[NAGDU] General public advising me and Alec

[Roanna Bacchus]

Hi Cindy thanks for your message. I agree that Andy has the right to say no to the job training. Maybe he can have an instructor from the guide dog school work with him and the dog at home so the dog knows he has to sit still during long meetings.

On Feb 13, 2018 2:51 PM, Cindy Ray via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> Andy, what all are you doing to get your dog exposed to these kinds of 
> situations? Are you going to a lot of meetings/interviews? Is there anything 
> of value in the classes, or are you wanting to opt out because of the dog? I 
> think you have the right to say no; just be clear that the real reason is 
> that the classes are not useful. If they aren't, they are a waste of time. 
> If they are, the dog needs to learn to behave through them just as he will 
> have to do when he is in a job situation. While I agree that you have the 
> right to say no and cannot be bullied into going to the class, you just need 
> to be sure your no is because you honestly don't need the classes. 
>
> Cindy Lou Ray 
> cindyray at gmail.com 
>
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Andy B. via NAGDU 
> Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2018 10:25 AM 
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users' 
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org> 
> Cc: Andy B. <sonfire11 at gmail.com> 
> Subject: [NAGDU] General public advising me and Alec 
>
> 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? 
>
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