Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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If you love animals, is a guide dog an obvious choice? (self.Blind)
submitted by AnElusiveDreamer
The idea of having a dog you can take anywhere appeals to me, and I heard that they can make a person seem more approachable. At the same time, I know that people do deny entrance to guide dog users, and that sucks. I’ve seen a lot of people who lose their vision later in life who prefer guide dogs, but I know they are not for everyone. What else should I take into consideration?
razzretina 8 points 3y ago
How much do you like dog poop? Because you’ll be picking that up yourself several times a day. Do you like people and hearing about their dead pets? They’re going to come talk to you about their dead pets no matter what you’re doing. Are you prepared to have to make arrangements for you and your dog everywhere you go?
I love my dogs. But they’re not magic. They take a lot more work than a while cane or a regular pet dog. There’s are reasons only about 1% of the blind have a guide dog. It’s a lot more than just being an animal lover. Is it worth it? It definitely can be! But do a lot more research before diving into this. Call some schools, read “First Lady of the Seeing Eye”, talk to people who have guide dogs.
I love my dogs. But they’re not magic. They take a lot more work than a while cane or a regular pet dog. There’s are reasons only about 1% of the blind have a guide dog. It’s a lot more than just being an animal lover. Is it worth it? It definitely can be! But do a lot more research before diving into this. Call some schools, read “First Lady of the Seeing Eye”, talk to people who have guide dogs.
JynxBJJ 3 points 3y ago
I snorted. Thank you!!!
razzretina 4 points 3y ago
Poop and dead pet stories: the guide dog experience nobody talks about, ha ha!
JynxBJJ 2 points 3y ago
M6 Lily gets diarrhea when too kuc( change happens...like com8ng home from the school. Or thanksgob9ng, or Christmas. Pumpkin to the rescue!
razzretina 1 points 3y ago
It’s so hard to travel with them on the holidays, you never know what they’re going to eat at someone else’s house! Mine came back from Christmas a little sick, too. She’s fine now.
And this is the other thing about having a guide dog: when you meet up with another handler, sooner or later, you are going to talk about poop. XD
And this is the other thing about having a guide dog: when you meet up with another handler, sooner or later, you are going to talk about poop. XD
JynxBJJ 2 points 3y ago
What school do you go to? I went to Leaderdogs for the Blind in Michigan, USA.
razzretina 1 points 3y ago
All three of my dogs are from The Seeing Eye in New Jersey. I think the current one knows I’m talking about her; she just stopped chewing on her toy and is giving me a look ha ha.
JynxBJJ 3 points 3y ago
My Lily is the nest!,! I grew up on a fa4m with tons of animals, and we have a pet dog (corgi mix) and a cat. My Lily plays like a goof when she’s not on ha4ness or in heel.
I’ve been with my first seeing eye dog for just over 2 ,moths. It’s amazing, and hard work. Stairs don’t terrify me anymore (I’ve onl6 been legally blind a couple o& years). Poop is a HUGE part of ,my life now, lol.
When I used my white cane, I was invisible. And occasionally I miss that. Some t8mes you just don’t want to hear about someone’s dead pet.
If I have a ride from family I don’t tak3 her to my massage appointments, as I’m more concerned with her than relaxing my muscles (the massag3 therapist is great and didn6 kind the t8me I had to walk to my appointment. I also might not take her to the movies anymore, because I focus on her the whole time. Honestly, it’s l8ke having a well-behaved toddler. You trust them, but check all the t8me. Lily is 19 months, so very young.
It’s a LOT of work, but she’s my best friend and an amazing partner.
As to accomidayonm we’ve only had one issue. And my favorite local sushi place is AWESOME with us! I’d been nerbousm but they were kind and fave us a booth so she would be prot3cted from feet.
Check out schools, and make sure your O&M skills are on point. Message me if you’d
Ike. https://i.imgur.com/Fu7nOLw.jpg
I’ve been with my first seeing eye dog for just over 2 ,moths. It’s amazing, and hard work. Stairs don’t terrify me anymore (I’ve onl6 been legally blind a couple o& years). Poop is a HUGE part of ,my life now, lol.
