[Nfbmo] you and dog guides.

Fred Olver goodfolks at charter.net
Fri Oct 26 16:49:21 UTC 2012


yes I would be happy too. How does the third saturday in January sound? I 
have some other ideas which I will communicate with you off-list.

Thanks for asking.

Fred Olver

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gary Wunder" <gwunder at earthlink.net>
To: "'NFB of Missouri Mailing List'" <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 10:36 AM
Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] you and dog guides.


> 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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