The Bonding Process

When I first get my dogs they don’t know that I am their charge at the beginning.  There is a lot of work to be done to gain their trust and their loyalty.  It goes both ways though.  I need to see a few things before I can trust and bond with the dog as well as the dog bonding and trusting me.

When the dog first comes to us and we meet, regardless of how they react, their loyalties still lay with the trainer.  The trainer is the one that has been working with them and they have developed that “bond” through working and training over time.  We need to do the same things.

All of my dogs have been cookie hounds and labs so that means everything is made better with food.  The first few hours with our dogs they are still looking for the trainer.  Once we start feeding the dogs they start to understand that this is where good things come from.  We start grooming the dogs over a few days and working with them and then the dogs start to understand that we are their charge.  They start looking to us for approval and for the pets and treats instead of the trainer.

Shasta and Zora both had the toughest transition.  Shasta was because she had been through a number of handlers and didn’t really trust that I was going to stick around, and Zora was just really bonded with the trainer.  Through time, repetition, and consistance they both learned to look to me.

A Little Bit of Writers Block

I”d like to thank everyone for taking the time to read this blog.  Unfortunately I have run into a tittle bit of writers block.  Please feel free to leave me some ideas on what I can write about.  Post your questions you would like to see answered or even a comment you think I can expand on from the blog.  Hope to hear from you!

Pet and Guide Dog Differences

I get asked a lot of questions about what a guide dog can and cannot do versus a pet dog. I figured I go over this a little bit. Above are pictures of Buzz and Beamer who are pet dogs on the left.  Below is a picture of Felice guiding in a store.

The obvious difference is a guide dog works and wears a specially designed harness for their job. They have a bit of a higher standard of behavior while working so they can focus and get tasks done. A pet basically doesn’t have to work and generally is not trained in any special human assistive skills.

Guide dogs while wearing their harness can take cab rides, go on the buss, can ride in the cabin of a plane and ride trains with their handlers. Pets can’t go on public transportation and must ride in cargo on planes and trains.

After looking at the differences how about I talk about some similarities. Guide dogs and pets do have some commonality too. For instances once the harness comes off they can be just a dog. Like the pets they can race around the back yard, chew bones, play with toys and even get into the odd spot of trouble like rolling in anything smelly they can find. Here is Felice munching on a bone next to her buddy Beamer.

Felice was never much for getting into trouble. My other dogs did have a passion for the garbage can. One of them, Kendal, even taught Beamer how to get into small garbage cans.

All of my guide dogs have had an off harness routine too. They get up, get fed, get let out, have some play time, get groomed, they even get the odd treat from time to time just like a pet would. They get involved in what’s going on around the house or they go off and nap in their favorite spot. After all at the end of the day they are dogs!

Learning to Trust

When I first was approached about getting a guide dog, I had no idea if I would even quality. I have some useful vision and I thought I had to much.

A lot of folks, like I did, believe that guide dogs are only trained for people who have no vision at all. That is not true as we know now. I am what is known as visually impaired, meaning I can see some but not all. I have 6% vision with correction and 3% without. To get a guide dog you need to be considered legally blind which is 10% vision or less.

Even though I have some useful vision I was still terrified of trusitng a dog. I can see objects but can’t tell how far away I am from them. That’s where the dog comes in. The dog lets me know when a curb is right there and weaves me around objects so I don’t run into them. To trust a person is hard enough, to trust a dog was even harder.

When I was learning to work with a dog I would stop at shadows thinking they were solid objects. I needed to learn to just let the dog guide me and trust them to walk through a shadow and not stop. Basically I was learning to trust the dog over my own sense to see. It took quite a bit of time before I learned to just lay back in the handle and just feel the dog move and follow that instead of my eyes.

Without a dog I have very little confidence going from poitn A to point B. I am constantly trying to guess how far I am away from objects, things like walls and fances are confusing. Doors are more so especially glass doors. I can’t always tell if htey are open or not.

Shopping is exhausting. To many people and objects on the move for me to make heads or tails of. My body goes tense and my attention to what I am doing fades. Just to much sensory over load.

Some blind people with good hearing can use their ears to help them out. I can’t do that. I am also hearing impaired so I can’t compensate. It’s all through guess work according to what I think I can see.