When I used my white cane, I was invisible. And occasionally I miss that. Some t8mes you just don’t want to hear about someone’s dead pet.
If I have a ride from family I don’t tak3 her to my massage appointments, as I’m more concerned with her than relaxing my muscles (the massag3 therapist is great and didn6 kind the t8me I had to walk to my appointment. I also might not take her to the movies anymore, because I focus on her the whole time. Honestly, it’s l8ke having a well-behaved toddler. You trust them, but check all the t8me. Lily is 19 months, so very young.
It’s a LOT of work, but she’s my best friend and an amazing partner.
As to accomidayonm we’ve only had one issue. And my favorite local sushi place is AWESOME with us! I’d been nerbousm but they were kind and fave us a booth so she would be prot3cted from feet.
Check out schools, and make sure your O&M skills are on point. Message me if you’d
Ike. https://i.imgur.com/Fu7nOLw.jpg
clarinetforfree 2 points 3y ago
1. Guide dogs don't take you where you want to go unless you a) know where you want to go, and b) give them commands to take you there. If you walk to a new place or get off a bus in a new place neither one of you will know which way to go unless you ask someone or or have a gps made for the blind. Those gps machines are ok but not always accurate. Nonetheless, many blind people prefer the gps because it works pretty well and is nowhere as near as high maintenance as a guide dog.
2. If your dog happens to be a Labrador retriever its default is to go wherever there might be food.
3. The life and health of a Labrador retriever as a guide dog is largely determined by your ability to keep him / her away from food. This is much more difficult than it sounds. Obesity causes hip dysplasia which which takes the dog out of commission as a guide dog.
4. The dog is smarter than you. The dog will find ways to get food from you that you cannot even anticipate.
5. If you live alone, it is quite likely that after some period of time, five or seven years, the dog will no longer be able to work as a guide. so you can either keep the dog as a pet and not have a guide or you can give the dog to someone who can take care of it in order to get another guide dog.
6. You may find this roughly analogous to or exactly like giving away your best friend.
7. If you have a spouse or someone else who happens to be sighted and is willing to help care for the dog, you may be able to keep the dog for longer. The dog may also be able to get more exercise,, which may keep it in condition and extend its career as a guide dog.
8. There are expenses associated with the dog.
9. It's hard to find a really good vet. When the dog is young it will be easier to take care of. It is harder to get good care for an aging dog. Taking care means brushing a dog and the dog's teeth every day cleaning out its ears frequently making sure it's nails are trimmed, protecting its feet from hot and cold conditions and from salt and ice. Mushers secret is one way to do this. it also means taking the dog to new environments when you can , because these dogs need enrichment. They need to smell new environments like we need to watch different movies or read different books.it means keeping up with obedience training to keep their skills sharp and letting them rest and sleep when they need to do that.
10. The dog is a family member. As someone said, like a toddler who is very smart and athletic, what time you have to check on quite frequently. A big responsibility.
11. It is very rewarding to have a guide dog, and it's good for your health, because you exercise more. But it may sometimes also be inconvenient.
The dog needs a good amount of exercise every day. In the rain, in the snow, and and when you would rather be sleeping. Twice a day is good and for a good distance. .
If possible, it is good to take them to new places for enrichment. Sniffing the same old area is like us reading the same book over and over.
They are creatures of routine. It is best to feed and relieve them at the same times every day.
It's true you have to deal with poop, but that becomes routine. It's also true that if you're totally blind your chance of finding the poop is next to nil.
It's true people will come up to you on the street, in Walmart, and at the airport and tell you about their dear departed dogs. That part didn't bother me. I'm a sucker for a good love story, especially one that involves a dog.
There are other inconveniences involved with having a guide dog but all of them pale next to that great inconvenience loving someone. Loving someone who can't talk has it's added challenges.
