[NAGDU] [GuideDogs] applying for a guide dog

Madison Martin maddymartin at mymts.net
Thu Aug 29 23:18:08 UTC 2019


Hi all,
Thank you for your thoughts, I really appreaciate it. 
I just wanted to clarify some things. 
I'm waiting for my instructor to tell me that I'm ready for a guide dog, I
don't want to apply and then find out that I'm not ready for a guide dog.
My instructor wasn't doing an assessment, we've been having regular lessons
together for a while. I always do sighted guide except of course during O&M
lessons of course. I'm honestly fine with my pace, it's my instructor who
wants me to walk faster. I don't know how long my cane is; it's comfortable
for me to use though. I understand the O&M concepts, I've been getting
training for years. The 3 routes thing is from GDF not from my instructor.
Mike, I've done tones and tones of research to decide on GDF, and I'm not
going to apply to other schools just to apply to other schools. GDF is the
only one that appeals to me.  Hope this helps
Madison

-----Original Message-----
From: GuideDogs at yahoogroups.com [mailto:GuideDogs at yahoogroups.com] 
Sent: August-29-19 5:40 PM
To: GuideDogs at yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [GuideDogs] applying for a guide dog

  

The cane is their bread and butter.

I think it is good to have both skills. However, I am a really bad cane
traveler.

Give me a dog any day!

Truie 

From: GuideDogs at yahoogroups.com [mailto:GuideDogs at yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2019 5:49 PM
To: GuideDogs at yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [GuideDogs] applying for a guide dog

Hi Madison, Your instructor is, frankly, way off. First, people walk all
different speeds with their dogs-some extremely slow, some extremely fast
and most of us somewhere in between. Further more, a dog is not limited to
only one speed. Sometimes, I fly around with my dogs, almost at a fast jog
or slow run; sometimes, we walk like the old lady that I sometimes am. It
sounds like when you walk with a sighted person, you feel more confident vs.
when you walk by yourself. Therefore, it stands to reason that you have the
ability to walk faster, and you simply would do that once you trust your dog
and feel confident he/she can guide you as well, probably better, than these
sighted guides. Nevertheless, if you always walked at a very slow speed, or
a very fast one, dogs also walk at different speeds. My Radar and Chelsea
had two speeds: extremely fast or asleep. <LOL> I was young, energetic and a
little crazy and I flew right along with them.

Noah and Angel walked at a more reasonable pace and were usually steady, but
happy to speed up a bit if we needed too or slow down.

Cheddar loves to fly but is disciplined enough that he can slow it down when
need be.

As for applying to GDF or any other school, what are you waiting for?
You've been talking about this for several years now. You're not going to be
accepted at GDF or any other school the day your application hits their
desk-it takes time, perhaps another year or more to get into a school. I
would think you'd have more than enough time given that time-frame to
complete the three routes your mobility instructor deems to be so important.

Furthermore, your instructor is, obviously, pretty darn ignorant about what
a dog guide can do and so the school will be a better source of when you are
"ready" to begin guide dog work. Applicants have been told that they need
more work, to become more confident-whatever, and you'd not be the first or
last for that if, indeed, it happened.

It seems to me it's time to get serious about whether you really, really
want a dog guide or not. If not, that's fine; however, just make that
decision without all these excuses and delays. 

Maybe spending a little more time with people who have and work dogs would
be helpful and a lot less time listening to some mobility instructor who,
apparently, slept right through the education, experience and training about
guide dogs. <sigh>

Historicly, and apparently still, O&M instructors have not been overly
enthusiastic about dog guide work. They learned the cane, seem to prefer the
cane and seem to endorse the cane over a dog guide. I'm not sure why this is
as they do receive dog guide instruction and education, and there is no
reason in the world an O&M can not work with a student using a dog but, for
whatever reason, this mentality remains. 

Jessie L. Rayl, Ed.D., LPC

<mailto:Jrayl114 at comcast.net> Jrayl114 at comcast.net

FB: Eaglewings10

From: GuideDogs at yahoogroups.com [mailto:GuideDogs at yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2019 5:53 AM
To: GuideDogs at yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [GuideDogs] applying for a guide dog

Hi Madison,
Just what do you think a guide dog is, if not a sighted guide?
The word guide should give you a clue.

Really, this is ridiculous, and I have to agree with David, perhaps your
continuing mobility training is doing nothing but fattening the instructor's

wallet.

Oh yes, it may be getting you out of the house and allowing you to become
familiar with the streets in your neighborhood, but you are learning those
routs with a cane, not a dog.
With a cane you tend to rely on land marks, things your cane hits along the
way.
A dog is going to take you around and past those landmarks treating them as
obstacles to be avoided.

As for your walking speed:
In my last class, I was first given a little female that I had to push down
the sidewalk, and even once drag across the street because she was just too
darn slow.
When the senior trainer asked me what I thought of her, my response was,
"She's a good dog, just not the right one for me."
I was allowed to do what I called test drive two other dogs.
The first one was faster than the female but when urged to get along and
move faster, the only thing that sped up was his tail wagging.
He was in permanent meander down the street mode.
When I told Baron "Forward" he picked right up, and I knew I was going for a

walk.
Halfway down the first block I said to the trainer, "Now there's the pull I
was looking for."
Not only was his pull just right, but I could feel every move he made as he
avoided things along the rout.

Some dogs walk faster than do others, just like people, and any school worth

their salt knows that and trains each dog accordingly.

Maybe you should spend more time walking with your instructor as the guide
instead of getting used to what's around you with a cane.

And what's this learning three routs about?

I'm just wondering about this entire set-up someone talked you into.

PJ.

----Original Message-----
From: 'Madison Martin' maddymartin at mymts.net [GuideDogs]
Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2019 6:59 PM
To: friends at guidedogs.groups.io ; chat at guidedogusersinc.org ;
GuideDogs at yahoogroups.com ; 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of

Guide Dog Users'
Subject: [GuideDogs] applying for a guide dog

Hi all,
I just wanted to clearify something. I'm not actually currently applying to
GDF because I have to work more on my O&M before I can apply. That's what my
O&M instructor told me. I need to work mainly on my confidence and my pace,
I'm a slow walker (except when I'm walking sighted guide). My instructor
told me that my slow pace won't work with a guide dog. However, when my
instructor tells me that I'm ready (and once I have 3 routes) then I'm
deffenetly applying to GDF. I just thought that I should clearify things, in
case anyone thought that I am actually currently going through GDFs
application process.
Madison

------------------------------------
Posted by: "Madison Martin" <maddymartin at mymts.net>
------------------------------------

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