Category: Animal House
Hi OK this is my first post on the boards. I've read them for a while and read a lot of bad
things about Pilot Dogs and a LOT more bad things about Pilot Dogs, everything from
stories about their dogs being vicious to relieving indoors everywhere they go.
I know there are bad stories. But after my current guide retires (which I hope is a
hundred years from now) I want to attend a guide dog school for my next guide. My dog
right now is privately trained and an amazing guide dog, a male Golden Retriever.
But I've always wanted to apply to and go to Pilot if they accept me. Maybe it's because
I'm so close to the campus that I've always known about them, so the school is just
foremost in my mind. I also love their harnesses and everyone I've talk to who works
there so far has been really helpful and kind. I've never had a bad experience being
around one of their handlers and dogs.
I don't think people would keep donating if the program was so horrible. OK I'll get to my
point, haha, I talk too much. OK my questions are: Is there anyone with a good
experience from Pilot Dogs? Do they work with people with moderate hearing loss? Is the
campus really in that dangerous of a part of Columbus? Is the campus safe? Do they place
many Golden Retrievers? Can you request a breed (I would request a Golden if I could)?
What makes Pilot so bad that people will just dismiss it as the worst school in the U.S.?
I just want to learn, can anyone help? Maybe the school will change in the many many
many years before my current dog retires, but what makes it so bad right now? Also, I
know how they do traffic training and it doesn't bother me. I don't need to have "set up"
traffic checks when they occur on a daily basis in the city!
Thank you very much.
I've seen both good and bad dogs come from there, and of course, just because I got a bad impression of the dog, it doesn't mean it's entirely the dog's fault. The handler also plays a part.
I've never been there, but as another outsider looking in, I'll tell you what I've heard. Many years ago, they were too rough on their dogs, slamming them in to the floor and the likes. People complained, so they went to the other extreme and were way too soft for a while. Both of these impressions were from several years ago though, so I have no idea how they opporate now, and what I have heard may not even be completely accurate.
As far as requesting a breed, I personally find it to be limiting. The instructors make a living out of training and matching dogs, so I figure they have a lot more experience than I do. I tell them what I need and what I want, then allow them to make the decision. That's a simple matter of personal preference, though.
I hope your current guidedog lasts at least 50 years! Putting my guidedog to sleep was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but for her sake, I had to do it.
if you really want to learn about various schools, they all have web sites. everyone thinks theirs is the best. look up the facts and then you can make an informed decision. obviously it sounds like your mind is made up and you just want support on your decision.
Nope, I don't just want support, I want honesty.
Of course each school is going to promote itself on its own website: looking for truth,
that's it.
I appreciate Devilish Anthony's reply a lot, it is very honest.
Turricane, I'm asking to learn. Things may have changed since the last Pilot thread. If I
just wanted support I'd just shut up.
I will tell you that my first experiences with dogs from the Pilot school were not good. I had just moved to college with a dog from another school, and my first or second day there, we were attacked by a Pilot dog. Two months later, the university has barred the dog from coming to school, and it ends up in court ETC. Fast forward to court, and two or three of us who had had run ins with the pilot dog, show up with dogs from other schools, and the dogs all sat and behaved nicely during the court hearings. While all three dogs from pilot (the dog in question and two supporters) were for lack of a better word kicked out of court. In the end, as I recall, the courts backed the universities decision not to allow the dog on campus, and subsequent appeals were upheld. This was 17 years ago, so I'm certain things could have changed.
Years later my trainer at the dog school that I attended trained at pilot for 20 years or so prior to moving to the school I attended. While he thought the dog stock at Pilot was decent, he thought some of the training methods were not modern and often led to unprepared guides. Again, this was in 07ish, so older experiences but enough to make you wonder..
In the in, if you determine you can get a quality guide there, go for it. All schools have problems, and I personally don't think any school is a perfect school, rather it might be perfect for your particular situation.