[Nfbmo] you and dog guides.

Fri Oct 26 17:36:13 UTC 2012

I think this is a great idea too.   We are in the midst of a real  
revolution in technology that can make our lives much more productive, efficient  
and enjoyable - if only we can figure out how to use all these new gizmos!
     I'd be willing to help out with this - and I think  we have a lot of 
tech savvy members who have a lot to contribute.   We  can host it here - but 
I think the topic is so wide-ranging that we would need  two days to offer 
a basic understanding of the available  technologies out there and how to 
use them.
Dan

In a message dated 10/26/2012 12:30:54 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
goodfolks at charter.net writes:

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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