[nagdu] Cost of a service dog

Tue Aug 27 17:39:56 UTC 2013

I think what Ken was saying is that the school estimates the cost to them. There are such estimates that are publicized.

Cindy Lou

On Aug 27, 2013, at 12:37 PM, "Howard J. Levine" <WB2HWW at earthlink.net> wrote:

> What are you talking about GEB in York town does not charge at all.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ken Ace
> Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 1:03 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Cost of a service dog
> 
> I can only give you my experience. My school estimates the cost of a guide
> dog at $60,000 and my only cost was for the 28 days of dog food. Everything
> else was covered. I didn't really appreciate their program till I got
> involved with NAGDU. I have tried to give back by raising money, giving
> talks supporting the school, etc.
> Ken & Ace
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Laurel and
> Stockard
> Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 12:42 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Cost of a service dog
> 
> Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I understand, guide dogs are
> also possibly the most expensive type of service dog to train? I know their
> training is more intense and maybe even takes longer than say a diabetes
> dog's training. I'm not saying that diabetes dogs or any other kind of dog
> is less well trained or that the other service dog trainers don't work as
> hard, but as you probably know, a guide dog has to know and do a lot more
> than just 2 or 3 tasks. I'm thinking if guide dog schools charged clients a
> certain percentage of the training costs, it would be quite expensive. I
> would love to do a study done on the real costs of training a guide dog (I
> believe this can run between 50,000 and 80,000 dollars for a school trained
> dog) and the cost of other types of service dogs with relation to how that
> does or does not have an effect on client charges etc.
> Just my theory anyways. Some schools might give dogs for free because they
> have a low opinion of the blind, but my personal opinion is that it probably
> has more to do with if we were actually charged for our dogs the same way
> other people get ccharged for theirs (usually a percentage of the training
> costs from what I understand) we'd be paying way more than other service dog
> clients.
> This is definitely an interesting topic and like I said above, I'd love to
> see an official study done on it. Maybe there's already one out there?
> Laurel and Stockard
> On Aug 27, 2013, at 10:06 AM, Jenine Stanley wrote:
> 
>> Tracy,
>> 
>> 
>> It all has to do with economies of scale. 
>> 
>> Yes, the guide dog schools are fairly well established organizations, 
>> even the newer ones, and have an established organizational model that 
>> says you don't charge for services, or you do the minimal charge of 
>> asking a student to pay for travel, or, as is the case with TSE, a 
>> nominal charge for other reasons.
>> 
>> Many service dog programs are very small and simply have no other way 
>> of garnering the funds to do what they do.
>> 
>> I have and will always defend TSE's policy of the nominal fee as I 
>> truly believe in its purpose.
>> 
>> Guide Dog Foundation's service dog arm, America's VetDogs, is, I 
>> believe, the only program that does not charge a fee to obtain a 
>> service dog and attend training class. That said, what prompts a lot 
>> of owner-training in the service dog world is the waiting list at 
>> schools. It takes us a long time to find the right dog to match 
>> someone's needs. Many people find it easier to owner-train. Many also 
>> try it and come back for the wait when they find it's not as easy as 
>> it
> seems.
>> 
>> Hope that helps.
>> 
>> 
>> Jenine Stanley
>> jeninems at wowway.com
>> http://www.twitter.com/jeninems
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy 
>> Carcione
>> Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 10:49 AM
>> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [nagdu] Cost of a service dog
>> 
>> Marion's recent question about the cost of a service dog got me thinking. 
>> It's my impression that many non-guide service dog training centers 
>> charge a lot to their clients, like thousands of dollars.  When TSE 
>> started out, they charged a fee that was substantial at the time, but 
>> now is less than I've spent taking guests out to a nice dinner.  The 
>> norm among guide dog schools is to charge nothing, or a nominal fee, 
>> so much so that I hear people complain about TSE's fee.
>> I wonder why other service dog training centers charge so much, while 
>> those for guide dogs charge so little?  My first guess Is it's because 
>> the guide dog schools are well-established charities, with sufficient 
>> donations.  Or is it possible that blind people expect to get things 
>> free, and other disabled people don't?
>> The cost certainly explains the relative numbers of owner-trainers.  
>> If I had to raise thousands every time I needed a new dog, it would 
>> make owner-training a very attractive alternative.
>> Anyway, just wondering, and not complaining.
>> Tracy
>> 
>> 
>> 
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