[NAGDU] some questions about The Seeing Eye

Fri Feb 16 17:31:01 UTC 2018

2. Alec never had a problem flying. Although, an ESA dog almost took him
apart in the airport. If it weren't for a TSA security officer, Alec would
had to retire before he left town.
3. The trainers might use food rewards, but they don't actively enforce or
teach you how to use it during your stay.
4. The only lectures before/after lunch are the ones during the first and
last week. Usually when there are large chunks of free space. Otherwise
lectures are after dinner.
6. They only did 2 routes when I was there: the traditional Maple route, and
a modified South/Elm route because Deheart was under construction. They did
discontinue the highschool route because the terrain is too hilly.
8. Same results with off leash recall. The free play area is at the end of
the men's dorm area by the smoking area.
11. I didn't know that over 200 dogs would fit under the dining room.
12. The maps we had were in a small alcove in the dorm wing hallway by the
main hall leading to the lobby. They were on a slanted surface about waist
height for a typical person. A copy also sits in the common lounge.

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Heather Bird via
NAGDU
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2018 12:04 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Heather Bird <heather.l.bird at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] some questions about The Seeing Eye

A few things.

1. The handles are not easy to take on and off. They do "screw" on, but that
is with hex nuts and you need fingers of steel or some sort of tool to turn
them. If they are loose enough to remove easily, then they are too loose and
this is not good for the handle or the harness. I have a dog from the Seeing
Eye, but I do not use the TSE harness. I have one of the On The Go harnesses
that Julie makes, and that handle really and truly does come right off
easily and goes right back on.

2. Yikes! Call me picky, but if I had a dog flip out about riding on a
conveyance at an airport right before going home I would read the school the
riot act and refuse to take the dog. I would demand either a dog switch, or
to stay on for another few days to address the issue with the help of the
school. A dog who is fully-trained and ready to go home with a grad should
be totally calm, or only mildly apprehensive in a novel situation like that.
As far as I know the Seeing Eye does not specifically do airport or airplane
training with its dogs in the puppy raising or training phases, but they do
have a practice set of seats in the basement you can use to practice
positioning your dog. Also, I have had two dogs from TSE and neither has had
any problems flying, right after I got them, or ever.

3. The Seeing Eye absolutely uses food rewards. They have an amazing clicker
program which combines clickers, targets and treats in an extremely
effective and specialized system for teaching your dog new locations and
behaviors. They even have a click-to-guide list that is just for their grads
to discuss clicker training. I think it is called click to guide. If you
phone or email the school they can tell you.

4. The majority of the information I've seen jives with my experiences there
and is accurate as far as I can tell. One thing to add is that many times
there are lectures right before or right after lunch.

5. I don't know if anyone mentioned the great and updated leisure path? It
is a really nice place to walk with your dog and our trainer gave us a great
tour reading the plaques which described who donated the gazebos, wind
chimes, funded construction of the path, etc.

6. If you went to TSE back in the day and return now you will notice that
the high school route has been pretty much discontinued. When I went in 2011
and got Frieda it was optional and I hurt my knee during training, so I
skipped it. In 2016 getting Ilsa I specifically had to request to do the
high school route and we did it. The other routes, Elm Street, South Street
and Maple all seemed the same from 2011 to 2016.

7. I have seen returning grads call the school to announce that their
previous guide had just died or retired and they got a class date within a
few weeks, although I also know some grads who have waited 6 to 12 months.
It really varies. Also, if you are picky, I only wanted a GSD and needed a
summer class because of my kids and husband's schedule, then you might wait
longer. If you will take any breed, either gender and are willing to train
in the snow or the heat, then you are likely to get in in just a few months.

8. They also have a new off-leash recall area at the opposite end of the
student wing from the park area. When I was there, there was no good solid
plan or training for off-leash recall, so I combine the whistle training
that GDF does or used to do, with the hand targeting that Fidelco does, or
at least used to do. I worked intensively on off-leash recall with great
results, but several trainers admitted that while they saw the value of
off-leash recall, they didn't have any particular plan for teaching the dogs
or the students to instill rock solid recall.

8. Angela is relatively new, as Pauline Alexander recently retired and
Angela is sort of her successor, but they both worked at TSE at the same
time for a few years, I believe. Angela is a total sweetheart, very kind,
and also very efficient.

9. Other changes. Oh, cats, there are now two cats named Crosby and Nash who
roam the building, accept for the student wing, at will. They run up and
down the main halls chasing their bell ball and occasionally walk through
the dining room. One of the sneaky little brats got on the scale with me for
my morning weigh-in in the nurses office, and when it told me I had gained 8
lb. since the previous day, I yelped like a shepherd whose tail has been
stepped on, until I discovered a cat standing on the platform in between my
feet. Is it annoying as heck? Yes. Is it beneficial? Absolutely. I have
experienced and heard from many,  many grads that their dogs since the cats
were introduced to the building, have had no or only very few issues with
cats, as prior to that many people had cat issues nice they got home. It
takes a bit to get used to, but it is ultimately a good thing.

10. The food is still amazing. Oh, and you get a mini fridge in your room,
so if you have issues with food allergies or just hate eating things that
others have prepared, then you can have a lot more flexibility.

