[NAGDU] Experiences with Guide dog foundation

Tue Mar 12 20:18:50 UTC 2024

Hi Julie. I didn't recognize your name at first but then I realize you're the same person that was on the performing arts division board with me. Congratulations on going for class at TSE. 
Leslie Hamric
Cello and Braille Music Teacher

> On Mar 12, 2024, at 3:12 PM, Julie A. Orozco via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> I love this discussion of schools.
> 
> I am actually switching schools this time around from Guiding Eyes to
> Seeing Eye. It's scary, this school switching thing. I'm actually
> pretty terrified. But I, likewise, did not feel heard by one of the
> Guiding Eyes trainers, though my experience with GEB was extremely
> positive, and I got two great matches out of them. I wanted to switch
> to a school where I could own my dog upon graduation. Although I
> looked into GDF, when I was actively applying to schools, they were
> doing classes only every month, and it seemed like their class wait
> time was pretty long.
> 
> I am going to class at TSE next month and cannot be more excited and
> freaked out all at the same time. All that to say, switching schools
> is understandable. Lots of handlers have done it for one reason or
> another. GDF is a great school, and I've heard about lots of positive
> experiences there. I do believe they require a video for admission, so
> if that's not something you can do, I would consider bringing that up
> to the school.
> 
> I hope this helps,
> 
> Julie
> 
> 
>> On 3/12/24, Jessica Sears via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hello,
>> 
>> So, I am going to second this story with my own. I got my first amazing dog
>> from GDB. We worked for a solid 8 years and even both moved from a small
>> town to a major city and still made it somehow ha. He sniffed everything
>> but I could work with it. For my second I actually went to GEB and it
>> really was just not great at all. I never will school bash but I will never
>> returned because I just felt not listened too. I told them the dog would
>> not be a good fit, I explained he had to much energy for me, and when he
>> basically destroyed my room in about 5 mins while I went to get a snack and
>> did not zip the cage, they said I wasn't giving him enough time. I said ok
>> the school knew better right? Well I had him for 9 months of hell and he
>> chewed through everything from ethernet cables to a bunch of bananas in a
>> bag. Now I am not messy ok but my home was lived in and the bananas were on
>> the top of the microwave that sat on a counter That dog had a stomach of
>> rock and how he never got sick I will never know. The deal breaker for me
>> was that I straight up felt the school lied to me because when I spent
>> thanksgiving with his raiser who was such a sweet woman, her and her whole
>> fam said they were stunned he made it through his IFT test. I guess the
>> first time he failed and they let him come back after they worked with him
>> some. They said his house manners were horrible and they did report it to
>> the school multiple times. That just got under my skin. I think these
>> schools do us such a amazing service but I do think they owe us
>> transparency also. As a side note, when I almost got hit by a car and told
>> the school to please come and get this terror, they called me the next day
>> and said that he was career changed immediately. He now lives in up state
>> NY with an amazing family on 5 acres of land and runs free. I love that
>> because he was a really good dog just not trainable. I guess I will say GEB
>> did go out and work with him there also a few times over the years for
>> chewing through fencing ha which was nice of them but he has finally
>> showing ideas of becoming a bit better of a boy. Got my current in 2019
>> from TSE and will after she retired be done because all of these ride share
>> denial issues and just being at a different life place working from home. I
>> do second that all schools can let us down and so can we as handlers. I so
>> hope you find your fit. GDB did food reward which I don't like and TSE had
>> hands down the best traffic training I've ever had. Every place can give
>> you a great experience. Good luck.
>> Jess
>> 
>> On Mon, Mar 11, 2024 at 10:51 PM Sherry Gomes via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>> 
>>> Normally, I'd agree with everyone who says that sometimes matches don't
>>> work out and it's nobody's fault, not dog, handler or school. But my last
>>> dog from GDB well, I've always wondered. I signed petitions and wrote
>>> letters the year their CEO fired over half the admissions and graduate
>>> services staff. I definitely wasn't quiet about it. So, I was accepted for
>>> retraining. I have other disabilities, so I have to have an easy to
>>> manage,
>>> slow pace, not easily distracted dog. Because I was working from home, I
>>> was concerned they might not accept me, so I wrote a long letter to their
>>> team that reviews applications, discussing it and routes I had. I also
>>> wrote a strong list of things that I did or did not want in a dog. Number
>>> one thing I did not want was a dog with strong dog distraction issues.
>>> Hard
>>> pulling, lunging, things like that could cause me to fall, maybe even
>>> break
>>> or damage one of my artificial joints, and if I fell, I could not get up
>>> without help. Those at the school knew all about me. I got my first dog
>>> there in 1975 and this was 2014. So, they gave me a golden retriever, and
>>> she had the worst dog distraction issues I'd ever seen. She was not safe
>>> for me. She was young, and I hoped she'd grow out of it. two weeks in
>>> class
>>> isn't much time for dealing with issues like that after all. But for the
>>> next five years, this dog was not safe for someone like me. She lunged,
>>> she
>>> even got away from me a few times. I got to the point where I never wanted
>>> to go out with her alone, and my best friend would come and walk with me,
>>> to help keep me safe and to get the dog if she got away. After five years,
>>> I'd had enough. I didn't get a guide dog to become even less independent!
>>> I
>>> applied for retraining and was denied, basically because they said I
>>> didn't
>>> try hard enough. Lol. I had multiple visits from field staff during those