After many arguments in the beginning with the dogs I have learned to Just pay attention to the harness handle and let things fly by me as we walk. I trust the dog will take me around objects and even watch for over hanging branches. All I have to concentrate on is what direction we are going and directing the dog to go where I would like to go. We make a pretty good team this way.

Guide Dogs, Service Dogs and You

What’s a service dog you ask? Well it’s a dog that has been professionally trained to provides a service like a Hearing Ear Dog alerts it’s handler to sounds that they don’t hear like a door bell or phone ring. Guide dogs are service dogs because they have been professionally trained to guide a blind or visually impaired handler.

What can I do when I come across a service dog?

The first thing is greet the handler, not the dog. The dog is quite busy doing it’s job and really shouldn’t be distracted by a petting, or coo’s and oos and awws thrown in thier direction. Distracting a service dog by reaching out for it while the dog is actively working can put the team at risk so focus on the handler.

A lot of people have a natural desire to pet a service dog. Each handler has their own way of handing this. The best thing to do is ask first. Some handlers will ask you to wait until they get the dog seated quietly before you can pet them. This way the dog is not having to focus on the handler and can focus on you for the petting. If however they handler says no not right now please don’t take it personally.

There are many reasons why a handler may say no. In my case it’s often when I am in a hurry and don’t have the time to properly spend for a petting session. Other time’s I will say no because the dog is being disciplined for something and I am trying to get the dog back on track by taking away a distraction. Sometimes dogs have bad days just liek we do and they themselves don’t like to be petted so it’s up to me to know this as the handler.

If people ask me first I am more likely to grant a petting session. If they don’t they are told quite bluntly that they are not to pet the dog while it’s working. I need to be blunt sadly because, often a no is not heard when it comes to the dog. If you touch the dog you are actually touching an extention of me and I will let you know it’s not welcome. Petting a guide dog or any oter service dog is not a right, it’s a privilege.

Sadly I have had some close calls due to people petting my guide dogs while they are actively working, even when we are on the move. One person felt it was ok to step in front of me while I was walking and my guide was guiding and reach down to pet her. Of course I ran into them. Guess who got in trouble. Me! for running into this person.

What should I do when I come across a guide dog team when I’m driving?

Treat the team like any other pedestrian.

One common thing I come across is drivers who wave me on.  Think this through lol. You have a blind person at the street corner and you are waving them on. I”m not going to see the hand or any other gestures when being waved on. Honking is also fruitless or yelling through the window. I”m busy listening for traffic to flow so the horn will get ignored while I assess traffic.

Can Guide Dogs play with any other dogs?

Not while working or in harness. It’s a good idea to not bring your dog up to a guide dog while it’s working. My biggest pet peeve are the little dogs that get out of the house and start jumping all over my guide dog and the owner says ” aww isn’t that cute.. she really likes your dog”. Or bigger problem yet are puppies not on a leash doing the same thing and the owner has no clue that hte dog should be under control at all times like being on a leash.

This is serious business when dealing with other dogs. Dogs don’t always like each other and attacks are sadly common because the proper care isn’t taken to keep them apart while out in public. Three of my Five guide dogs have ben attacked by other dogs. I”m a little guarded around other dogs near my service dog. It’s not a laughing matter. Attacks are on the rise now with the introduction of fake service dogs out there who are not properly trained to deal with other dogs or to even do a job yet it’s inssited they be allowed where ever other service dogs are at. I”ll write more about this at a later date. It’s a heated topic with many sides to it.

In the mean time it’s wise to keep the dogs seperte when a service dog is actively working and they have thier working gear on.

Guide Dog Facts

At the time of writing this I have been handling guide dogs for over 20 years now. In my travels I have been asked a lot of questions from the public. Here I”ll address some of the most common questions I get asked.

What is a Guide Dog?

A guide dog is a dog that has been professionally trained to guide a blind or visually impaired person from point A to point B through the use of a harness. The dog walks slightly ahead of the person and moves along a straight line around objects to a destination. The person (handler) uses the harness to feel the dogs movements and follows the dog.

Can guide dogs read traffic lights and signs?

No. It is the handlers job to know when it’s time to cross a street. the handler listens for the flow of traffic and gives the dog the cue to cross.

How long does a guide dog work for?

That all depends on the dog and the situation that it’s in. The average working span is about 8 years give or take a couple of years. Each dog’s situation is different. and it’s health, work circumstances and environment can play a role in how long a dog works for.

What happens to the dog when they can no longer be a guide dog?

