[nagdu] re sighted guides

Thu Feb 18 00:02:41 UTC 2010

If you guide is as smart as mine, he or she will get very quickly how good
and dependable your two eyed loved one is. They will abdicate to her if not
gently insist she take the lead. In those instances I just drop the handle
on my harness and lead the dog by leash. It allows for those romantic
moments and when you need to rely on the guide he is there and ready to go.
I find that this also gives definitive action to his being able to go back
to work mode when you drop your girlfriends hand and take up the harness
once again. 

Albert J. Rizzi, M.Ed.
CEO/Founder
My Blind Spot, Inc.
90 Broad Street - 18th Fl.
New York, New York  10004
www.myblindspot.org
PH: 917-553-0347
Fax: 212-858-5759
"The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who is
doing it."

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-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of GARY STEEVES
Sent: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 4:37 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] re sighted guides

Hello Everyone:

A question that has popped into my mind of late is how one deals with a
sighted guide. I do a lot of things on my own which will be wonderful with a
dog. On the other hand, on the weekends especially, me and my girlfriend go
out and about doing the things we need or like to do. 

I'm sure this will be covered at my school but I was curious how others deal
with this. When I'm out with my girlfriend I am often holding hands
(romantic as I am :), sometimes an elbow if we're doing more technical
navigations like busy stores. So with a guide dog how does one still be able
to be with their partner and have their dog out with them as well? Hopefully
my question is making sense. If not, ask me more and I will clarify or think
of better examples. 

Thanks
Gary

----- Original Message -----
From: Tamara Smith-Kinney <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
Date: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 12:52 pm
Subject: Re: [nagdu] How to encourage dog initiative
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>

> Tracy,
> 
> Nope.  My sighted help is not trained!  /grin/  I 
> am as bad, if not worse,
> than the dog at preventing myself from getting sloppy when said 
> sighted help
> is around.  We're still trying to both build up our good 
> habits, not slack
> into bad ones! /smile/
> 
> I once decided to trust Mitzi's judgment on a pleasant country 
> route beside
> a fairly dangerous roadway.  So I got to go with her to go 
> bark at a goat.
> /smile/  I was so proud of myself for letting her guide me 
> safely and surely
> across the grass to the safer path beyond, then I just wanted to 
> jump up and
> down and scream.  Also, I had a heck of an argument on my 
> hands convincing
> her that this was not what she was supposed to be doing right 
> now.  I was
> embarrassed to be doing all of this in front of what I guess to 
> be a goat.
> The goat did not appear to care.  /grin/
> 
> She still pauses for a half beat to look towards that goat's 
> pasture, and I
> automatically say, "Don't even think about it."  Which she 
> clearly does
> before deciding to go ahead and do her boring old job.  /smile/
> 
> Tami Smith-Kinney
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> On Behalf
> Of Tracy Carcione
> Sent: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 6:15 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] How to encourage dog initiative
> 
> It's been a while since I've had a new dog, knock wood, but I 
> think that
> what I do to encourage initiative is to encourage the dog to make
> decisions when we get into a situation, and show him that I'm 
> willing to
> go with his decisions once he makes one.  At first, this 
> can involve
> standing somewhere and saying Hup-up in a cheerful way, and 
> sometimes some
> gentle handwaving to suggest possibilities.  I've even 
> found myself giving
> that wonderfully mystic GDF command "Find the Way!"
> In my experience, this kind of thing requires me to work my dog 
> on my own
> quite a bit.  Standing still and waiting for the dog to 
> figure out a
> challenge seems to drive sighted people buggy.  Even if I 
> explain before
> we set out that I am trying to teach the dog that he can figure 
> things out
> without much help, when the situation comes up, the sighted 
> person barges
> ahead saying "Oh come on; this way."  So, instead of the 
> dog learning that
> he can make decisions, he learns that if he waits, someone will 
> go ahead
> and he can follow them.  Not the conclusion I want.  
> Someone told me that
> her dog would look around for a sighted person to follow, if the 
> dog felt
> her person was confused.  That's initiative too, but not 
> the kind I want.
> So, for me, it's really important to work with my dog alone in the
> beginning.  Maybe other people have better control of their 
> sightedpartners than I do, but for me they can be quite a 
> hindrance to
> team-building.
> 
> In the beginning, and not much after either, I wouldn't expect 
> the dog to
> figure things out if I was facing the whole wrong way or 
> something. An
> experienced dog can sometimes figure that out, but really it's 
> my job to
> at least aim in the generally right direction.
> Although once, at a state convention banquet, I had to step out, 
> and I
> pointed the way I thought we should go and told Echo 
> "Outside!"  She led
> me the other way than I pointed, around the table and to a clear 
> aisle,and then took me to the door.  I was very 
> impressed.  Just like in the
> Seeing Eye dog books!
> 
> I may have messed up Ben's initiative a bit by not trusting his 
> decisions. It's hard for me to tell when he's going around 
> something and when he's
> going to sniff something, especially in suburbia, where the work 
> is less
> challenging and he gets more distracted. Luckily, Ben has lots of
> confidence and initiative, so I haven't made a complete hash of 
> things.Tracy
> 
> 
> 
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