[NAGDU] Experiences with Guide dog foundation

[Vanessa Lowery]

I have gotten all seven of my dogs from The Seeing Eye, so I can't address any issues regarding Guide Dog foundation. However, I will say that regardless of the size of the school, sometimes matches just don't work out. So even if you go to Guide Dog foundation, or for that matter, any other school, there's always the risk that a match might not work. On the other hand, you could enjoy great success with whatever school, regardless of its size, you select. There are some schools that have a better track record/level of experience when working with people with specialized needs. Some schools are not as well equipped to meet specialized needs. So you need to look at those factors. The breed of the dog also needs to be taken into consideration. Most of the schools no longer offer German Shepherd. But you can attain a shepherd from Fidel, The Seeing Eye, I think Gallant Hart  Possibly got eyes, and that may be about it. I don't know if I dog foundation out in Arizona is still working/operating. If it is, that is another place where you can obtain a shepherd. Most of the schools offer labrador retrievers and lab golden crosses. Some also offer golden retrievers. But I don't know that you can get goldens from every school. So again, those are other factors that you need to look at. 

For some, class size is important rather than the size of the school. The Seeing Eye has a ratio of one instructor to four students, and depending on the size of the team (class manager instructors), The Seeing Eye can accommodate up to 24 students at a time. Class length is important for some. So you need to explore whether that is important for you. Lots of factors go into not only why some dogs don't work out, but which school is the best fit. Hope this helps.
Vanessa and the zoo  
Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 11, 2024, at 6:33 PM, Sam Doman via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> 
> Hi all,
> I recently had to return my first guide back to leader after 6 months of the match not working. I have been looking into some smaller schools as a possibility and I wondered what kind of experiences people have had with GOODF in NewYork. I obviously understand that the school is not the only factor to consider, I just want to research all my options.
> Thanks for any help that you can provide.
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