[Nfbf-l] NFBF 2010 State Convention

[Holly]

Judy,
When going to college to learn how to teach orientation and mobility, we are
exposed to a few chapter and/or handouts on how to teach a person
orientation skill when the student is working a guide dog. We are not
trained to retrain a guide dog, but we are taught how to teach cane skills.
As a guide dog user, have you ever had a day where your dog got sick or you
did not want to work him or her? When and if this ever happens, I feel that
the student should have good cane skills.

Not all schools are stricked on mobility skills when you enter their guide
dog school. We would hope for all the schools to have standards, but that is
not the case.

Sometimes students come in when their vision has changed drasticly after
getting a dog.  They may have had the dog for several months or even years.
However, due to the use of the vision, the dog is not working as well as he
or she should be and this causes an unsafe team.

Not all guide dog users need to leave the dog in the mobility classroom or
with a sitter. Not all guide dogs need to be retrained, either. But I want
to have a person travel safely no matter what mobility tool they choose to
use.

Sherri's dog Bailey got sick over the weekend and has been at the vet since
Friday morning. I am glad that she had kept up with her cane skills, while
being a guide dog user. She was able to pull out her cane and get anywhere
and everywhere through the convention that she wanted or needed to go.
Without keeping up with the cane skills, she would have had to be dependent
on someone else or be an unsafe traveler.

Holly

On Tue, Jun 1, 2010 at 9:57 PM, Jody W. Ianuzzi <jody at thewhitehats.com>wrote:

> I used a cane for over 30 years before I got my first guide dog.  the
> difference is dramatic.  They are not interchangeable.  They are two very
> separate skills.
>
> ALL guide dog schools require established O&M skills.  They don't feel it
> is
> their responsibility to teach travelers the basics.  Using a cane is like
> having a pilots license and a guide dog is like getting an instrument
> rating.
>
> I know my guide dog school not only asked for the names of my mobility
> instructors but they also did an O&M evaluation as part of the interview
> process.  I know they contacted the mobility instructor too because he
> contacted me to congratulate me on getting a dog.
>
> You can't just hang the dog on a hook like you do a cane.  I work with my
> dog every day building her skills.  It isn't always easy and al guide dog
> relationships have their positive and negative aspects.
>
> I think the training centers should take all of this in to account when
> retraining guide dog handlers with mobility lessons since all already have
> the cane skills.
>
> JODY
>
>
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