[NAGDU] Questions About Getting My First Guide Dog

Tue May 17 22:25:07 UTC 2016

Hi Rachel,

I can help you with your first and third questions...  Someone else
should speak to the cat issue as I have never owned a cat.

I have been teaching private voice lessons for two years now, and the
dog has never been a problem.  Sometimes when I got a new student, I
would warn them by telling them to look for the young woman with the
really long hair and the service dog.  I was told by one of my
students that she didn't believe the service dog part until she saw
me.  :)

Now I am assigned students by where I work, and they don't have to
find me in a lobby.  I have never warned them about the dog because I
don't want it to become a problem.  I don't want parents to worry
about their kids being around someone who needs a guide dog or how the
dog will act.  But much of this comes from my refusal to disclose my
blindness to my students, which is another discussion entirely.  You
know your students best, especially if they are long-term ones.  You
can casually drop it into conversation just so that they know, but
there isn't a reason to make a big deal about it.  The dog will be
there, behaving and inconspicuous.

As for the allergy issue...  I would not recommend letting your new
dog loose in a backyard.  I like to have control over my dogs, and if
your dog has been in a backyard for a long period of time, it can pick
up things, roll in stuff, or eat grass.  I would especially worry
about someone else's backyard, where you don't know the layout.  My
rule is that if I can't chase my dog in it or around it, then I won't
let my dog loose there.  Yes, it means I don't let my dog loose in
friends' houses at first.

There are ways to reduce allergins.  I believe there is something you
can rub on the dog or a solution you can bathe him or her with, but
someone else will know more about this than I do.

These are good questions.  Feel free to email me off list if you have
more!  I know we are of a similar profession, and I have dealt with
dogs and opera rehearsals, choir rehearsals, singing competitions,
etc.

On 5/17/16, Rachel Grider via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hello, Friends!
>
> I don't usually post to this list because, having never used a guide dog, I
> have nothing productive to contribute. This is shortly going to change,
> though, as I will be going to the Seeing Eye to train with a new guide dog
> in two weeks! I am very excited, though this decision has been a very long
> time coming. I am still unsure about some things, but I know that I will
> need to try it out in order to know for sure if a guide dog will be the best
> mobility aid for me.
>
> I have a few questions for y'all about adjusting to a new guide dog. I will
> probably think of many more as I proceed, but here are a few with which to
> start:
>
> 1. I teach private voice lessons. I have already notified my students that I
> will be away for most of June, but I have not yet told them why. I know that
> it would probably be common courtesy to let them know that I am getting a
> guide dog before they show up to my studio and see my dog there. I am
> nervout about telling them because I don't know what kind of reaction I will
> get. What have some of you done in similar situations, and how have your
> students/clients/associates reacted?
>
> 2. I happen to own a cat who is not only quite territorial but also
> extremely emotionally attached to me; I mean, when I am home, this cat
> literally follows me around and is always trying to get me to either play or
> cuddle with her. The man who did my home interview didn't seem too concerned
> about her adjusting to a dog, but because the emotional well-being of my cat
> is extremely important to me, I cannot help being worried. I know this
> sounds really stupid, but I am afraid that because my dog will go with me
> whenever I leave my house, and then return home with me, my cat will begin
> to associate me with the dog and instead of growing used to my dog over
> time, she will resent me and not want to be around me as much. Am I reading
> too much into this? Regardless, what are some ways in which you have made
> the transition easier for your pets?
>
> 3. I have two good friends who are allergic to dog hair. Both of them are
> not worried about being around me with the dog, as long as I keep it
> brushed, but I am concerned that despite their reassurances, my
> relationships with them will suffer. One of these friends told me that
> service dogs have been brought to her house before, and as long as the dog
> stayed in the back yard, everything was fine. Is that appropriate to do with
> a guide dog? How have some of you dealt with this?
>
> That will be it for now. Any advice would be appreciated. I am counting down
> the days until I will get to meet my new guide, but I still want to make
> sure that all proactical considerations are made.
>
> Cheers!
>
> Rachel
>
> http//www.rachelgrider.com
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-- 
Julie A. McGinnity
President, National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division,
Second Vice President, National Federation of the Blind of Missouri
"For we walk by faith, not by sight"
2 Cor. 7