[NAGDU] Question Regarding Guide Dog Schools

[Lynette Kersey]

Hi Megan,
I received my dog almost a year ago from Guiding Eyes in York Town New York. They are a good school. They train German Shepherds as well as Labrador Retrievers. The wait list for a Shepherd is on the long side. Most of the dogs in their kennels are labs. I would recommend checking out this school. Their training is tops. They also have a running program that people can take advantage of if they’re interested. Check out Guiding Eyes.org. They use food rewards. They also work with the student individually so that you can work with your dog confidently in all situations. They are also available if you have any questions or concerns.
I know the other schools have good training programs as well.

Lynette
Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking.
C.J. Watts

> On Oct 25, 2020, at 1:43 PM, Mike Hingson via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> You ask some good probing questions. Let me first give you my observations
> concerning German Shepherds. I worked for GDB for six and a half years and
> found that people who wanted Shepherds were quite strong in their beliefs. I
> think there is nothing wrong with this. However, the chief reason that Guide
> Dogs for the Blind stopped using German Shepherds was that the breed's
> success rate as guides was much lower than breeds like Labradors. As I like
> to put it, if you breed all the traits needed to make a shepherd into the
> dog you will also by definition breed out many of the traits that make
> shepherds the kind of dogs with the personality the breed typically
> possesses.
> 
> The fact is that some shepherds make excellent guides. Because they are
> focused, loyal and love to work. Many Shepherds like much more to herd and
> don't possess the characteristics that make them the guides the schools find
> to be successful. Even the Seeing Eye, I believe, does not provide the
> numbers of German Shepherds they use to provide.
> 
> With the above in mind, I urge you to apply to several schools. With the
> pandemic in full swing don't make assumptions about which school will and
> will not provide in-home training. GDB has, for many years, been the top
> school that has led the way in improve scientifically training techniques.
> It was the first school to introduce food rewards and clicker training. Both
> of these techniques have been and are being adopted by other schools as they
> improve the training and speed of training of most guide dogs they produce.
> They also were the first, or one of the first, schools to recognize the
> lower success rates of German Shepherds. By the way, another issue GDB
> noticed was that when a German Shepherd was career changed, the term for
> what happens to a dog that the school decides won't make a good guide, GDB
> also noticed that the adoption success rate for Shepherds was much lower.
> These dogs stayed in kennels longer waiting for adoption. The longer the
> dogs had to remain in kennels waiting to find a home, the more anxious and,
> yes, aggressive they became. These are facts and not opinions.
> 
> Again, apply to several schools. Whether you decide to only apply for
> schools in California or not, please remember that as you apply to schools
> and those schools respond and decide to interview you, they also must prove
> to you that they are the place you want to go. The "interview process" is a
> two-way street. Ask all the probing questions you want. Make sure the school
> you choose really is the one you think best.
> 
> If you want to talk more and want to discuss this off list, you are free to
> email me at mike at michaelhingson.com.
> 
> I hope this all helps.
> 
> 
> Best Regards,
> 
> 
> Michael Hingson
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU On Behalf Of Megan Borella via NAGDU
> Sent: Sunday, October 25, 2020 1:19 PM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Cc: Megan Borella <meganborella at gmail.com>
> Subject: [NAGDU] Question Regarding Guide Dog Schools
> 
> Hello,
> 
> I am in the process of choosing a guide dog school to apply to in order to
> obtain my first guide, and was hoping to receive input from recent graduates
> regarding the programs I am considering. I would very much like to work with
> a German Shepherd, but have found that options for this breed are more
> limited than I had expected. I live in California, and no schools in my
> vicinity breed German Shepherds, which is why Fidelco's program caught my
> eye. Their in-home training was also of interest to me, as I would prefer to
> not have to go to a program in a different state for an extended period of
> time.
> 
> However, as I have conducted more thorough research, stories I have heard
> about Fidelco, its policies, and the quality of the guides it has produced
> in the past decade have raised some serious concerns. Does anyone know if
> Fidelco has undergone any improvements? Is their program worth applying to?
> I also know that the Seeing Eye is another school that specializes in German
> Shepherds, although I do not know if they would be willing to conduct
> in-home training. Has anyone graduated from their program recently who might
> be able to provide feedback?
> 
> Finally, I live very near Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc., which I have heard
> nothing but wonderful things about. I have visited their campus and adopted
> one of their dogs through their career change program, and she could not
> have been any better. My only hesitation about applying to their program is
> that they do not breed German shepherds. Either way, the quality of the dog
> matters to me more than the breed. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether
> the quality of the schools that do specialize in German shepherds is high
> enough to warrant submitting an application?
> Thank you so much,
> Megan
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