[nagdu] blazing trails with tails.

Sun Jul 21 17:07:01 UTC 2013

And, today you can use your cell phone, walk near bus routes, Use other 
folks, Assumming you can find then! Also, our dogs can remember some littler 
things that can help. For instance, Holly knows where every pet store is 
when we are near! I have been to use that as a reference point as well. 
Sometimes it can be challenging to figure out where and how you're going but 
it can be fun as well!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tami Jarvis" <tami at poodlemutt.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, July 21, 2013 12:02 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] blazing trails with tails.


> Daniel,
>
> I do wonder about all those sighted people just hanging around waiting for 
> us to ask them for help everywhere we go since we can't figure things out 
> ourselves and they have nothing better to do... Sheesh!
>
> I just get up and go. Did that with my cane, do that with my dog. It 
> works. I do find out as much as I can about a new area or new route, 
> whether through internet research or by asking questions of people I may 
> know in the area. It can help to know how the area is laid out, how the 
> streets run, etc. In a new city, figuring out the naming conventions is 
> helpful, too. And I'm not afraid to ask for directions along the way, or 
> to ask an innocent bystander the  name of the street I'm on if I've 
> forgotten to count blocks, stuff like that. I have a fairly good sense of 
> direction, which helps, although when it goes haywire, then so do I. 
> Fortunately, for those times, I also enjoy unexpected adventures, so long 
> as they don't make me horribly late for something. My poodle guide is also 
> great at finding any number of useful landmarks of various types, so I 
> love that. She does get a little put out if I go awry and end up doing a 
> lot of back and forth trying to get back to the last place I actually knew 
> where I was. /smile/
>
> Heading out for new horizons is a time it's good to have a pocket cane of 
> some sort for added information gathering. Also, if you have hearing, 
> that's very helpful in picking up things about your location from 
> context... Maybe I'm being too obvious there. I know folks without 
> hearing, or not much of it, who can sally forth and conquer, but I have no 
> idea how they do it. I use mine a lot, and also use the clicker for 
> echolocation, even with my cane. Don't know when I started doing that 
> during/after the training process, or how it didn't confuse my dog, but 
> there we go. When the wind is blowing or I have a head cold or something, 
> things get iffier for us.
>
> I would say that it doesn't hurt when finding new routes to be willing to 
> admit defeat when, say, a five-way intersection is just too dangerous and 
> go the extra mile to find a better way even when you're really tired. 
> Well, I've done some adventuring when I was having fatigue issues where 
> really tired meant picking up one foot or the other was really the hardest 
> thing in the world to do... When I'm not having fatigue issues, then 
> having to go around a few blocks isn't a huge deal.
>
> Good luck, and let us know how it goes!
>
> Tami
>
>
>
> On 07/20/2013 06:37 PM, daniel wrote:
>> Hey guys, as yall know I'm going to be moving to a new town for college
>> quite soon. While I was in training (I can't remember if it was an
>> instructor or not) someone off-handedly said something like, always have 
>> a
>> sighted person help you on a new route or something.I've always been a
>> really independent person trying new routes and what not. I can 
>> understand
>> getting some orientation help in a new place but for everything? How do 
>> yall
>> feel about going new places without an advanced orientation session or 
>> such?
>> Do yall usually stick to a preplanned set of routes or do yall sometimes 
>> go
>> new places just for the heck of it? I'm asking this from a dog users
>> perspective, how does your dog react on a new route or a place, and
>> especially if any of yall have moved to a new city or home, how did yall 
>> get
>> used to the new surroundings?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Dan
>>
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>
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