Preparing for a Guide Dog

On this episode, we’re learning about what it takes to prepare for a guide dog. On episode 61, Canes vs. Guide Dogs, we learned how guide dogs are trained, now we’re going to hear from someone expecting a guide dog detail the process. After that, hear cool gift ideas for the upcoming holidays.

On this Podcast (In Order of Appearance)

• Narrator
• Sara Brown, APH Public Relations Manager
• Leslie Weilbacher, APH Outreach Specialist – Northwest Region
• Melisa Matthews, Digital Content Manager Family Connect
• Addie Tighe, College Student
• Joseph Hodge, APH Lead Technical Quality Assurance Analyst 

Additional Links 

• Guide Dogs for the Blind
• Guiding Eyes for the Blind
• Leader Dogs For the Blind
• Seeing Eye Dogs
• Feel n’ Peel Sheets, Carousel of Textures
• Graphic Art Tape
• LEGO Braille Bricks
•  Walk/Run for Fitness Kit
• Tactile Clothing Tape
• Talking GlowDice
• Accessible Code and Go Mouse
• Google Pixel Tablet
• RC Snap Rover Access Kit
• Chameleon 20

Transcript

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Narrator 0:00

<silence> Welcome to Change Makers , a podcast from a p h. We're talking to people from around the world who are creating positive change in the lives of people who are blind or have low vision. Here's your host.

Sara Brown 0:15

Hello and welcome to Change Makers . I'm APH's, Public Relations Manager, Sara Brown . And on this episode, we're learning about what it takes to prepare for a guide dog way back when. On episode 61, Canes Versus Guide Dogs, we learned how guide dogs are trained. Now we're going to hear from someone who just received her guide dog detail , the process. After that, we'll have a special holiday segment highlighting holiday gifts for people of all ages. Uh , first I have Leslie Weilbacher. Hello Leslie , and welcome to Change Makers.

Leslie Weilbacher 0:49

Thanks for having me.

Sara Brown 0:50

Okay. So my first question is, this podcast is about preparing for a guide dog, but just first, would you just like to share what it is that you do here at APH?

Leslie Weilbacher 1:01

Sure. Uh, as an Outreach Specialist, I support , uh, OTs train , uh, teachers of the visually impaired o&m specialists, anybody in the field , uh, with professional development and , um, act , you know, finding the right resources and learning how to use the products and implementing them in classrooms.

Sara Brown 1:25

And you were recently matched with a guide dog , but can you talk about how the process began?

Leslie Weilbacher 1:33

Well, that always starts with good orientation and mobility skills. <laugh>. Uh, you have to be a good traveler, a good independent traveler. You have to have places you're going. Um, I actually got my first guide dog , uh, my senior year of high school , uh, only because I was leaving campus to go to the community college a lot. So I had, I had a need and I had the, the skills to walk over and get on the bus and find my, find my right classroom on campus. Um, so always starting with , uh, good mobility skills. And then the next step is researching schools. Uh, it's, I liken it to researching colleges. You look at what each school offers and , um, you might reach out and ask questions, and then you'll fill out an application.

Sara Brown 2:29

Wow. So like researching colleges. That's true. It's a big decision. So we've talked about , um, training for guide dogs in the past, so we know they're trained extensively, but if you are the other half, is there any training that you have to go through? You said orientation and mobility, but is there anything else?

Leslie Weilbacher 2:47

Oh, absolutely. Uh, it's, it's not like you can , uh, open a box and take out a dog and go , uh, you have to learn the how to communicate with your dog. Uh, you have to learn what your dog signals mean in different situations. So typically , uh, an on-campus training program, for example, you'll go and stay several weeks. Uh , my program was two weeks , uh, on campus , ss starting early in the morning and going to the evening of feeding the dog and the dog's schedule and taking the dog out to relieve themselves. And , uh, learning how the dog pulls into the harness and how it feels when the dog stops at a curb or steps or pulls you around an obstacle or pushes you around an obstacle. Uh, there's the all important traffic training that , um, people tend to see from a distance and think that , uh, uh, people driving cars or intentionally trying to run over the blind people, but it's set up very carefully so that you can feel what your dog will do. If there is a situation where you misread that traffic and you tell your dog to go forward, but a car whips around a corner, the dog will, might pull you forward, might pull you back, might just stop and not let you go forward. It's gonna depend on the situation, and so you have to know what that feels like so that you , uh, can follow your dog's , uh, cues.

Sara Brown 4:30

Okay. And what about, what about at home? Okay, so you have a guide dog coming. Do you have to do any sort of preparation in your home for the dog?

