[nagdu] Washington DC metro area puppies (add Rockville ADA)

[Tami Jarvis]

Tom,

Owner-training is an option, and you can customize the training to your 
needs and disability.

There are a number of things to consider:

1. It's important to start with a dog with the right temperament who can 
handle the stress and remain calm and deal with public interactions and 
all that.

2. The training process requires you to be able to navigate 
independently in the places you will most need the dog to help you while 
keeping you and your pup safe while also teaching the dog.

3. In addition to task training, you need to train the dog how to behave 
in public, which is also quite time-consuming.

4. You will need to do a lot of extra self-advocating, which can 
sometimes be a real pain.

There are several owner-trainers on this list, including me. I'm on my 
second owner-trained poodle guide, who at 16-1/2 months is still in 
process. He just got his first guide dog harness and is doing wonderfully.

Tami

On 09/10/2015 07:59 PM, Tom Hunter via nagdu wrote:
> Janice, I am of the opinion now, after 2 rejections, that a guide dog,
> raised and trained for that purpose by one of the  ~ dozen certified
> schools, would be a bad match for my disability?
>
> I am legally blind, but seem to be not blind enough?
>
> So, I am  of the opinion that I could use a service animal (dog) who'd
> be trained by me.
>
> This service animal would not be a traditional seeing-eye-dog, but would
> be trained, by me, to help me see things I can't easily see, such as the
> path in wooded areas where I do have trouble now, since my loss of most
> of my optic nerves.
>
> Thoughts?
>