[Nfbmo] you and dog guides.

Gary Wunder gwunder at earthlink.net
Fri Oct 26 15:36:04 UTC 2012


Good morning Fred. I think having a seminar on I devices would be a fine
thing. Would you be interested in organizing it? I think it could be very
informative.

-----Original Message-----
From: Nfbmo [mailto:nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Fred Olver
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 9:08 AM
To: NFB of Missouri Mailing List
Subject: [Nfbmo] you and dog guides.

So, we're having a seminar on dog guides? An interesting topic to say the
least. I do wonder though, why we are not having a seminar on the use of
I-devices, an item which offers more flexability and perhapse more options
in terms of offering independence to a much larger segment of our
population/group. Let me say first of all that dogs are wonderful animals. I
have two of them as pets. They each weigh about 40 pounds and help me to get
some much-needed exercise on a daily basis. I decided to write this piece
because I am concerned from the perspective of a former dog-user about the
whole concept of your using a dog as a guide for the first time if you are
considering doing so. There are some things I personally think you need to
know that you probably won't hear at the seminar this Saturday. First of
all, there's a good chance that some of your friends won't want your dog in
their car, especially if it's wet. Some folks just don't want to deal with
the whole issue of dog-hair and unless you are able to sit in the front
seat, there may not be enough room for your dog in the back, on the floor
where it should be. Secondly, although it is against the law, there are some
cab drivers who will be unwilling to transport you and your dog because of
their religious beliefs. Third your dog isn't always going to relieve itself
on cue. There may be times when your dog decides to take a dump in a mall or
public building and you will need to clean it up. You will no longer be an
individual. You will be a team, and chances are that Fourth, at some point
people are going to walk up to you and speak to the dog first. Five,
sometimes, people may even feed your dog, or your dog may pick up some food
from the floor when you are in a restaurant. Six, people are going to want
to pet your dog, and my experience tells me that although you might want to
make lots of friends and a dog is a good way to do so, that if your dog is
in harness you ought not let anyone pet your dog not ever, while it is
working. If you do, once, than your dog may think it is okay for folks to do
that on a regular basis and begin asking for attention without your even
knowing it. 

Some folks feel that because they have dogs as guides that they ought to be
entitled to reduced rates for shots and other services from their
veterinarian. At one time there used to be a tax credit for folks who make
use of a dog guide although aI don't know that is true at this time. Some
schools may offer assistance to extremely ill dogs, however you should
expect that if your dog gets hurt that you need to be responsible to pay the
vet bills. In other words, if your dog gets hurt, you should not expect
someone else to pick up the tab  just because you are blind.

Some folks are going to be afraid of your dog, just because it is a dog.
Your dog is not your child and should not be treated as such. It is a very
loving animal, but it is also a tool which will allow you independence
however if not handled properly it can become a burden, a miss-behaving
child and more trouble than it is worth. Some people feel they must take
their dog absolutely everywhere, some show more common sense and have
determined that a baseball stadium or a bar are not good places for a dog.
Make sure you use common sense when working your dog. Is it really necessary
to inconvenience others so you can use your dog when you could give it a
break and use your cane? After all, this whole independence thing, isn't it
interdependence, and knowing when to allow yourself to rely on others at
appropriate times? If you are going to make use of a dog guide, and I use
this term because Guide Dogs is the name of an organization, you need to
keep up your cane skills. You also need to let others feed your dog say once
a week, and you need to give yourself time away from your dog, because if
you don't, your dog may bond itself so much that it might not choose to eat
when others attempt to give the dog it's dinner when you are away.



Below is a piece from my book Dealing With Vision Loss which can be found at
http://www.dealingwithvisionloss.com  some folks will disagree with what I
have said and what is said below, it is after all my own opinion. What
matters though here, is that if you are going to consider getting a dog for
use as a guide that you understand as much as possible some of the
ramifications of doing so. The good and the bad. 



YOU AND DOG GUIDES 

I just can't tell you how many times I have been asked "how come you don't
have a seeing eye dog?" Well, there are lots of reasons, but the fact is,
that most sighted people look at dog guides as "Wonder-dogs." When in
reality, if you don't know how to get some place, how are you going to tell
your dog to get you there? When you look at the list of resources in this
book, you will not find any dog guide schools listed. There is a specific
reason for that. Most schools which train people who are blind to make use
of dog guides like those individuals to be proficient in use of a cane,
FIRST. Consequently, whether you want to use a cane or not, if you are
thinking about getting a dog you need to learn to use a cane first. 

My own experience has taught me that, while using a dog guide, my
orientation skills, that is to say that my skills of "knowing where I was in
relation to my environment" deteriorated. I was relying on my dog, as I was
supposed to, so much, that I inadvertently became less aware of what was
around me. Partly because I was not using my cane to be able to know that
that trash can or bench was there, because my dog guide was taking me around
it, as he was supposed to, but I found that when I didn't have my dog with
me that getting around, maintaining my orientation and being mobile was a
much more difficult proposition than with a dog and that in order for me to
be able to maintain my orientation skills that I needed to stop using a dog.
Over the years, dog guide schools have modified their stand on using canes
and dogs. Used to be when you would go to the school, they would take your
cane away from you. Now, some schools encourage folks to use their canes in
unfamiliar areas, or in order to help you to determine where you are in
relation to objects around you. A footnote to these comments 

concerning dogs, when I was learning to use a cane, I asked my Mobility
instructor whether or not I ought to consider getting a dog guide? He said
"no", that my skills were good enough that I didn't need one. Turns out he
was right. 


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