[NAGDU] Question for GDA grads, Dogs and canes and curbs
Star Gazer
pickrellrebecca at gmail.com
Tue Mar 15 22:02:41 UTC 2016
Just one bad street crossing *one* time
and...
I changed some of the words but it should bring back memories of a pretty
off color joke for some of you.
-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lisa Belville via
NAGDU
Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2016 1:38 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Lisa Belville <missktlab1217 at frontier.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Question for GDA grads, Dogs and canes and curbs
Hi, Dan. So you've done the diagonal shuffle? <grin>
That hasn't happened as much with us, because I can usually correct our line
of travel so we're not as close to the parallel traffic, which, of course,
leads to not locating the curb exactly.
But yes, even without those domes, lining up perfectly is nearly impossible
for me now days. <sigh>
I can use my right hand an gesture in the direction I'm farily certain the
curb lies, but I can't guarantee it.
I'm hoping that some of this will go away as Paige becomes more seasoned.
I think if someone called my sister and told her I was in the middle of the
street, she'd start a pool to see how soon I'd get hit. LOL Seriously,
though, I've been lucky in that I've managed to figure things out or find
pedestrian assistance. The veering into the street hasn't happened that
often, but it has occurred enough to really shake my self confidence.
Lisa Belville
missktlab1217 at frontier.com
In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth... After that,
everything else was Made in China.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan Weiner via NAGDU" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "Dan Weiner" <dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net>
Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2016 12:15 PM
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Question for GDA grads, Dogs and canes and curbs
> Oh my, Lisa, sorry that's happening, similar things have been
> happening in my community in sunny Florida actually the place isn't
> called sunny, it's Winter Park, so now all of you know where I am and
> can track me down and we can all make difficult crossings together....
> They replaced curbs with tactile domes, the intention is good I know
> )though it doesn't help at all in my opinion) but the problem is that
> you have to be quite careful about alignment because if you think the
> tactile dome is a curb to square off of you ewill go in to the middle
> of the parallel street. Happened one time and I'm still hearing
> everyone and his uncle comment on it, apparently I was very
> visible--lol love that so many saw and I'm a source of amusement and
> wonder for them all--lol. Even some jerk went to my sister's house in
> the neighborhood and told her they saw me crossing diagonally...that
> actually was going to far as they could save themselves the trip by
> talking to me but you know, if you are blind even though you are
> forty-six, world-traveled, holder of a degree and so on you are a
> grown-up kid--smile. Rant over. I mean, I can always have respect for
> someone who asks me about something directly, right?--smile but going
> to the relatives...hmmm...
>
> But anyway, this crossing difficulty as you described it it is something
> that seems to happen and I hope it is working better for you.
>
> Unfortunately I only hear out of one ear so some of the pointers you
> mentioned on traffic are more difficult for me, but we keep on
> trucking and building our teamwork.
>
> Best wishes and always glad to see you on different tlists.
>
>
> Dan and His Royal Majesty, Parker
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lisa
> Belville via NAGDU
> Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2016 12:58 PM
> To: national guide dog
> Cc: Lisa Belville
> Subject: [NAGDU] Question for GDA grads, Dogs and canes and curbs
>
> 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
>
>
> missktlab1217 at frontier.com
>
> In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth... After that,
> everything else was Made in China.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> NAGDU mailing list
> NAGDU at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> NAGDU:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/dcwein%40dcwein.cnc
> .net
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> NAGDU mailing list
> NAGDU at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> NAGDU:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/missktlab1217%40fro
> ntier.com
_______________________________________________
NAGDU mailing list
NAGDU at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NAGDU:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/pickrellrebecca%40gmail.c
om
More information about the NAGDU
mailing list