What's wrong with the guide dog schools
This article I feel only begins to hint at the issues surrounding the guide dog schools.
I personally have attended 4, yes, 4 of them and have been met with ridicule. I've had dogs taken for no reason what so ever. I've had dogs taken because the dog had allergies, even though we were a perfect match and I told the school I was fine with treating her allergies. I've had dogs bite myself, and trainers at the program. I've had a dog with cancer, a dog who peed and pooped in public everytime we went out, stopped in the middle of streets. I've had a dog who had thyroid problems, and an eye problem that left her nearly blind at times. I've had a dog that was placed in class, who was limping and 2 weeks later found to have a Luxating Patella. I've had a dog who tried to kill our cat to the point he got his head stuck in the cat door. I've had a dog who was diagnosed with kidney failure, when returned to the school, they claimed she did not have kidney failure even though blood work and urine samples showed it, and she was urinating on walks and inside her crate despite being taken out properly by myself and the staff at the school. They told me they had a second match and in front of many students when I asked after the first dog they told me they had renamed her and were giving her to someone else. I've had dogs that were so dog aggressive they had to have a prong collar. I've had school staff tell me I should lose weight because I'm too fat to have a guide dog. I've had school staff tell me guide dogs can't be around small children. I also happen to know that every single guide dog school feeds low quality dog food. I'm not sure if its cost, or if they have contracts with the dog food companies, but they feed food filled with corn and byproducts. I've been in class and witnessed other clients who couldn't even put the harness on the dog without help, clients who litterally beat the dog, but the dog was issued because the clients country had paid the school for the dog. I've witnessed favoritism. I've wittnessed the schools telling clients they'd better accept what they got and keep quiet about the dogs issues or they'll remove it and send them home. I was issued a dog with allergies. I told the school I was fine with her. They took her anyway, then told me I was too fat. They then placed a second dog. This dog wouldn't even pull into the harness. They had myself and 2 instructors attached to her, pulling her down the sidewalk. After this horrifying walk, they informed me they were taking her too and had booked my plane tickets the day before because they knew she wouldn't have worked out in the first place.
I've seen a dog who was issued to me who was fearful of vacuums and men. To the point of aggression. I've seen dogs in class who were so aggressive the trainers had to restrain them because they'd try to bite other dogs in class. I've seen a dog issued to someone who fed it table scraps and let it pee and poop inside the school on purpose, jump on the furniture, and bark its head off. In a class of 6, 3 dogs were switched out, 1 for biting a kitchen staff, 1 for biting an instructor when the handeler fell, and 1 for being aggressive to its handeler. I've seen people go into training and be matched with up to 4 dogs in 1 class before the right match is found or they are sent home without a dog at no fault of there own. I've seen dogs get injured and the school says they provide vet assistance tell the handeler its their problem. I've seen so much that it breaks my heart knowing that so many dogs are going through this. If they are 5 and under and something doesn't work with the first, or second, or third, etc. person, they just rename them and hand them to someone else, no matter what's wrong with the dog. I've seen it happen. I don't know if all the schools are like this, but I can speak to experiences with at least 8 of them. I fully understand why more and more folks are training there own dogs, saving and paying for private trainers, many of which are guide dog instructors who have left, or have been fired from schools for speaking there minds, or simply doing without a guide when a guide could help there lives in so many ways. I know some folks have wonderful experiences, and I'm happy about that, but the ratio to good/bad with the schools isn't good. Most schools don't even transfer ownership upon graduation and if they do its usually conditional, meaning they can come take the dog even though you supposedly own it for any reason they dream up.
Anyway here's the article, and I'm sorry for this huge rambly post. I have a heart for animals, and especially for those who are trained to assist. These dogs litterally lay down there lives for their handelers. They take the handelers life into there paws on a regular basis and do it willingly and happily. I think the blind people, and the dogs in question should be treated a little better. I think there should be more room for custom task training. I believe each and every guide dog should have to pass the AKC puppy STAR, the AKC CGC, and the AKC CGCA to start with.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen- … 35686.html
_______________________________________________ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