Leslie Weilbacher 4:40

Oh, sure. They, they recommend you, like toddler proof , your home <laugh>. Um, you don't want there to be a lot , uh, um, easily accessed things that are highly tempting for a dog. So , um, you might keep your dog's food in a bin. Uh, you might make sure that there's not , uh, dangerous things that they might pick up and eat, might keep your cords for your computer , uh, carefully arranged. Uh, we , when you get a new dog, they're young too. They're still very young. And , um, dogs are dogs no matter how well trained they are, <laugh> . So you try to set yourself up for success in a , um, in a home environment as well.

Sara Brown 5:34

And do you have to show proof of certain things, like proof of a veterinarian and proof of a dog bed, or, I mean, what do you have to do , <laugh> ?

Leslie Weilbacher 5:42

Well, there's usually, so part of the application process is , um, often a home visit. So a guide dog mobility instructor will actually come to your home and and see that, and they might make recommendations like, "you know, this, this room's pretty crowded." "Are you going to put a crate?" "Are you gonna put a dog bed?" "Where do you envision your dog fitting into your life?" And try to work some of that out ahead of time.

Sara Brown 6:07

How long, how long do you feel it takes for you and the dog to be a good match? Is it, is it instant or is it something that just sort of develops? I mean, how does that work?

Leslie Weilbacher 6:17

You know, it's different with every dog. Um, I'm res I , I just received my, my fourth guide dog and , uh, my first one, I felt like it took six months. And I think part of that was I was young. I was trying to figure out how this dog fit into my life. Um, and then my, my next one, it was, it was much faster. I felt like after a month, I, I felt pretty solid. Uh , my third dog, I do feel like that was pretty instantaneous. Uh, and then this one, this one has been more emotional and challenging for me because I'm coming off of a dog that has , uh, that had died very suddenly and very young. And , um, I, I've been really trying not to hold my new dog to the same <laugh> , the same expectations that I, I had so readily with my other dog . So that's really been more on me than the dog. But now that we're at two months , uh, I'm really starting to feel like we're getting each other more and we're, we're understanding each other and , um, things are smoothing out.

Sara Brown 7:37

Well , that's good to hear. Things are smoothing out. But yeah , I feel like that's kind of, maybe with anything too, it's a little, you're getting to know each other and they're getting to know you too . Now. Um, what would happen if the dog, if you don't feel the dog is a good match, are you able to reach out to where you , where you received it from and explain what's going on and possibly try another dog?

Leslie Weilbacher 8:01

That's a , that's a really good question. So , um, they really work hard to identify if it's not the right match while you're still in training. Um, this has actually happened every time I've been in a class. There has been a dog switch. So , um, it'll, it , sometimes it's something very, very sudden, very, or very subtle, rather , um, uh, the, the pace match is, is just off. So the person walks faster than the dog, or the dog is walking faster than the person and , um, they can't , uh, match each other. So the pace match is off. So the, the person is walking too fast or the dog is walking too fast and they can't come to an agreement there. Um , the in class this last time, a dog , um, was having some, some , uh, medical issues that just cropped up suddenly. So they, they changed , uh, that dog for her. Uh, but there's always, at least the school that I went through, really strong field support. So , um, from day one I , from getting home, I've been able to call and say, "Hey, this situation has cropped up. I can't figure out what , uh, why we're struggling with this." And trainers will talk to me over the phone. I sent them videos, they gave me more advice. Um, a trainer can be sent out to work with me in person if it, if it's a , a , a bigger problem. Um, the , so they work really hard to make that match correct from the beginning. Um, but it does happen sometimes that it just, something just didn't work out. But they will work to either support the team to figure it out or trade dogs.

Sara Brown 10:04

Is there anything else that you have to do in that program? I don't know, walk with, I mean, aside from walking with, with the potential dog?

Leslie Weilbacher 10:12

Oh, so like during the training with the things we do ? Yeah , sure. So , um, they start you out slow because you're trying to get used to a new dog , um, trying to get the dog comfortable with you. Uh, so they try to really set the dog up for success in doing short, short routes in areas the dogs know really well, so the dogs already feel confident and now they've got this, this, you know, bumbling human that they don't know well attached to them. So they, you , you want, you want the dog to feel confident and get used to this person. Um, so first off, we start usually around campus. We'll start , um, just a , a quiet street right off campus , uh, that the dogs have been working on for their five months of, of in harness training. Then we'll move to , um, we usually go into a , a small town called White Plains. Well , it's not really a small town <laugh>, it's a bigger town than, than new Yorktown Heights, but it's , uh, uh, a bit busier of a town. But the dogs have had extensive training on very specific routes around this town. So again, that's, you're, you're upping the ante of distractions. You're upping the ante of complications, things the dogs have to pay more attention to. There's more traffic, there's more other dogs out. There's , um, more pedestrians. There's , uh, more things in the sidewalk for them to go around, like chairs and tables and lampposts. Uh, and then they start adding in more to that. So we'll go into some stores, we'll start doing some escalators. Um, we'll , one day we go into Manhattan, so we'll take the train into Manhattan and do the super crazy busy city and get the , um, the subway and , um, buses and , uh, the, all the construction that seems to constantly be happening in Manhattan, <laugh> . Um, so yeah, you, you start off slow and you build your dog up, and then they customize it to what your environment is like. So I live in a quiet neighborhood, but I travel a lot and I go into bigger cities. So we found some quieter neighborhoods and we practiced in those. And then we , um, we had some time where we did some , um, train platforms because I, I, I ride the train a lot, so it's, they've got your basics and then they customize it.

