[NAGDU] Question for GDA grads, Dogs and canes and curbs

[Lisa Belville]

Hi, all.

I've been unexpectedly off line for a bit, so I'm just going through the
NAGDU archives and noticed the thread about dogs going into the street
instead of turning onto a sidewalk. I don't remember who the original poster 
was, but I'd encourage you to call your school and get some on sight help so 
they can see exactly what's happening in real time and give you tips as 
things are happening.  Even videos and phone calls aren't a substitute for 
that kind of assistance.  I know it's scary/frustrating and depressing to 
have a dog and have this happen, so that's why I'm urging the school 
contact.

I've had this issue in varying degrees with all of my dogs, but it has been 
way worse with my second and current dog because over the past few years the 
city has
been changing most of their old school curb cuts to this blended and rounded
style.  The curbs that aren't blended are still rounded, but there's plenty
of slope or rough concrete, so it's a bit easier to distinguish these even
if there's not traffic noise.

A dog can learn to navigate these, but it's really frustrating to have to
direct the dog accurately especially if you can't give very specific
directions due to not having reliable tactile feedback from the
concrete/asphalt.  I try to use traffic sounds to pinpoint when we're
actually at the curb rather than using what I feel through my feet.    We
have a few curbs here that are all concrete and even using my long cane in
an arc doesn't really help me find the curb unless I have some traffic
sounds.  It's really frustrating

We had a  situation recently where we crossed one of these rounded
intersections and rather than  continue straight along the sidewalk, we
wound up in the parallel street.  This is a farily busy street for us, but
there's parking and bike lanes on the west side of the street, so even 
though we
were technically in the street, we weren't in traffic.  I figured this out
and told Paige to move over to the right and we treated it like a country
walk until she could find the first open right turn and get us back on the
sidewalk.  I don't consider this good guiding behavior, but at the same time
we did recover successfully without injury or stress, Well, Paige didn't
seem stressed.  I, on the other hand, was a basketcase.  LOL

Part of the problem here is that this is a mismatched intersection in that
the curb we came from is very sloped and obvious while the one we were
crossing to is extremely flat and blended, so there's really nothing for
me to feel.

I've been in touch with GDA where I got Paige and they've given us ideas,
mostly involving someone sighted helping us to pattern Paige to these areas.
They said she's looking for a change in elevation more than anything else
when finding curbs, and that's hard for those flat curbs and we have tons of
those.  I'm lucky in that the person helping me is my original O&M teacher I
had back in third grade.  Seriously, I've known this person for that long.
She's open to learning how dogs work and is actually going to a workshop
later this year sponsored by a guide dog school, sorry, don't remember which
one.  Just saying that while I'm not getting on sight help from the school
yet, finding the right person really does make a difference.

The other recommendation is to use my cane in these areas so I know them
well enough to direct Paige accurately.  I have mixed feelings about this.
I don't mind the cane, but I have a horrible left veer, which is why when I 
have to use a cane, I use a long
cane.  This isn't an NFB style cane, but I'm using the NFB recommendation 
that the
cane come up to at least my nose.  I'm five foot one, and this cane comes up 
to just past that point.  This really does help with veering and recovering
from it, especially at street crossings.

Now when I leave with Paige, I've got my Trekker Breeze, my cane folded in 
my right hand and my iPhone with the compass app running and calibrated.  I 
have had to use all of these to get us out of travel jams.    I'd use the 
iPhone for GPS, but I have a lousy data plan, so it's not an option at this 
point.

The advice I'm getting from GDA is to leave Paige at home and use my cane in 
unfamiliar areas until I know how things feel so I can give Paige accurate 
directions.  Guys, this frankly sounds unrealistic.  Sure, a cane is a 
valuable tool to have in the tool box, and I have no problems using it if we 
become disoriented for some reason.  But using it instead of the dog in 
unfamiliar areas seems like it defeats the purpose of the dog.  What about 
unplanned trips or or having one of those days where it's really nice out 
and I think  "Hey, let's check out what's down that street."

I'm not bashing or saying anything negative about GDA or the staff, yada, 
yada.  I'm only asking other grads how they handle their dogs in areas where 
there aren't textbook curbs.
Any and all input is welcome.

Lisa


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