Category: Animal House
Hi guys! I noticed this board has a plethora of guide dog related topics, so I
thought it would be a really nice place to post one of my own. I'm in the
process of researching three different guide dog schools, Guide Dog
Foundation, Guide Dogs of the Desert, and the Seeing Eye. The reason for
these ones in particular is they have poodles, and I'm allergic to everything
else sadly. And here's the thing, TSE and GDD have both told me that the wait
for a poodle could be up to 5 years because of the high demand for the breed
due to allergies. I found that quite shocking. GDF is a better wait, but only
accepts a few students at a time onto the waiting list for poodles. Do you guys
think the wait could really be this enormously long? GDD said I could get a dog
faster then average due to the fact that I handle big dogs regularly and travel
a lot by myself anyway, so I won't need such a specialized temperament in my
dog and finding a match will be easy. But I just don't know. And does anyone
on here have any particular experience with any of these schools. I would love
to hear your stories.
Thanks guys,
Skye
I personally went to guiding eyes, but from what I have seen yes, most schools don't breed them much and the ones they do breed are usually snatched up. So to aanswer your question the wait time is true. I am not going to comment on what I think about each school, that is a totally new thread in itself, but I would not only take into account the wait time, but ask around to many different people who have attended these schools to see witch type of training suits you, as well as the over all reputation of the school, as some are better than others. Hope this helps.
Here is a secret that you may not know. It isn't certain breeds that are hypoallergenic, it's individuals and some schools do testing so they can give a individual hypoallergenic dog to a person who needs one. That is why the use of poodles and poodle mixes is dropping in the guide dog industry among other reasons such as the low pass rate for many poodles due to their people pleasing tempraments that make intelegent disobedience difficult for some of that breed. In other words, ask a few different schools about the hypoallergenic test and see what you get.
Hello:
Usually, when applying for a dog, regardless of which breed you are requesting, the wait time can be as short as 6 months and as long as a year. In terms of the reputation of each school, all have their advantages, as well as their disadvantages.
For example, when I obtained my first dog in June, 2012, I ventured to Guiding Eyes; while the training was excellent, there were certain commands that were not emphasized at this school. First and foremost, Guiding Eyes failed to cross-train their dogs--so if someone needed their dog to perform an additional task such as responding to an alarm, the instructors basically told me this was impossible. Next, the two other commands that Guiding Eyes does not teach is for their dogs to find a chair, nor the follow command. The chair command is extremely helpful, as my dog from the Guide Dog Foundation can 9 times out of 10 find me one. The following command comes in handy, especially in airports. You just tell the dog to "follow", keep he/she engaged either by snapping or clapping, and they will pursue the other person. Honestly, both Guiding Eyes and GDF are excellent schools; it is dependent upon which philosophy you like better in regards to training. Personally, I like Guide Dog Foundation a little better, but this is just my opinion. HTH,
Nathan.
Yes poodles from schools are harder to obtain, and it can take a while. I'm a TSE grad myself.