>>> five years. After GDB denied me, which felt like being thrown out of a
>>> family for me after all those years, I applied to guiding eyes and GDF.
>>> Field managers from the area I lived at the time did home interviews and
>>> of
>>> course walks with the dog and Juno walks. And both, without my prompting,
>>> immediately said, that dog isn't safe; that dog is dangerous for you. Both
>>> those schools accepted me and I went on both their waiting lists. I gave
>>> the golden back to her raisers who lived near me and whom I knew well.
>>> This
>>> was in 2019, and then the pandemic hit. Guiding eyes was the first school
>>> that came through with a dog for me in 2021, so I went with them. and I
>>> have a wonderful guide dog. She reminds me every day that this is what a
>>> guide dog should be like, good calm worker, sweet loving well behaved
>>> companion at home. Starting with around 2000, it seemed any dogs I had
>>> were
>>> either great workers and bad at home or good at home and not great
>>> workers.
>>> I forgot they could be both. But, I'll never ever be bonded to any school
>>> like I was GDB. My dog will be 9 in august, and at the advice of my field
>>> person, I put in the retrain app last year. However, when Shani, my guide
>>> dog, needs to retire, if guiding eyes doesn't come through, I'll apply to
>>> GDF happily. I did not write all this to bash GDB. My best friend has had
>>> three wonderful dogs from them, and I had a number of great dogs from them
>>> before the last one. Just saying, that I often wonder, now I can think
>>> about it all without feeling sick to my stomach or wanting to cry, if I
>>> was
>>> set up with that last dog, because I had been so vocal about my
>>> displeasure
>>> about what they did to their staff. But realistically, mismatches happen
>>> now and then. Everything might seem fine in training and then things go
>>> sour at home. You just never know. Dogs and humans, living breathing
>>> beings
>>> with their own strengths, flaws, fears and challenges. I wish you luck if
>>> you apply to GDF. I've heard a lot of good things about them and try to
>>> keep my ears open in regard to that school.
>>> 
>>> Sherry
>>> Sherry.gomes at outlook.com
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Leslie Hamric via
>>> NAGDU
>>> Sent: Monday, March 11, 2024 9:05 PM
>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <
>>> nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Cc: Leslie Hamric <lhamric930 at comcast.net>
>>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Experiences with Guide dog foundation
>>> 
>>> Hi Margo and all. When I went to get omega, I never had a dog switch until
>>> I got her. I started out with a male black lab named Luke. He was pretty
>>> stressed out from the first morning onwards. He would just not settle and
>>> he was constantly licking his paws. This led to his pace being on
>>> predictable and then on the last day I had him he would just spin around
>>> and harnessed and didn't want to work. So looking back, I probably
>>> would've
>>> had to send him back even if I did graduate with him. So  I was glad when
>>> I
>>> got omega and she's just the perfect match for me at this time in my life.
>>> Like others have said, mismatches can happen at a bigger school or smaller
>>> school. Th The instructors do their best to mash us up with the dogs they
>>> think will work for us, but no one knows what that's going to be like
>>> until
>>> person and dog start working together. I'd like to think of the matches an
>>> educated guess.
>>> Leslie Hamric
>>> Cello and Braille Music Teacher
>>> 
>>>> On Mar 11, 2024, at 10:46 PM, Margo Downey via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Well, I don't have experience with GDF. I am wondering why you believe
>>> a smaller school would be better.
>>>> 
>>>> About matches not working out. I had to switch dogs after two weeks in
>>> class. Those things just happen. It's unfortunate and no one is to blame.
>>> The dog I received during the dog switch was just who I needed and I think
>>> she felt I was who she needed.
>>>> 
>>>> The best to you in your research.
>>>> 
>>>> Margo and Tami
>>>> 
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Cindy Ray
>>>> via NAGDU
>>>> Sent: Monday, March 11, 2024 7:48 PM
>>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>>> Cc: Cindy Ray
>>>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Experiences with Guide dog foundation
>>>> 
>>>> I haven’t had experience with that school, but I wonder what makes you
>>> think a smaller school would be better. None of them is really large. I
>>> also agree with what Joy says here. Things happen; matches don’t work out.
>>> I had three not work out. It isn’t an exact science at all.
>>>> Cindyray at gmail.com
>>>> 
>>>> Cindy Lou
>>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>> 
>>>>> On Mar 11, 2024, at 6:15 PM, Joy via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> Sorry, I don't have any experience with that school. As you are
>>>>> researching, I admonish you to remember that there is normally no
>>>>> blame when a match doesn't work. It isn't you, the dog or the school.
>>>>> It's unfortunate and it hurts but it isn't generally anyone's
>>>>> failure. I've been there once and I feel badly that Major didn't work
>>>>> out but he is back with his puppy raisers and I believe doing well. I
>>>>> will encourage you to look at all aspects of your experience and learn
>>> from it.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Best of luck and a hand extended in support and friendship.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Joy
>>>>> 
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Sam Doman via
>>>>> NAGDU
>>>>> Sent: Monday, March 11, 2024 3:33 PM
>>>>> To: NAGDU at nfbnet.org
>>>>> Cc: Sam Doman <skdoman2001 at gmail.com>
>>>>> Subject: [NAGDU] Experiences with Guide dog foundation
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 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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>>>>> 
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>>>> 
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> 
> 
> --
> Julie A. Orozco
> MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of
> Law, JD Candidate 2023
> 
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