12. End-of-life issues were every bit as compelling as they may have been for human family member. Now that she is gone I still wonder if we did the best job we possibly could have for her considering she gave us an infinite amount. It's difficult to describe how close this relationship was or what huge differences she made in our lives. Or, how much time do you have? In both senses.
13. There are big differences between guide dog schools. The dogs they provide are different. The follow-up they provide is different. The financial support they provide the dog/ blind person is different.
The school we used has been in business since the
revolutionary war, is well-funded, and the dogs (labs and goldens) have been carefully bred through the generations. Clearly, they wanted dogs that were motivated by food.🙂
With this school, adopting a dog is like adopting a child. There is a social worker who interviews you a nurse who calls you. The social worker comes back yearly to check on the welfare of the dog. If anything ever happens that makes you unable to take care of the dog, they will see to it that the dog has a good placement. The dogs they provide are exquisitely trained. And during the time we had our dog they offered to pay for food and veterinary expenses so that the dog would be taken care of regardless of the person's income.
This school is in Colorado and California, but they cover all the costs of flying the person with visual impairment to their campuses for training, no matter where they are from. At the time we got our dog, it involved a month long course on their campus, complete with accommodations and great food, and customized to dietary orders. They paid for the round trip to and from the campus , the dog riding with the student on the return flight.
14. The dog offers great advantages with mobility. But it offers just as many or more with approachability. people that would never approach a blind person using a white cane, eagerly approach a blind person with a dog. It can totally transform one's social contacts. It is a chick magnet, a guy magnet, a young person magnet, an old person magnet and especially a dog person magnet.
Sometimes that can be a little much for the person and/ or the dog. So some people put signs on their dogs, discouraging petting or distraction.
15. I've heard it said that of guide dog owners approximately 50% sleep in the same bed as their dog. This is up to personal taste. But as one who comprised that 50%, I caution that this is one of the most important decisions you will make about your dog.
Dogs are bed hogs. It is quite possible that you will have your sleep interrupted in various ways if you sleep in the same bed as a dog.
16. You do not need to be completely blind to get a guide dog. You can still qualify even if you have some vision or vision in one eye. For a long time we did not realize this, and we would have gotten a dog sooner had we known. So it's good to spread the word about these dogs to anyone who has a serious level of visual impairment.
Hope this helps!
2. If your dog happens to be a Labrador retriever its default is to go wherever there might be food.
3. The life and health of a Labrador retriever as a guide dog is largely determined by your ability to keep him / her away from food. This is much more difficult than it sounds. Obesity causes hip dysplasia which which takes the dog out of commission as a guide dog.
4. The dog is smarter than you. The dog will find ways to get food from you that you cannot even anticipate.
5. If you live alone, it is quite likely that after some period of time, five or seven years, the dog will no longer be able to work as a guide. so you can either keep the dog as a pet and not have a guide or you can give the dog to someone who can take care of it in order to get another guide dog.
6. You may find this roughly analogous to or exactly like giving away your best friend.
7. If you have a spouse or someone else who happens to be sighted and is willing to help care for the dog, you may be able to keep the dog for longer. The dog may also be able to get more exercise,, which may keep it in condition and extend its career as a guide dog.
8. There are expenses associated with the dog.
9. It's hard to find a really good vet. When the dog is young it will be easier to take care of. It is harder to get good care for an aging dog. Taking care means brushing a dog and the dog's teeth every day cleaning out its ears frequently making sure it's nails are trimmed, protecting its feet from hot and cold conditions and from salt and ice. Mushers secret is one way to do this. it also means taking the dog to new environments when you can , because these dogs need enrichment. They need to smell new environments like we need to watch different movies or read different books.it means keeping up with obedience training to keep their skills sharp and letting them rest and sleep when they need to do that.
10. The dog is a family member. As someone said, like a toddler who is very smart and athletic, what time you have to check on quite frequently. A big responsibility.
11. It is very rewarding to have a guide dog, and it's good for your health, because you exercise more. But it may sometimes also be inconvenient.
The dog needs a good amount of exercise every day. In the rain, in the snow, and and when you would rather be sleeping. Twice a day is good and for a good distance. .
