[nagdu] Considering A Dog

[Julie J.]

Kody,

Welcome!  I'm a big fan of the Boxer too.  Unfortunately your options 
are very limited if you want one from a guide program.  Pilot in 
Columbus trains some and Gallant Hearts in Mississippi does a few.  Your 
wait at Gallant Hearts is going to be pretty long because they are a 
small school that has just started up and they don't have very many 
Boxers.  Neither of these schools is located in a large city that has 
subways and that sort of thing.

You'll have a lot more options for German Shepherds.   Also if the 
school doesn't teach to find empty seats, it's a fairly easy thing to 
teach yourself.

Best of luck and welcome!
Julie




On 9/20/2012 12:00 AM, Kody Keplinger wrote:
> Hi all!
>
> I found this list yesterday and have been browsing the archives for info.
>   After some serious thought, I have decided to look into getting a guide
> dog.  I do have some concerns that I know others have brought up in the
> past (I do have remaining vision, and I know it may impair my trust of the
> dog at first, but I believe I can overcome this, especially since my
> retained vision is only useful outdoors during the day.)  After asking
> around about different schools and commands, I know I want to apply to
> schools that teach "find" commands (ex. "find a chair" or "find the
> stairs") as these are very difficult things for me in unfamiliar indoor
> settings.  I also want a school that trains dogs for trains/subways since I
> live in NYC and that's an important part of my daily life.
>
> I have a pretty strong breed preference to either a German Shepherd or a
> Boxer. I LOVE labs, but they've been family pets my whole life, and my gut
> is telling me that, for my first guide dog, and one I'll work with as a
> partner, I want to step away from labs if at all possible. My first choice
> of school was Fidelco, but I read today some of the controversy from last
> year. I like their program because a.) they focus on german shepherds and
> b.) I like the idea of starting, from day one, in my neighborhood. I know
> some programs take you to NYC as sort of a final "challenge" - but as NYC
> is my home, I'd rather it not be my big challenge, I'd rather it be my
> regular, if that makes sense at all.  Is the controversy over Fidelco and
> ownership still brewing? Has anyone worked with them lately?
>
> Looking at other schools, can any of you give me some info on which ones
> teach the "find" commands as well as provide german shepherds and/or boxers
> (and that allow you to specify a preference)? Also, any info on the wait
> times for these programs (from turning in the application, to acceptance,
> to attending the school) would be incredibly helpful/appreciated. (I found
> the old surveys on GDUI, but they were from 2008 and I wasn't sure how
> up-to-date they were.)
>
> Thanks for any info you can give, guys! I'm so glad I found this listserv
> already. The archives have already given me so much direction.
>
> Best,
> Kody
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