Guide dogs retire after they have been working. They can either stay with the handler and live out their retirement or they are placed in retirement homes where they get to be a pet dog for the rest of their lives.

Why don’t you keep your dogs when they retire?

Many guide dog handlers choose to keep their working dogs after they retire but a larger number do not. People are quite surprised by that. I choose not to keep my dogs for several reasons. The most important one is financial. The cost of two large dogs can be high especially when you have an older dog and a younger working dog in the house. I don’t have the space for 2 large dogs. The other important factor is loyalties. When you retire an established working dog and then bring a new one into the house, the older one can have trouble watching the new dog go out with the handler and enjoy all the attention that a guide dog requires. Imagine you worked at a job for 30 years and then all of a sudden a newer younger coworker comes in and fills your shoes and you have to stay and watch that. Kinda the same thing. I think my dogs deserve the best life can offer in a retirement home that can give them all they need and then some.

When does a guide dog get to be a dog?

When the guide dog is at home and the harness is off, they can play and run and have fun like a regular dog. Play time is encouraged when off duty. A guide dog like any good pet dog must also mind proper house rules though to help them stay well rounded for work.

Can the guide dog go with you where ever you go?

Yes. a guide dog can go every where I go. As long as the dog is wearing it’s harness and I have our Identification car I can take the dog anywhere the public has access to. There are some common sense places I don’t take my dog though, like to a zoo or an open air kitchen or certain wards in a hospital for obvious reasons.

How Did I Get My Guide Dogs ?

Deciding to get a guide dog is one thing, actually going about getting one is an entirely different matter and it can be a very long process. You are going to need patience and diligence to keep going with it and be willing to wait.

When I first decided to get a dog the process took about 6 months to about a year. In some cases it took longer. Why so long you ask? Well it depends on a number of factors like; current waiting lists at the various schools for dogs, dog availability at different schools, and how quickly I could get the paperwork in accurately.

Where does one start to get a dog?

First, I did my homework. I did a lot of research into different schools. I started locally and then I went online and did google searches, went to forums and talked to folks who have gotten a service dog, I talked to folks I knew that got a dog and asked how they got thier dogs. I asked about the schools they went to and what it was like. I also asked questions about what it was like to have a guide dog and what it means to have one. Getting a guide dog is truly a life altering event so the amount of work you put into the research and the effort into learning about what it means to have a guide dog will benefit you as you move through the journey to getting one.

Second, after narrowing down which schools I liked I made some phone calls to the schools to ask questions about their process for enrollment and about the training process.

Third, I filled in a number of applications to the schools I and followed their protocol to apply. Pay close attention to what the school requires because they can be different

Fourth, I waited and there was a lot of waiting involved. Waiting for phone calls, for forms to come back, and for the next steps in the protocols.

While I waited I learned about the laws in my area and my country. Each country and even provinces/terrirotires within a country has it’s own access laws so it’s wise to learn about them early.

I also started exercising. Living a Guide dog lifestyle requires you to be in shape so start right from the beginning and keep going even long after you get your dog.

Cane Versus Guide Dog

When deciding to get a guide dog, there are many things to consider.  Which is better for you, a cane or a guide dog all depends on your preferences, situation and abilities.  The first thing to look at is how you prefer to navigate the world.  Do you prefer to have a tactile touch to your world through a cane or do you prefer the convenience of fluent motion of movement.

In my case I preferred the fluent motion of movement.  The cane for me hindered my movement especially in the winter.  the cane got stuck in cracks in the side walk, on the grass and even other objects.  With a dog I don’t have to worry about how close I was to objects because the dog looks after that for me.  I can weave in and out of objects, and cracks in the sidewalk easily with a dog who does the work of clearing both sides of my body and in some cases my forehead as well.

The disadvantage of a dog is if you have no vision or very poor vision you loose the connection to the surroundings.  Those who prefer the cane say tehy like knowing that’s under them before they step and they like the tactile clues they get to help them navigate the world like a curb ahead of them.

Canes are great because you don’t have to pick up after them.  That means you don’t have to go out side with them in the dead of winter to relieve them or to pick up after them.  You don’t need a yard or extra space for it or worry about feeding it.  Having said that, having to do those things adds to the quality of life.  There is something to take care of and care for.  That creates part of he rhythm of a guide dog team.  That sense of purpose and reason to get up in the morning.

