[NAGDU] escalators..

Mon Jan 15 19:51:04 UTC 2024

Hello Danielle,

By far the best post I've seen so far on this subject.

Cheers.

Brent.

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Danielle Sykora
via NAGDU
Sent: Tuesday, 16 January 2024 2:05 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Danielle Sykora
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] escalators..

I believe at this point, every training program trains escalators.
However, some essentially consider it a requirement for all or the
vast majority of their dogs, while others essentially consider it
optional for only the dogs that take to them easily.

I only encounter escalators on occasion where I live. My first dog
rode escalators with no problem when I got him, but started refusing
them after I didn't use them for an extended period of time. My
current dog loves escalators. I would not retire a dog for not wanting
to use escalators with my current lifestyle simply because I only
encounter them a few times a year. If I encounter escalators
regularly, such as taking the subway often where escalators are by far
the most convenient option, it would be very important to me that a
dog be comfortable with them. That being said, I definitely think it
is something training programs should expose dogs and handlers to so
both know how to use escalators safety should the need arise.
Technically nearly every location that has stairs or escalators should
also have a working elevator due to ADA requirements, but we all know
how ADA compliance can vary. Sometimes elevators are broken, in very
inconvenient locations, or are not kept clean. I also often find it
easier to locate escalators over elevators because they tend to make
more noise.

With my first dog, I was taught to have him find the edge of the
escalator, stopping so that I could reach out with my right hand and
find the railing. Then I would drop the harness handle, hold the leash
in leash guiding position (GDF dogs are taught to leash guide), wait a
few seconds so there was space between any people in front of us, and
cue forward. When we were about half way, I would cue forward and
start walking up/down the escalator with the dog leash guiding. This
way when we got to the end the dog would already be moving and just
casually walk off.

The process was a bit different with my current dog. I cue the dog to
find the escalator. She stops diagonally in front of me with her nose
pointed at the railing. Then there are two options. The one I
typically use is to drop the harness handle and cue the dog to "walk"
AKA heel onto the escalator. I then stand with one foot on the same
step as her front feet. The other foot is on the step in front and I
keep one hand on the railing slightly extended in front of us. When I
feel the step leveling out, I cue the dog to jump off. The other
option is similar, just maintaining hold of the harness handle and
cuing the dog forward to get on and off.

