[NAGDU] Researching schools

Fri Jul 16 14:47:53 UTC 2021

I think a critical piece to finding the right program is determining
what is important to you as an individual. It may be helpful to create
a list of things you absolutely want in a program, things you
absolutely don't want, things that are nice to have but not required,
and things you don't personally care about one way or the other. If
you don't know what you want as an individual, not what your friend
wants or what the school tells you is important, you can't truly
choose the right program for you. Choosing a service dog provider
should be more like choosing a college rather than an impulsive
decision based on how close a school is to you or based on the one dog
you met once. Some factors to consider are:
* Ownership: Do you want unconditional ownership of your dog, would
you rather the school be able to remove dogs they feel are not being
treated properly, or does this not matter to you?
* training methods: Would you rather a program with more emphasis on
positive reinforcement (E.G. martingales, time outs, more frequent use
of head collars, food rewards, clickers, etc), more traditional
training (slip chains, more focus on praise, less frequent food
reward, etc), or do you just want a solid working dog and the training
methods aren't all that important to you?
* length of training: Would you prefer a longer three or four week
class with more students, a shorter two week class with less students,
or would either work for you.
* home or residential training: Most training programs are
residential, but if you have a strong need/desire for home training
there are some options.
* breed: Do you have a breed preference? Is this because you truly
understand the breed, not because your neighbor had a really nice
Golden Retriever once so Goldens are the best dog ever? Which programs
offer this breed?
* puppy raiser contact: Would you like to meet your dog's raisers,
would you prefer to not have that contact, or is this irrelevant?
* veterinary financial assistance: Is veterinary financial assistance
critical for you to work a guide dog, or just a nice extra?

You can find out all of this information on programs' websites and/or
by contacting admissions. Once you figure out what is important to
you, you very likely are going to be able to narrow down your options
to a few programs; all 15 or so guide dog programs in the country are
simply different in what they offer. IMO, it is the point at which you
narrow down your options to a few programs that input from graduates
becomes more useful. If you simply ask everyone to give their opinion
on what program they went to, it won't be very helpful. Most people
will say the program they went to is amazing, the best school ever,
and you should only go there. A few will say the program is horrible
and no one should ever go there. Opinions like this won't be very
concrete if you are looking at ten or fifteen schools.

Now, let's say you think there are three programs that could be a good
fit for you. For example, they all offer two week residential
training, use more positive reinforcement based training methods,
provide unconditional ownership upon graduation, and allow puppy
raiser contact--all of the criteria you really want in a school.
Asking graduates of these three programs what their experiences were
like may provide a more complete picture. Personally, I would rather
hear from as many graduates as possible, rather than base my opinion
of the school on interactions with one or two handlers. It may be
especially insightful to ask more pointed questions. Rather than how
was your experience with school X, you could ask if they felt
respected by staff or whether they felt as if the curriculum allowed
them to feel confident and prepared to handle their dog independently
upon leaving the school.

Maybe this is just me, but I also really like reading blogs people
kept during training within the past few years. It really helps you
see what the class structure, training methods, and facilities are
like, though of course it is through the filter of one person's
perspective.

This was long, but I hope it was helpful.
Danielle

On 7/16/21, Stacie Gallegos via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hello there. This this is a project that will be a priority for the
> division. So stay tuned for future information. However, someone may have a
>
> list that we are not aware of.
>
>
> On July 16, 2021 8:10:29 AM William Vandervest via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>
> wrote:
>
>> Does anybody know of a comprehensivelist of Guide dog training schools?
>> If so, please post a link.
>> Thanks
>>
>>
>>
>> William Vandervest
>> timelord09 at comcast.net
>> Win10 latest revision
>>
>> There are none so blind, as those who will not see.
>>
>> William Vandervest
>>
>> u
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione
>> via NAGDU
>> Sent: Friday, July 16, 2021 08:41
>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
>> Cc: Tracy Carcione
>> Subject: [NAGDU] Researching schools
>>
>> Like Susan J, I think it's good to talk to Admissions and look at
>> websites.
>> I think it's also great to talk to graduates one-on-one, and better yet
>> if
>> you can actually meet.
>> I know that's not always easy.  You might need to talk to a person a bit
>> to
>> get the whole picture, not just a quick chat.  I'm lucky, living near New
>> York City, where there are lots of guide dog users from different
>> schools.
>> Convention is also a good place to meet other dog users, though
>> convention
>> can be a crazy place to get an idea of how well a dog team works.
>> Tracy
>>
>>
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