<html><body><font face="Helvetica">I life in Minnesota, I plan on checking some more schools. <br><br>Some talk about training their own guide, which I wouldn't mind doing. I do wonder how you teach them about not crossing the street if a car is coming. I have trained other animals, but not quite like this. <br><br>Sent from Xfinity Connect Mobile App<br><br><br>------ Original Message ------<br><br>From: Debbie Cole via nagdu<br>To: Tami Jarvis, NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users<br>Sent: July 15, 2014 at 3:51 PM<br>Subject: Re: [nagdu] I guess I will not be getting a dog<br><br>Yes it's worth it. I'm sorry you were denied, Barb.<br><br>Most schools have in home training programs. You don't mention where<br>you live. Don't give up.<br>Debbie & Leone<br><br>On 7/15/14, Tami Jarvis via nagdu <nagdu@nfbnet.org> wrote:<br>> Barb,<br>><br>> I'm sorry to hear that. Did they give specific reasons? Did the reasons<br>> seem reasonable to you? Is it something you can either refute or<br>> address? How do you feel about appealing and getting a dog from that<br>> program after the denial? What do you think about appealing and getting<br>> a dog from that program after the denial?<br>><br>> Those questions I asked myself when I was turned down by a program. I<br>> decided I thought the reasons were not reasonable -- like that I could<br>> read signs (I could not!) and so didn't need a guide dog. Since I had<br>> provided all those records about my vision and since to my knowledge it<br>> is not the job of a guide to read signs, I did not view this as a<br>> reasonable reason! There was another one given that I considered equally<br>> unreasonable, as well as a third that could have been taken more than<br>> one way. I did call to see about clarification, but the reviewer did not<br>> call me back. By that time it had occurred to me that while it was<br>> pretty clear the interviewer and I did not hit it off (though we both<br>> remained cordial throughout), the review board had signed off on the bit<br>> about reading signs, so... I began looking into other programs and was<br>> prepared to follow through on an application I had started before some<br>> stuff came up, then got a puppy to owner-train. I had been thinking of<br>> training a guide dog for years and really had a yen to do it anyway,<br>> though I thought it made more sense to use a guide dog for awhile first<br>> so I would know what I was training for. It was the insistence that I<br>> demonstrate a full-strength two-handed leash correction with a firm<br>> lecture that if they gave me a "strong" dog because they thought that<br>> was best, then that was best no matter what I thought. I said I did not<br>> want to go around the world that way, and I meant it. Anyway, it<br>> occurred to me that I know how to train an animal to voice and subtle<br>> hand and body signals, because that is how I like my animals to be and<br>> how I like to be with them. I can be firm when I need to, and can get a<br>> horse under control when strength and force are needed, but the notion<br>> that force is a regular part of handling... I may have gotten a wrong<br>> impression from her about that, although this was just before programs<br>> started moving to more positive methods and working towards producing<br>> softer dogs. Anyway, owner-training the first time out suddenly looked<br>> like a more viable option to get what I wanted, although that is far<br>> from the only reason I owner-trained.<br>><br>> Aren't there other programs by now that provide in-home training even to<br>> first-timers? It seems I've heard of a few people getting that from one<br>> or more programs, but I'm short on sleep and may be hallucinating<br>> perfect solutions. /smile/<br>><br>> Keep us posted on what you decide to do and what happens.<br>><br>> Tami<br>><br>> On 07/14/2014 09:46 PM, Barb breuer via nagdu wrote:<br>>> I just got the letter from Fidelco guide dog school and they say I don't<br>>> qualify, they were my only hope to get a dog because they come to me to<br>>> train with the dog and not me going to the school for three weeks. I can't<br>>> get that kind of time off of work and keep my job at the same time.<br>>> I was hoping to get a dog, this was something I had wanted for 40 years.<br>>> I just don't understand why I don't qualify. I have no big special needs.<br>>> they say I can appeal, , but is it worth it.<br>>> Barb<br>>> _______________________________________________<br>>> nagdu mailing list<br>>> nagdu@nfbnet.org<br>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org<br>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for<br>>> nagdu:<br>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/tami%40poodlemutt.com<br>>><br>><br>> _______________________________________________<br>> nagdu mailing list<br>> nagdu@nfbnet.org<br>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org<br>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for<br>> nagdu:<br>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/debbieanne1124%40gmail.com<br>><br><br>_______________________________________________<br>nagdu mailing list<br>nagdu@nfbnet.org<br>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org<br>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:<br>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/barbandzoe%40comcast.net<br></font></body></html>