[NAGDU] Question Regarding Guide Dog Schools

[Tippi]

Fidel could has a long wait list. Their application form wants a lot of financial info... what do you earn, how much is rent, electric, water etc. Once in a while Leader Dod will have Shepherds 

Sent from my iPhone

> 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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