11. This time I learned a lot more about some fun little details then my
first time there, but this does not mean those details weren't there the
first time, I just noticed this time. For instance, the parking spaces for
the trainers in the underground parking garage have outlines shaped like dog
bones to designate them from the other spots. I also learned that the
barking you hear out of your window is not the main kennel from whence your
dog's come. Rather that is the adoptabless kennel. The actual, big, exciting
kennel is sort of under the dining room. You will notice on the hilly paths
on the leisure path that the building is sort of built into a hill, and the
kennels are pretty much under the west end of the building under the dining
room.

12. The map room/elevator rooms are gone. Now the maps are up on the wall in
the hallway, but you can request that one be taken down and placed on the
table for you to look at if you need it more horizontal.

I hope some of this is helpful. I love the Seeing Eye and I am glad that
some of the off-putting things like addressing by last names and dressing up
for meals have gone the way of the dodo.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask and I will see if I
know the answers.

Heather Bird
"They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't
a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I
wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a
Protestant.
Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up." -
Martin Niemöller In our diverse society we must never fail to speak up in
the face of Human Rights violations lest we be the next targets of such
violations.

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kerri Sprecher
via NAGDU
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2018 11:00 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Kerri Sprecher
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] some questions about The Seeing Eye

Tracy, Sunfire, and List, sorry Sunfire I don't know your name. lol. Anyway,
that was great info from both of you, and Sunfire, I absolutely loved all
your stories and info was very very detailed. And yes, Tracy, I'd love one
of those lightweight handles also. I had a quick release handle specially
made for Sadie's harness, because the school I went to before has harnesses
where you have to pry the handle off by using pliers or vicegrips. Anyway, I
do remember the firedoor, because the instructors were very attomit that we
wake them even if it's late at night and your dog needs to go out, because
they have had instances where  students set off the fire alarm, waking the
whole class up. So, I prayed I never had to take my dog out at 3 AM. lol And
lucky for me, that was never a problem. And, this may be a question for
Tracy, or anyone else that's a 2nd or subsequent grad, from the time you put
in your replacement app, does it usually take Angela very long to get back
with you and do the next steps go  move forward quickly, assuming that your
doctors forms come back quickly? The website still says 4 months for class
placement, but I have heard that grads get priority, but I'm not entirely
sure that's quite accurate. And, I'm hoping to also find out if they do any
time of airport exposure, because Sadie had absolutely none. It was almost a
disaster, she almost got away from me and bolted out of the sky train in the
DFW airport. 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Feb 16, 2018, at 9:39 AM, sonfire11--- via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
wrote:
> 
> They give juno walks to anyone. They even send trainers to Canada for 
> application evals and followups. My worst fear during the first few 
> days was not getting a match.
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy 
> Carcione via NAGDU
> Sent: Friday, February 16, 2018 10:13 AM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Tracy Carcione <carcione at access.net>
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] some questions about The Seeing Eye
> 
> Hi Kerri.
> I was at TSE 3 years ago, and 2006 before that, I think.
> The major changes were adding fire doors.  Now, there is a fire door 
> between each living corridor and the lounge space, which makes the 
> living space quieter.  The stairs are also behind a closed door.  So 
> there's a lot more opening and closing doors than there used to be.
> The equipment is the same, though the last conference call talked 
> about the new lightweight handles they're researching.  I'd love to 
> have
one of those.
> I did not have to see an ophthalmologist, but then I'm totally blind 
> and my vision never changes.  I don't recall a question about it on 
> the medical, but I may have forgotten.
> I did have a Juno walk, but I am fairly close to the school, and don't 
> know what happens with people further away.
> 
> Good luck with the whole process.  It was pretty painless--well, if 
> you don't count the usual worries about getting away and getting a new
dog.
> Tracy
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kerri 
> Sprecher via NAGDU
> Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2018 9:44 PM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Cc: Kerri Sprecher
> Subject: [NAGDU] some questions about The Seeing Eye
> 
> Hi list,
> I have very recently, after long and hard thought and consideration, 
> decided that retiring my current guide dog would be the best for me, 
> and for her as well, due to some major behaviors and some extremely 
> unacceptable behavior from her school. Therefore, I have decided to go 
> back to The Seeing Eye where I received my first 2 dogs, but it's been
> 12 years since I went there, and I know they have done some major 
> renovations to the main building where the students stay, and probably 
> redone or made changes to things outside the building too. So, I'm 
> wondering, from all you TSE grads out there who have gone since 2006, 
> what's changed and what's the same? Same harnesses with the screw-on 
> handle? Same commands or any changes in student instruction? I know 
> there are changes in staff members, and I'll learn those eventually 
> when I go, but I'm more interested in things like whether they still 
> have the big cement parking area for dog relief, or is it more private 
> now like some schools have, and  if they still do things like give you 
> the pans of food the first week and then you get them the rest of the 
> time? I also noticed that the class time has been shortened for both 
> new
students and retrains, which is also good.
> Anyway, any insight would be great, and I'd enjoy any stories about 
> your training there, or what you have seen improved or changed, etc.
> Thanks for responding, and hopefully the application process won't 
> take too much time, since I put in my replacement app and already one 
> medical form has been sent back within a 3 day period. I'd also be 
> interested to know if retrains still get a home interview or if they 
> have to still go get an eye exam or have an opthalmologist report, or 
> do
they go on the previous record?
> Looking forward to all of your responses. Thanks a lot, and have a 
> great weekend to all.
> Kerri
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
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