[nagdu] a cane and dog discussion

Mon Jun 20 21:13:35 UTC 2011

Oh, no! Not the baby voice!  Please, not the baby voice!  /lol/  I'm
fairly relaxed about letting people greet my dog, especially if they ask
first, and sometimes I will just give them information while taking
control of an unauthorized greeting, which seems to work without my
ending up having to decide whether or not to hit them.  /smile/  A small
minority of aggressive petters need a bit more firm talk and The Look
and physical herding away from my dog -- who is happy to get behind me
while I get between her and her unwelcome admirer.  Hm..  They're the
most likely to zero in on the dog at the worst possible moment, or so it
always seems.

The baby voice, though...  I just blurt out "No!" without thinking with
that approach.  Sometimes I've said "No!" and stepped between the baby
voice and my dog before I've noticed.  Something about that just pushes
my buttons!

People who talk to guide dogs in the baby voice, I've noticed, sure do
pout when they finally figure out you're not going let them pet your
dog.  /lol/  

On Mon, 2011-06-20 at 15:52 -0400, d m gina wrote:
> In a baby tone the other night, a lady was rushing over, to wish to pet 
> the dog.
> My responce was "leave it.
> She still was in a baby voice wishing to pet the dog, and once again I 
> said "leave it.
> I do not feel I have to let anyone pet the dog just because they have to do so.
> The dog never moved.
> When she said she was sorry, she walked away.
> So you can have it both ways.
> I would rather never speak to anyone, than to have everyone petting my 
> dog just because they want to.
> This is no respect to me.
> I was doing a text, and didn't feel I needed to be stoppping for foolishness.
> I love the way my dog finds dors threw a crowd in a business or any 
> kind of building.
> 
> Original message:
> > Good afternoon.
> 
> > Wow!  I really got a discussion going.  Well, first of all, I posted
> > this here because I wanted to hear from guide dog users.  I wanted to
> > hear about how you guys feel about using your cane.  Look at the time
> > stamp!  I'm sorry if I wasn't clear or anything.
> 
> > My story is actually very close to Shannon's story.  I've told people
> > this, and most don't believe me.  Ever since I was told that I could
> > get a dog, I wanted one.  I hated my cane, and I've always loved
> > taking care of the dogs in my house a a kid, so I knew the dog would
> > be a perfect choice for me.  I got my dog when I was 17 years old, and
> > thankfully, it has worked out very well.  This does not mean that we
> > haven't had our share of issues, but it does mean that I've felt more
> > confident as a traveller.  I, like some of you guys, prefer not to
> > leave my dog at home the majority of the time, but there are many
> > things I choose not to take her to, especially at school.
> 
> > Dan, I agree with you.  I don't understand why people are judged on
> > their use of a cane or a dog.  I think it's a personal choice, and I
> > believe that people can be as independent with a dog as they can with
> > a cane.  I do wish people didn't argue about this.  It's sad.
> 
> > Thanks for all the responses.  This is great.
> 
> > On 6/20/11, Brittney N. Mejico <brittneymejico at verizon.net> wrote:
> >> Hi all,
> >> I have really enjoyed reading all of your responses.  Cain or Dog a question
> >> blind people have been talking about for years.  I honestly think we will
> >> never have an answer to witch is better.  It just depends on the person.
> >> There are advantages and disadvantages to using  both I'm sure we can all
> >> agree.  Personally I like using a dog I don't like knowing about all of the
> >> information my Cain gives me.  I go on walks just for fun, before I got a
> >> dog I just walked to places I needed to go and that's it.  Personally I hate
> >> the attention I get now that I have a dog, sometimes I want people to just
> >> go away.  People are always telling me how cute my dog is or how amazing my
> >> dog is, or asking me where they can get one of those dogs.  Also correcting
> >> my dog in public sometimes people come up to me and tell me what a horrible
> >> person I am and that is kind of inconvenient.  I sometimes wish I had a Cain
> >> because people left me alone.  I don't mind taking care of a dog the
> >> grooming and relieving, and feeding are cool. I know some of my friends tell
> >> me they would not want to deal with the responsibilities of having a dog,
> >> and to me that's fine.   Now to answer some of the questions Julie asked.
> 
> >> Do you think that guide dog users are just as independent as cane
> >> users when it comes to travelling?
> >> Yes of course dog users are independent well I think the majority of them
> >> are.  I'm sure some dog users go more places than others and the same can be
> >> said about Cain users. Independence depends more on the person than the
> >> mobility tool.
> 
> >> Do you think you lose cane skills if  you use a dog the majority of the
> >> time?
> >> No I think using a Cain is like riding a bike one never forgets.  Does a
> >> sighted person forget how to ride a bike when they get a car?  I'm sure
> >> maybe if you haven't done something for a while it will be aquard for a
> >> little while.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Julie McGinnity
> >> Sent: Sunday, June 19, 2011 11:46 PM
> >> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> >> Subject: [nagdu] a cane and dog discussion
> 
> >> Hello everyone.
> 
> >> It is very late, so I hope I make sense as I pose the following
> >> discussion to you.  A friend and I are engaged in an interesting
> >> arguement.  We are talking about guide dog users and how much they use
> >> their canes and a few other things.  I'd just like to pose a few
> >> questions.  (Some of them may seem rather basic.)
> 
> >> Do you think that guide dog users are just as independent as cane
> >> users when it comes to travelling?
> 
> >> Do you think you lose cane skills if  you use a dog the majority of the
> >> time?
> 
> 
> >> Do you think that the majority of dog handlers are bad cane users?
> 
> >> I know these are really general questions, and if you can't answer
> >> them with direct answers, please, just your observations or
> >> experiences will suffice.  I'm just very curious about this.  I want
> >> to know what people think, and I don't really want to seem too
> >> invested in this or as though I am taking a side.  I'm pretty young
> >> and a relatively new guide dog user, so I know there are things I
> >> don't know and haven't seen yet.  I'm more interested in what you guys
> >> say.
> 
> >> Thanks.  Sorry if my late night/early morning ramblings make no sense.
> 
> >> --
> >> Julie McG
> >> Lindbergh High School class of 2009, participating member in Opera
> >> Theater's Artist in Training Program, and proud graduate of Guiding
> >> Eyes for the Blind
> 
> >> "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
> >> everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
> >> life."
> >> John 3:16
> 
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> 
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> 
> 
> > --
> > Julie McG
> >  Lindbergh High School class of 2009, participating member in Opera
> > Theater's Artist in Training Program, and proud graduate of Guiding
> > Eyes for the Blind
> 
> > "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
> > everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
> > life."
> > John 3:16
> 
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> 