[NAGDU] Some Questions About Guiding Eyes

Tue Jul 30 18:00:12 UTC 2019

Hi Danielle,

I've had good experiences with Guiding Eyes.  Both of my dogs have
come from that school, and I've found them to be solid dogs with a
respectable set of skills and behaviors.  That being said, I received
my current dog 5 years ago and know how quickly things change at
training programs.  I admire and respect the woman who trained both my
dogs and have found the trainers in general to be knowledgeable and
helpful.

I didn't know about back tracking or what it even was, but I am kind
of a control freak and don't like to allow my dog to completely
dictate where I go.  I like taking input from my dog, and I like
teaching him patterns and rewarding him for taking me to doors or
stairs I frequent in places I go, and the school does support this of
course.  I'd say though that as long as your safe, there would be no
harm in working on back tracking in general, and the school shouldn't
really care one way or another.

I literally just had my first visit with a field rep in almost five
years.  So...  No annual visits required from what I understand.  The
school likes for you to fill out annual reports, and I try to do this.
But this is mostly for data collection purposes.

I would recommend finding someone who has been to class at GEB more
recently though as they will know more about the current policies and
practices of the school than I will.

Good luck!

Julie

On 7/30/19, Susan Jones via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> The following is my observation based on my own and others' experiences
> that
> I know of:
>
> Backtracking is a rare skill, difficult to teach.
> Requires lots of time and effort.
> Just as some humans have a much better sense of direction than others, some
> dogs have an intuitive sense of location, and others require micromanaged
> directions from their human partners at all times.  Some dogs are so
> present
> to the moment and focused on what they're doing right now, others seem to
> have a built-in GPS.
> Like any working relationship with an animal, it's up to the human to
> figure
> out what strengths and weaknesses both human and animal bring to the table,
> and figure out the most efficient way to work together.
> The instructor who has been training your dog hopefully would give you some
> good information about how to make the most of your partnership with your
> dog, but as you work together, you'll learn a lot, and find many things you
> can teach your dog that he or she was not introduced to in basic training.
>
> Susan
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione
> via NAGDU
> Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2019 1:19 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Cc: Tracy Carcione
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Some Questions About Guiding Eyes
>
> What I call backtracking is when the dog can reverse a path, without too
> much input from me.  I had one dog who was really good at it.  If we'd go
> hiking, say, then decide after a while we wanted to go back the way we'd
> come, I'd turn her around, tell her Forward, and she'd remember where we
> turned and go back to where we started.  Pretty handy.  But not all dogs
> can do it well.  For me, it's a nice extra, but by no means a must-have.
> Others may feel differently.
> Tracy
>
>> Hmm, what do you mean by backtracking?
>>
>> On 7/29/19, Jordan Gallacher via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> From what I was told when I had my home visit from Guiding Eyes, they do
>>> have mandatory follow ups, and the following is what ended up me taking
>>> them
>>> off the list.  They absolutely do not want you doing any back tracking
>>> nor
>>> do they want their dogs doing anything but really simple street
>>> crossings.
>>>
>>> Jordan
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Danielle Ledet via
>>> NAGDU
>>> Sent: Monday, July 29, 2019 9:48 PM
>>> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>> Cc: Danielle Ledet <singingmywayin at gmail.com>
>>> Subject: [NAGDU] Some Questions About Guiding Eyes
>>>
>>> Hey yall,
>>> I am considering strongly putting in my application for Guiding Eyes.
>>> How long do retrains have to stay? And, do they have mandatory yearly
>>> followup visits? That's all for now, but do share your experiences with
>>> the
>>> school for training and after you and your dog have been working for
>>> awhile.
>>> Positives? Negatives? Thanks you guys!
>>>
>>> I met a Guiding Eyes dog and was very impressed with the responsiveness
>>> even
>>> when not in harness. I prefer my dogs to be seroius when working and not
>>> be
>>> easily distracted. This was a dog fresh out of training and all of 2
>>> years
>>> old.
>>>
>>> --
>>> How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young,
>>> compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant
>>> of
>>> the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all
>>> of
>>> these.
>>> George Washington Carver
>>> Email: singingmywayin at gmail.com
>>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young,
>> compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and
>> tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will
>> have been all of these.
>> George Washington Carver
>> Email: singingmywayin at gmail.com
>>
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>
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>
>
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-- 
Julie A. McGinnity
MM Vocal Performance, 2015; President, National Federation of the
Blind Performing Arts Division; First Vice President, National
Federation of the Blind of Missouri