[NAGDU] Graduate feedback

Al Sten-Clanton albert.e.sten_clanton at verizon.net
Fri Jun 7 18:16:12 UTC 2024 

How does leash guid work?  I'm pretty sure I was never trained with 
that?  I think my dog does it sometimes anyway, but I'm not sure, since 
I don't know how it's supposed to work.


Thanks!


Al


On 6/7/24 11:15, Bryan Gearry via NAGDU wrote:
> Danielle, I agree with you about leash guiding. Am on my third dog 
> from GDF and our class brought up the same issue. The trainers worked 
> with us on leash guide. I find it a great tool. They were very 
> receptive to teaching us. I don't know about the other schools which 
> I'm sure are very good as well, but GDF has been very accommodating to 
> my lifestyle and tailor fit the training to reflect this. Bryan
>
> On 6/7/2024 6:34 AM, Danielle Sykora via NAGDU wrote:
>> I have had two dogs from the guide Dog Foundation, and I have 
>> actually been pretty impressed that they have made some obvious 
>> changes due to graduate feedback. A couple examples. GDF teaches 
>> their dogs to leash guide in a very specific way in certain 
>> situations. At one point, they stopped training dogs to leash guide. 
>> Several graduates expressed our concerns as we found leash guiding to 
>> be incredibly useful. Several of us were given the opportunity to 
>> talk to the Director of training at the time, and I think this 
>> resulted in a better understanding of the benefits and potential 
>> downfalls of leash guiding.  Shortly after, GDF started training 
>> leash guiding again with some changes to make it more safe and 
>> effective. In addition, I had expressed some interest in the way dogs 
>> were taught to handle stairs during one of my interviews in my second 
>> class. It led to a productive conversation with the guide dog program 
>> manager, and they actually started implementing one of the potential 
>> methods we discussed during that conversation a few months later.
>> Danielle
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>> On Jun 7, 2024, at 8:18 AM, Al Sten-Clanton via 
>>> NAGDU<nagdu at nfbnet.org>  wrote:
>>>
>>> Having never had contact with any puppy raiser of one of my five 
>>> dogs, I'm curious why some see this as quite important. I don't mean 
>>> that it wouldn't be nice and sometimes useful: there have been a few 
>>> times when I wanted to ask some questions about my current dog and 
>>> my third one.  That said, if my school can help me with any problems 
>>> I have, as it has from time to time, I doubt I need that contact.  
>>> Also, given how much folks can track other folks these days, I 
>>> wouldn't want the puppy raiser to claim some privilege to tell me 
>>> how to deal with my dog.  Even connections that begin with mutual 
>>> cordiality can go wrong, and I wouldn't want somebody who is mostly 
>>> a stranger to think he or she or they could take a hand in my care 
>>> and work with the dog.
>>>
>>>
>>> Mind, I'm not closed to the idea.  Had that sort of thing been The 
>>> Seeing Eye's practice when I first went there in 1979, I'm pretty 
>>> sure I would have thought it was fine, unless a problem came up.  
>>> Sheldon's raiser wrote up a good and sometimes amusing commentary; 
>>> it helped some, though I'd have been glad to know more.  But not 
>>> very far along, I think, what the puppy raiser could tell me would 
>>> ge less and less helpful as I learned first-hand (or is it 
>>> first-paw) about my dog, and the school will almost certainly be my 
>>> best source of help.
>>>
>>>
>>> I also note that I've heard only fragments of Seeing Eye's notions 
>>> about contact with puppy raisers.  I'm therefore interested not only 
>>> in alternative views but, if anybody can tell me, a better 
>>> understanding of Seeing Eye's.
>>>
>>>
>>> Best!
>>>
>>> Al
>>>
>>>
>>>> On 6/6/24 23:56, Sherry Gomes via NAGDU wrote:
>>>> I went as far as submitting an application to TSE when GDB denied 
>>>> me after over 40 years, because I refused to continue to work with 
>>>> an unsafe dog after trying for five years. I'd applied to TSE when 
>>>> I was in high school, applied to both TES and GDB, which were the 
>>>> only schools I'd hear of in the 70s. I told both schools about my 
>>>> juvenile arthritis and my fused knee, range of motion and chronic 
>>>> pain. GDB said we can get you a dog, TES said I couldn't possibly 
>>>> work a guide dog. But by the time I retired my last GDB dog in 
>>>> 2019, I knew TSE did not have that policy anymore, and I came very 
>>>> close to picking them, because I knew what a fantastic reputation 
>>>> thy have and I wanted the best possible dog. In the end, I didn't 
>>>> follow through, because of the puppy raiser issue. I'm personal 
>>>> friends with a lot of puppy raisers, not necessarily any that 
>>>> raised my dogs, and I could never attend a guide dog training org 
>>>> that wouldn't let me and the raiser choose to be in touch. I got a 
>>>> wonder wonderful perfect match from guiding eyes, but there's a 
>>>> part of me that will always wish I could have gotten a seeing eye 
>>>> dog. I love hearing about the training from all of you.
>>>>
>>>> Sherry
>>>> Sherry.gomes at outlook.com
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: NAGDU<nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org>  On Behalf Of Al Sten-Clanton 
>>>> via NAGDU
>>>> Sent: Thursday, June 6, 2024 7:32 PM
>>>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog 
>>>> Users'<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Cc:albert.e.sten_clanton at verizon.net
>>>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Graduate feedback
>>>>
>>>> I don't know in general how well Seeing Eye listens to its 
>>>> graduates.  I've felt free to tell the folks what I think the few 
>>>> times I thought I should, but of course I can't tell whether 
>>>> anything I've said had an incremental affect on changes.  Also, to 
>>>> listen respectfully is of course not necessarily to agree, and I 
>>>> consider that the place may be more right than I am on a given 
>>>> topic, but I have had a couple of good conversations with 
>>>> instructors and a couple of others with senior staff.  I also don't 
>>>> know how many graduates share my views, especially as I seem to be 
>>>> somewhat quirky in my thinking on a variety of subjects, including, 
>>>> to a small degree, on guide dog work and school operation.
>>>>
>>>> Al
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: NAGDU<nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org>  On Behalf Of Cindy Ray via 
>>>> NAGDU
>>>> Sent: Thursday, June 6, 2024 10:22 PM
>>>> To: NAGDU Users<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Cc: Cindy Ray<cindyray at gmail.com>
>>>> Subject: [NAGDU] Graduate feedback
>>>>
>>>> Elizabeth asked an interesting question in her previous message. Do 
>>>> the schools appreciate our feedback when we are out using our dogs. 
>>>> If our experiences make us think changes could be well received in 
>>>> training, do they listen to us? Do they ever incorporate them. Do 
>>>> you feel heard when talking to the school if it is not about your 
>>>> current dog? Elizabeth, you can address that because maybe I didn’t 
>>>> make it completely clearly according to what you were looking for.
>>>>
>>>> Cindy Lou Ray
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
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>>>>
>>>>
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