I find with a cane folks tend to steer clear of me.  With a dog they draw near.  People will do anything to get near them and will do anything to cater to them.  That is a door that opens on it’s own with a dog.  It’s hard to isolate when there is a dog in the picture and with a dog I am never truly alone.

 

Niecy is Next

At the time of writing this, Niecy is my current guide dog.  She has been with me for 4 years now and we have been a “dream team” the whole time.  She is number five.  She came to me after a very long wait between dogs after Felice passed away.  She came at a time I was still struggling from Felice’s loss.  Niecy came to me through Guide Dogs for the Blind.  Guide Dogs for the Bllind

Even after all these years I still feel the loss like it was yesterday but Niecy has been my saving grace.  She brought my spark back to me in ways I never knew possible.  Losing a guide dog is really intense like most losses are but there is a thread that runs deep in a guide dog team that isn’t typically there in a pet/owner relationship, and that’s the dependency you develop.  Kind of like a co-dependancy of sorts.

Niecy brought back for me the rythm I had missed in being in a working team,  Being able to go out without being so exhausted all the time.  She helped bring back the confidence I had been lacking for so long and the desire to get out and do things.

Looking back on our first meeting I remember she took my breath away.  I remember thinking that she was an old soul.  She had an air about her that was all knowing but yet innocent at the same time if that even makes sense.  She came into the room and came right u to me and instantly starting licking my hands and leaning agains’t me.  Our meeting was that dream meeting I had been looking for.  When the trainer left the room she stopped and looked briefly in her direction then continued to lick my hands and climb on me.  It was a grand meeting and one I treasure.

The Big Decision

One problem with being between dogs is there’s just to much time to think. I’ve been thinking back to when I got my first dog. All the excitement that surrounded the anticipation of actually having a dog that will help and guide. Not just a dog but a large dog at that. That was a novelty to me because I had only ever had small dogs in my past with one outside large dog when I was a kid. My other worry was whether I was going to be able to keep it in the apartment. I was so new to the idea that I had no idea how the living arrangement would work.

How did I decide to get a guide dog in the first place? Well it wasn’t my idea initially. The topic came up during coffee with a friend. She felt I would benefit from a dog because of the struggles I had getting from point A to B. I had been complaining about bumping into a lot of the white poles we had in our down town area and about missing curbs or even the sidewalk for that matter. I had also mentioned the trouble I was having dealing with people in stores and how much work it was just to go get something and dealing with crowds.

When my friend first blurted out “maybe you should consider getting a guide dog”. I looked at her sideways and said, “nahh.. I’d never qualify, I have to much vision, they only train dogs for people who can’t see at all or who don’t have useful vision.” After a bit more discussion she let it go but brought it up again a couple months later. Again I gave her all the same excuses. She didn’t let it go this time, she simply said “You never know until you try”. Well what could I say. She was right.

I started to think about her side of the issue and started to wonder about some of the things she said. If it makes things easier why not go for it and what will you loose if they say no. I realized that if she was bringing this up she was seeing something I wasn’t. So I decided to at least apply. If I qualify I qualified, if not, nothing changes. I just do what I’ve been doing.

After all the paper work, seeing doctors, and the interview with a trainer I was shocked to find out I was accepted. At first I was mystified as to why lol. I had always thought I was doing a really good job of getting around and being independent. Then my friend suggests a guide dog and then I actually get accepted. What had I been doing wrong?!

I had been raised in a very old fashioned mindset. Was taught not to show my disability, Do it all by myself, don’t ask for help, never use a cane and so on. Well getting a dog was definitely going to highlight that I had a disability. Now that I had been accepted to a school I had to figure out what to do next. There was no turning back. I had to decide if I was going to embrace this new found knowledge or was I gonna back away and miss my chance to try something different and new? I wrestled with it for a while and decided that in fact I had nothing to loose and just go with it.

Once I decided that, I began to feel the excitement and began daydreaming what this new dog could mean to me. Curiosity began to grow and it was something I started telling folks. They all seemed to be excited about the idea. I began doing research and educating myself about what I could do with a dog and what the law allowed. I started to feel more and more prepared and confident in the decision to go ahead.

Thinking back on this, if I had known then what I know now I would have embraced a guide dog much sooner. It truly was a life changing decision for me. One that brought freedom, independence, safety and has opened up a number of doors of opportunity through the years.