[nagdu] just when you think you've heard it all

Mon Oct 20 13:39:34 UTC 2014

Well, experimental implies to me that someone is trying something out just 
to see how and if it works. In that aspect, life gives us situations where 
some things work in some situations and not others. There are some things 
you can do better with a cane and some that are better done with a dog. 
Sometimes, niether is really good. This also comes up with collapsible 
canes, and other technology such as laser technology where sound bounces off 
things so that you can hear where they are. In the mid 70's at Michigan 
School for the Blind, we were exposed to every kind of tech that came out! 
Canes with lasers in the end, boxes you wore on your chest that projected 
light or sound so that it could be used and many more! Interestingly, we 
never got to experience dog travel! Even though Leader Dogs was about an 
hour and a half from the school! I don't even remember a representative 
coming to talk to us as students! Guide dogs were a mystery to me! I didn't 
decide to start using one until I was 45 years old! Not because my mobility 
is failing or because my ears are going but, because i've observed other 
guide dog teams and saw what things they could accomplish. I'd had pet dogs 
before some not so good but most great and loyal pets. The decission to get 
a dog had nothing to do with being tired of my cane or anything. I often use 
my cane instead of Holly but not always. On occassion, I have used both! For 
example to follow the side walk when I was not sure of what sidewalk I 
needed. Yes, I also have a folding cane and another cane I often use in the 
winter that's less sensative but a lot more sturdy for polking threw snow 
and sometimes leaning on. No, I found little use in all of those electronic 
guuadgets.. They were fun to use briefly but not really helpfule in the long 
run.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Shannon Dyer via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
To: "Buddy Brannan" <buddy at brannan.name>; "NAGDU Mailing List,the National 
Association of Guide Dog Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2014 11:24 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] just when you think you've heard it all

The only way I can think of that would make guide dogs experimental would be 
on an extremely personal level. Working my first dog was experimental for a 
lot of reasons. Because my first dog worked well for me, I've gone on to 
work other dogs. If I had been poorly matched, or, if I had decided that a 
guide dog really wasn't for me, I would have retired her and gone back to 
using my cane.

As far as dogs being "better" than canes, so much of that is a matter of 
personal preference. I really don't like cane travel, have never liked it, 
can't imagine liking it at any point in the future. so, for me, having a dog 
is a better choice, but I recognize that what's best for me may not be best 
for the next person.

I hope this makes some sense. It's getting late, and I'm tired.

Shannon and the Acelet
On Oct 19, 2014, at 7:40 PM, Buddy Brannan via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> 
wrote:

> “Better” is a matter of perspective. No one has ever said that a guide dog 
> is “better” for everyone. Anyone who has said such a thing in any 
> seriousness doesn’t know what s/he is talking about. Clearly, guide dogs 
> aren’t “better” for everyone, for a variety of reasons. They’re certainly 
> not “better” for people who don’t like dogs. They’re not “better” at 
> finding the fourth sidewalk on the left past the mailbox, until they’ve 
> been patterned to that. They’re not “better” in respect of maintenance, 
> expense, care, etc. These are all practical considerations. They may be 
> the price that some people are willing to pay for the benefits that they 
> provide, which makes them “better” for some. I think, however, that after 
> 80+ years, they can’t really be considered “experimental” anymore though.
>
> —
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
> Phone: 814-860-3194
> Mobile: 814-431-0962
> Email: buddy at brannan.name
>
>
>
>> On Oct 19, 2014, at 4:33 PM, Star Gazer via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> 
>> wrote:
>>
>> Debbie,
>> You could probably be describing me. Part of it is that we are promised 
>> dogs
>> that will enhance our lives. They are billed to us as "way better then 
>> cane"
>> and so I expected that.
>> I think that if they were billed as "different" or even as "experimental"
>> I'd have done better. I know how to work with experimental stuff, both in
>> the technology itself and how people relate to it. I know how to work 
>> with
>> "different". But when I'm told again and again and again that this will 
>> be
>> better then what I used before, well that's what I expect.
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of debby phillips
>> via nagdu
>> Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2014 10:46 PM
>> To: Tracy Carcione; NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide
>> Dog Users; DLewis at clovernook.org; nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] just when you think you've heard it all
>>
>> Hi Tracy, I think people have this fear that we take them to a shelter or
>> something.  And I suppose, (God forbid) that there are people who do.  I
>> have met a few people in my life who don't seem to have much feeling for
>> their dogs.  It's a wonder that the dogs have worked for them.  There was
>> one person I know and people told me that the dog deliberately walked him 
>> in
>> to a telephone pole.  I don't know if that's true, but after having seen
>> this person with their dog, I would say they deserved it if the dog 
>> really
>> did deliberately do that.  And though I don't know if dogs can think that
>> kind of thought, I did laugh secretly when they told me.  I don't 
>> normally
>> hold grudges and try not to think
>> unkindly of my fellow human beings, but, well, um, anyway.
>> Debby and Neena
>>
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