Danielle

On 1/15/24, Richard via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Julie,
>
> That's just about right. I imagine that's what you were taught at TSE. You
> describe what I was taught.
>
> My dogs and I don't encounter escalators very often in our work. I have
> had
> three dogs: They have all handled escalators better than I have. My first
> dog quickly came to a decision not to use escalators with me. It was as if
> he was saying, "No thanks. I won't go on those moving stairs with you.
> You're not competent enough to do them safely with me." My second dog took
> them smoothly throughout his career. My current dog has great hutzpah. She
> marches up to the escalator eagerly. I find the moving rail and, as you
> wrote, drop the harness and we take the escalator. Perhaps I am better now
> with my third dog, but I give her credit for our ability to negotiate them
> when we must do so.
>
> Happy and safe travels.
>
> Richard Petty
> Richard.petty at earthlink.net
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Julie A. Orozco via
> NAGDU
> Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2024 10:14 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Julie A. Orozco <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] escalators..
>
> Hi all,
>
> I live in the DC area and use the metro often. The escalators are
> unavoidable here. You can take the elevator, if it's not out of order, but
> sometimes if you do, the elevator will let you out of the metro on a
> completely different street from the one you want. Also, to be honest, the
> elevators at the metro stations here are not very clean. I avoided them
> even
> when I was pregnant and facing a stopped escalator I had to climb.
>
> Here's how I did elevators with my dog. I'm hoping to get my third dog
> soon
> at the Seeing Eye, so maybe they'll tell me I've been doing it wrong for
> years.
>
> I ask my dog to find the escalator, and my dog is expected to take me up
> to
> the moving staircase and stop. When my dog stops, I drop the harness
> handle
> and hold on to the moving handrail with my right hand.
> Then I say, "let's go," and my dog and I step onto the escalator at the
> same
> time. I usually tried to stand level with my dog's front feet, and I put
> my
> right hand on the railing as it moved so I could feel when the escalator
> would end. When the escalator was about to end, I would tell my dog let's
> go
> again at the right moment, and we would hop off together.
>
> My first dog loved escalators and would wag and wag when she saw them.
> My second dog, the one I retired shortly after moving here, did not love
> them so much, but he did them well. I don't think I would attend a
> training
> program that did not teach escalators. It's just not practical to avoid
> them
> around here.
>
> Julie
>
> On 1/14/24, Joy Relton via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi Sherry et al,
>>
>> I, too, had the attitude of not wanting to take escalators with my
>> first dog in the 1970's. At that time they weren't as safe as they are
>> now. In addition, I was living in a rural area where there weren't any
>> escalators.
>> However, I am very glad that I paid attention and participated in the
>> training at the Seeing Eye with the lessons on what to do when using a
>> guide on escalators. Because, a few years after I received training
>> with my first dog I moved to the Washington, D.C. area. Wouldn't you
>> know, I took the subway to the airport one day and found myself in a
>> quandary. I was ready to enter the subway system where the escalators
>> were working but the eleavators were not. This is not unheard of, in
>> the D.C. metro system. So, I followed the instructions given to me
>> from The Seeing Eye on what the proper procedures to safely use an
>> escalator with a dog guide and off we went. It went well and wasn't as
>> horrible as I feared. Like most of life, having an understanding of
>> what you are facing and the ability to assess the best and safest way to
>> navigate the  situation brought me through the situation.
>> After that, I never feared having to take either moving side walks or
>> escalators. It is my preference to avoid both and walk the stairs or
>> the airports without these so called conveniences because I and my
>> guide benefit from the exercise.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Sherry Gomes via
>> NAGDU
>> Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2024 11:27 AM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Sherry Gomes <sherry.gomes at outlook.com>
>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] escalators..
>>
>> It's okay to decide not to take escalators too. I've never been
>> somewhere I couldn't take stairs or an elevator. That's a good thing
>> since I can't do escalators! I know there are places where there isn't
>> an elevator, but I haven't run in to that situation yet. I'd just have
>> to go somewhere else. I admit, that I was still getting dogs from GDB,
>> in fact working there when they started giving out the boots for
>> escalators. I was not happy that they were doing escalators at first,
>> Back in the 70s or 80s, I knew a person with a guide dog who took her
>> dog on an escalator with not idea how to do it safely, and her was
>> injured and had to be retired. I was traumatized by that, though I
>> knew GDB had to find a way to teach it, because all the other schools
>> did. When I was working there, a trainer under blind fold was working
>> a dog on an escalator and something went wrong, and the dog was
>> injured. That's when they started the booties. I think it's great that
>> all the schools are teaching safe way to do this, but as a kid I was
>> terrified of escalators, and now my arthritis and balance have gotten bad
>> enough that I can't risk escalators anymore.
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Debbie Gabe via
>> NAGDU
>> Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2024 11:19 AM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Debbie Gabe <debbiegabe at live.com>
>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] escalators..
>>
>> Hi,
>> I was taught at GDB that one of your feet needs to be one step ahead
>> of your dog. Then you hold near or at the collar and you maintain
>> control. When you feel the escalator start to even out, then you tell
>> the dog to get ready to leave.
>> Also, really important, is to put those doggie booties on her back
>> feet. It will prevent super bad injuries to her paws.
>>
>>  I usually take the escalator because I know where I am when I get
>> off. If I take the elevators, I won't know where I end up because
>> they're usually out of the way, whereas the escalators are usually in the
>> middle.
>>
>> Good luck
>> Debbie from Hawaii
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Diane Graves via
>> NAGDU
>> Sent: Saturday, January 13, 2024 4:19 PM
>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: rdgraves2007 at gmail.com
>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] escalators..
>>
>> I often use the escalator to go down to the basement level when Izzo
>> and I are at work at the government center. I will simply tell her
>> "find escalator down." She then runs to the escalator because she
>> knows she is going to get praise and a treat. I'm always careful to
>> find and grasp the handrail before we go forward to step on. I
>> typically keep hold of the harness, but thanks to scott's suggestion I
>> may try putting her on "heel" and see if that works a little better.
>> She hops off so fast at the bottom or the top that not having a very firm
>> grip on that handrail would cause me to lose my balance.
>> It may be because she is too far in front of me.
>>
>>
>> Robin (Diane) Graves
>> rdgraves2007 at gmail.com
>> 317-238-9262
>>
>> “TGIF: TODAY GOD IS FIRST.’—OS Hillman
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Scott Wilson via
>> NAGDU
>> Sent: Saturday, January 13, 2024 7:41 AM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Scott Wilson <s.wilson661 at icloud.com>
>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] escalators..
>>
>> Hi Madison, I believe most schools train for escalators, but some do
>> not. I use them on occasion. If your dog has not been conditioned to
>> use them, you may find he may not want to., it will require lots of
>> praise and reassurance that they’re doing a good job. And when you get
>> to the top, you need to throw a party to let them know they have done
>> a great job. here is an example of how I approach an escalator, first,
>> I work my dog all the way up to the escalator onto the metal plate
>> finding
>> the handrail on the right.
>> Next next I drop the handle and hold the leash firmly in my left hand,
>> I find the rubber rail that is moving with the stairs. On the right.
>> Once I have orientated myself, I proceeded to walk on with my dog. I
>> praise my dog all the way up until I feel the stairs starting to level
>> out, a helpful hint is to spread your left leg across so your dog
>> can’t walk up past you. Onc once the stairs start to level out, we
>> begin walking forward to step off the escalator and keep walking until
>> we’re on a firm surface that is not moving.
>> remember keeping your dogs focus on you is key. finally throw a party
>> and praise them all up for a job. Well done. To go down you do the same
>> thing.
>> You you may need to practice with your dog so you can get comfortable
>> with it and your dog can as well. I hope this is helpful on how I
>> travel on an escalator. If you wish to try it and see how it works I
>> wish you lots of luck and safe travels.
>> Best regards
>> Scott Wilson
>> 727-423-4312
>>
>>> On Jan 13, 2024, at 1:11 AM, Madison Martin via NAGDU
>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi all,
>>> I was in a store a couple of weeks ago where the only way to get to
>>> the second level was via an escalator so I got to wondering how do
>>> you work a dog on one or is it better to avoid them whenever possible
>>> because of the risk of injury to the dog? Just curious that's all;
>>> look forward to reading any insight that anyone can provide me!
>>> Madison
>>>
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>
>
> --
> Julie A. Orozco
> MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of Law,
> JD Candidate 2023
>
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