[NAGDU] Questions About Getting My First Guide Dog

Mon May 30 01:14:32 UTC 2016

*Hello Rachel,
You may not have to completely give up your cane.
You are attending Leader Dog, right? Unless policy has changed since I 
was last there the instructors suggested carrying a folding cane to 
supplement your dog to help you explore an obstacle while working your 
dog, or as a back up in case of harness failure, or the pup suddenly 
taking ill while out on route.

HTH

Wayne And Harley

*On 5/27/2016 1:08 PM, Rachel Grider via NAGDU wrote:
> I think I will definitely have a hard time with giving up my cane. I
> love to be able to learn about my environment with my cane, and I am
> used to being in total control. With a dog, I will have to give up
> some of that control, but I will hopefully be trading control for
> better speed and grace when walking through hazardous environments.
>
> Last week, I began wondering if I really should get a guide dog
> because I thought that maybe the worries I had and the possible issues
> I could foresee were just too much, and maybe a guide dog just wasn't
> the best thing for me at this time in my life. I made a numbered list
> of all the personal benefits of getting a guide dog (which I am still
> adding to as I think of more, by the way) and another list of all the
> possible problems and inconveniences that a guide dog would create. I
> was greatly encouraged because the pros greatly outnumbered the cons,
> and I have even taken some of the cons off the list altogether as I
> think of ways to get around them.
>
> I still have a ton of questions, but I think that as long as I have a
> guide dog that fits my personality and lifestyle, everything will work
> out. My biggest worry at this point is that somehow the dog they
> choose for me will end up being the wrong choice, and I will have to
> send it back for a new one after having already bonded with it. Does
> that ever happen, or am I being paranoid?
>
> Thank you,
>
> Rachel
>
> On 5/27/16, Cindy Ray via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> I think the hardest thing for me with the first dog was giving over some of
>> the responsibility that I used to take using a cane to the dog. I wanted to
>> know all of the things about my environment that I used to know with the
>> cane because I trusted me more than the dog. Now I sort of wonder why I
>> felt
>> that way, having retired the dog and gone back to using a cane.
>> Lots of wonderful times and happy trails, Rachel.
>> Cindy
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Rachel Grider
>> via
>> NAGDU
>> Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2016 5:28 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Rachel Grider <rachel.grider at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Questions About Getting My First Guide Dog
>>
>> Thank you all for your advice! This makes me feel better. I am leaving for
>> NJ on Monday and should meet my new guide dog on Wednesday.
>> Getting excited!
>>
>> On 5/24/16, Star Gazer via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 			I like the compromises others have suggested. In
>> public, I'd bring
>>> the dog, your friend doesn't get to decide that. At home, in her home,
>>> then she does as do you.
>>> Really, you need to realize that relationships always change, people
>>> get married, have children, move away, find hobbies. Only you can know
>>> if you want t his change to happen. If no, then don't get a dog. If
>>> yes, then get one.
>>> I no longer have a dog. When I did, a good friend and I weren't very
>> close.
>>> When I stopped using a dog, we became close. He just doesn't like dogs
>>> and that's fine. It put a crimp in our friendship while I was using
>>> one but he was never a butt head about it... he just didn't want to
>>> hang out when my dog was present, and I didn't want to leave the dog just
>> for him.
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tara
>>> Wiseman via NAGDU
>>> Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2016 9:40 PM
>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Cc: Tara Wiseman <thflute at gmail.com>
>>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Questions About Getting My First Guide Dog
>>>
>>> Hi, first of all I want to say congratulations! I have loved having a
>>> dog from the Seeing Eye! My brother has allergies to dogs and is also
>>> not a dog fan. Here is the compromise that we have come up with. If he
>>> is hosting a family dinner, and I have family taking me to and from, I
>>> leave any at home.
>>> If we were meeting at his house to then go somewhere where I would
>>> need to use Emmy, or if I were coming to his house on my own, I would
>>> be OK to bring Amy. I didn't make it totally clear at the beginning,
>>> but Amy is the name of my dog. Congratulations to you and keep us
>>> posted!
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>>> On May 17, 2016, at 4:01 PM, 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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