[NAGDU] class coming up, and questions

[dchandler001 at carolina.rr.com]

I haven't been to class in about five years but I'm thinking the retrains did a 19-day class give or take eve n when I got my last dog.  I would imagine that they're just trying to use their time as efficiently as possible.  It could almost feel like home and away training if it's too rushed.  I did home and away and I needed it but to me it was a bit rushed.  We didn't get everything in that was needed at the school.  Best of luck in class.  This is a wonderful time to train with a guide dog.  Just cool and comfortable.
Deb and Tally
---- Kerri Sprecher via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote: 
> Hello to all,
> I'm so excited to be going to Morristown, NJ on Monday the 22nd. I
> heard something about a welcome meeting or dinner when I got my flight
> arrangements set up with the travel agency. That part was new to me
> and I liked that.
> So, my thing is this: in order to pack all the training that used to
> go into a 3 and a half week class for a retrain and 4 weeks for a new
> student, into a shorter class time, 2.5 weeks for retrains in my case,
> can someone shed some light on how in the world they manage to pull
> that off? I bet it's a whirlwind of activity; I'm definitely expecting
> the 5:30 AM feed and park, meal times to be the same, one AM and one
> PM trip, and feed and park again, some lectures and one last park
> time, but, do they have you doing longer trips with more work per trip
> than before? I would imagine that in order to get someone prepared for
> life with a guide dog, you'd have to pack more skill sets into a trip
> in order to get it all in there before going home time.
> I spoke with a good friend of mine who goes to GDB for her dogs, and
> she said hers is similar in that they do clicker training, targeting,
> chaining, and the like, but when they shortened their class time also,
> they changed the ratio of student/instructor to 2/1 instead of 4/1,
> because they put in longer trip times with more training in each trip
> than in previous classes before.
> I'm guessing that Monday and Tuesday are dedicated to paperwork,
> orientation, lectures, and Juneau walks to make sure the match is
> right, and then Wednesday, the day everyone looks forward to, Dog Day,
> lunch, and your first ever trip together. And, I am also guessing that
> in the first few days of getting the new dog, it'll be the simple
> familiar quiet routes, then more in-depth and more complex ones. I
> just was shocked when I first learned they had shortened class,
> because even with a 3 week class, it felt like we were always running
> and going, with a little down time sprinkled in, but mostly busy, and
> now, to think that it's even shorter makes me wonder just how much
> more work they'll have for me to do at once. Glad I'm a seasoned
> handler by now, or I might feel overwhelmed; heck I might feel that
> way anyway. Smile.
> So, what do you think, for those of you grads out there, about the new
> 2.5 week class, and how has it affected or changed the way they do
> trips and the amount of work for each trip?
> Thanks all, and I am ecstatic!
> Kerri
> 
> -- 
> Kerri Sprecher,  President
> Big Country Chapter NFBTX
> spedangel84 at gmail.com
> 325-280-6272
> Chapter Google Voice: 325-704-8787
> Chapter E-mail:
> bigcountry at nfbtx.org
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