[NAGDU] General public advising me and Alec

[Tami Jarvis]

Andy,

Is it possible to just say no and keep saying it? In other words, will 
you suffer some sort of repercussions with your agency if you don't 
waste your time doing something that isn't helping you meet your goals 
just because some instructor thinks he knows better than you how you 
should manage your guide? By law, they're actually not allowed to make 
your decisions for you, but some seem to have missed that memo.

Honestly, gide dogs do move around during long meetings. The goal of 
keeping the dog quiet and still and unobtrusive, unseen and unheard if 
possible, is a worthy one. But, as you say, they're not robots. And it's 
harder for them when they're younger, just as it is harder for young 
people. Both grow up and then grow old and tired and just sleep through 
meetings. /lol/

Good luck getting this resolved.

Tami



On 02/13/2018 08:25 AM, Andy B. via NAGDU wrote:
> Hi,
> 
>   
> 
> I came across an interesting predicament. At this time, I am working with an
> employment specialist that works for my state blind rehab agency. During our
> normal mettings, he advised we attend an employment class taught by another
> state agency. We agreed to attend a session or two for the general
> experience. During the first session, which lasted about 1.5 hours, Alec
> tended to be somewhat annoyed that people were required to get up and move
> about to interact with each other during an ice breaker activity. The
> conference room is small and contained about 20 people.
> 
> While everyone was sitting down during lectures, Alec whimpered every so
> often. He also wanted his space and moved his back end out away from my left
> side. I only assume he wanted to face the direction of the speaker. I
> attempted to get him back to my left side. In most cases, it worked.
> However, a few times it didn't work very well. After a point, I let him lay
> where he was at the time. Besides, he wasn't bothering anyone or getting
> into trouble. When the session finished, I informed the specialist that the
> class probably wouldn't meet my needs, and we most likely shouldn't
> continue. The employment specialist disagreed and started telling me that I
> should attend the remaining 3 weeks because it is good practice for Alec to
> be involved in social events such as employment class, staff meetings, job
> interviews, and the like. Naturally, I agreed that Alec needed to be
> involved in social events. On the other hand, seeking them out just to get
> practice is not what we need right now. Alec gets enough practice in
> interviews, staff meetings, and committee meetings to understand what I
> expect. I attempted to explain that dogs will do what dogs do the best. The
> main concern is keeping them under control at all times, not expecting them
> to act like robots. He will never stay perfectly quiet during a meeting, he
> will never lay down and be perfectly still like an inanimate object, and he
> will most likely want to visit other people for some time. Unfortunately,
> the specialist insists on the practice and doesn't understand how dog
> guide/handler relationships work. What do I do to put out the burning flame
> of this problem?
> 
> _______________________________________________
> 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/tami%40poodlemutt.com
>