Friday, October 30, 2015 10:50 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Raven Tolliver <ravend729 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Guide dogs and haunted houses

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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