If possible, it is good to take them to new places for enrichment. Sniffing the same old area is like us reading the same book over and over.
They are creatures of routine. It is best to feed and relieve them at the same times every day.
It's true you have to deal with poop, but that becomes routine. It's also true that if you're totally blind your chance of finding the poop is next to nil.
It's true people will come up to you on the street, in Walmart, and at the airport and tell you about their dear departed dogs. That part didn't bother me. I'm a sucker for a good love story, especially one that involves a dog.
There are other inconveniences involved with having a guide dog but all of them pale next to that great inconvenience loving someone. Loving someone who can't talk has it's added challenges.
12. End-of-life issues were every bit as compelling as they may have been for human family member. Now that she is gone I still wonder if we did the best job we possibly could have for her considering she gave us an infinite amount. It's difficult to describe how close this relationship was or what huge differences she made in our lives. Or, how much time do you have? In both senses.
13. There are big differences between guide dog schools. The dogs they provide are different. The follow-up they provide is different. The financial support they provide the dog/ blind person is different.
The school we used has been in business since the
revolutionary war, is well-funded, and the dogs (labs and goldens) have been carefully bred through the generations. Clearly, they wanted dogs that were motivated by food.🙂
With this school, adopting a dog is like adopting a child. There is a social worker who interviews you a nurse who calls you. The social worker comes back yearly to check on the welfare of the dog. If anything ever happens that makes you unable to take care of the dog, they will see to it that the dog has a good placement. The dogs they provide are exquisitely trained. And during the time we had our dog they offered to pay for food and veterinary expenses so that the dog would be taken care of regardless of the person's income.
This school is in Colorado and California, but they cover all the costs of flying the person with visual impairment to their campuses for training, no matter where they are from. At the time we got our dog, it involved a month long course on their campus, complete with accommodations and great food, and customized to dietary orders. They paid for the round trip to and from the campus , the dog riding with the student on the return flight.
14. The dog offers great advantages with mobility. But it offers just as many or more with approachability. people that would never approach a blind person using a white cane, eagerly approach a blind person with a dog. It can totally transform one's social contacts. It is a chick magnet, a guy magnet, a young person magnet, an old person magnet and especially a dog person magnet.
Sometimes that can be a little much for the person and/ or the dog. So some people put signs on their dogs, discouraging petting or distraction.
15. I've heard it said that of guide dog owners approximately 50% sleep in the same bed as their dog. This is up to personal taste. But as one who comprised that 50%, I caution that this is one of the most important decisions you will make about your dog.
Dogs are bed hogs. It is quite possible that you will have your sleep interrupted in various ways if you sleep in the same bed as a dog.
16. You do not need to be completely blind to get a guide dog. You can still qualify even if you have some vision or vision in one eye. For a long time we did not realize this, and we would have gotten a dog sooner had we known. So it's good to spread the word about these dogs to anyone who has a serious level of visual impairment.
Hope this helps!
CloudyBeep 3 points 3y ago
In the best guide dog teams, the handler has above-average orientation and mobility skills. This is because with a cane, you can feel cues on the ground, but these disappear when using a guide dog. However, this is not to say that you shouldn't get a guide dog if your O&M skills aren't amazing—potential guide dog schools will tell you if you would be a good fit for a guide dog.
If you do a lot of international travel, a guide dog might not be a good option.
If you do a lot of international travel, a guide dog might not be a good option.
322lancer 1 points 3y ago
Having a guide dog takes a lot of responsibility. You also have to remember the dog is not perfect and will make mistakes. Service dogs are not robots and are living sentient beings. Getting a guide dog is a great choice, but it’s good to keep in mind that they also have thoughts and feelings and they have bad days too.
Bachelor-pad-72 1 points 3y ago
I myself choose not to have one because of the fact that I would have to care for it daily. Access is a big thing here, if you get denied access to shop or to a government office that would be a big deal and the establishment would be reprimanded. I would enjoy being more approachable to people however. Not right now in my life while I am a university student. Maybe when I have a steeady schedule.
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