Sara Brown 12:47

Wow, that's really interesting to hear. That really is. So, yeah. So they're prepared for any situation with , you know, especially noise and overstimulation wise . Okay. So now I would love to know you've received your, your dog from the organization. Do you have to maintain contact with that organization, you know, just to let them know? Do they check in with you or do they do follow-ups ?

Leslie Weilbacher 13:13

Yes. Um, so they do follow ups , uh, uh, both as needed and as a , like at every other year, how are things going if they don't hear from you otherwise , um, but you also wanna stay in touch with them because , um, you can receive veterinary assistance. So , uh, just , just for basic , uh, veterinary costs, they assist with that. Uh, and if there is a bigger , uh, event, they, they have funds that you can access as well. Um, I, I like to stay in touch with them , uh, just because it's a, it's a good organization and , um, I made some great, great contacts while I was on campus. Um, they, they also ask , uh, as the dog gets older, that you stay more in touch with them just to make sure the dog is still safe guiding. Uh, some dogs work for quite a few years. Some dogs don't work as long. My first dog , uh, retired when she was seven because she just, she was done, she didn't want that responsibility anymore. Um, I've had my second dog worked until she was nine because she, she was game for it. But that's the conversation you can also have with the trainers there of , um, you know, I'm starting to feel like , uh, she's , uh, slowing down. I'm starting to feel like she's making a few more mistakes. Um, she's not as, as happy to get up in the morning and, and, and go to work. And then they will, they'll work with you through that process and possibly , uh, applying for your next dog and retiring your dog.

Sara Brown 15:08

Okay. That's another question that just popped into my mind. Retiring a dog. So if , if a dog is ready or sending the signs, so what signs would a dog send if they are ready to be retired?

Leslie Weilbacher 15:23

Um, again, it's gonna depend on your dog, and that's why it's so important to really know your dog and listen to your dog. Uh , my first dog, I pick up the harness and she's there and she's ready to go. Uh, when I started picking up the harness and she didn't get off her dog bed, it's like, Hmm , that might be a sign <laugh> . Um, we'll be out working and she'll just , she just started , um, like picking up a , uh, her back leg and shaking it like, I wonder what's going on there. It turned out she had arthritis mm-hmm . <affirmative> . So she was just uncomfortable working, and it really wasn't fair to ask her to continue to do that if she was uncomfortable. Um, even though she was still willing to work, it wasn't really fair to ask her to take care of me at the same time. Um, my , uh, my second dog still wanted to work even after she retired, however, she really couldn't work long days. I was working as a teacher, the visually impaired. I was traveling between a lot of schools. She was game for this up until a point. She would , um, walk four blocks to a school or a coffee shop, and then she'd be like, okay, mom, call an Uber <laugh>. Like, she, she, she couldn't keep up. She couldn't keep up with it anymore. She was getting older. She was getting tired. It was a lot of work. She was still very happy to work, but it wasn't, I was curtailing what I could do , um, to accommodate her. And then that affected how I did my job. So it, she's much happier now sleeping on my sofa, <laugh>.

Sara Brown 17:17

And that brings me to my one more follow-up question with that. So , if a guide dog retires, if a guide dog, guide dog is retired and just because they're tired or they're slowing down and older, do you still keep them or do they, do they go to another home where they is ? Or is there a organization so they can be , um, I guess partnered with somebody that handles retired guide dogs?

Leslie Weilbacher 17:43

Yeah, so it , uh, again, it's gonna depend on your situation. My first dog , I was living in an apartment, so I couldn't have a pet dog. Once they're retired, they are pets. So , um, she went to my parents , uh, I kept my second dog , uh, because I then had a house. I say I bought my house solely so I could keep my guide dog mm-hmm . <affirmative> . And , um, for some people, if that is not a situation that works for them or they don't have a friend or family member that wants to adopt the dog , um, you can contact the school and they will actually ask the puppy raisers first if they , uh, would like the dog. Uh, if the puppy raisers don't, then they put the dog up for open adoption. And they're very, very carefully screened applicants to , um, to adopt a retired guide dog.

Sara Brown 18:36

Oh , interesting. All right . Is there anything else you would like to share with us when it comes to preparing for a guide dog or be or about having a guide dog in general?

Leslie Weilbacher 18:47

Uh, having a guide dog in general. I , I'm an orientation and mobility specialist. I'm a really good cane user. I've taught canes. I love working with my guide dogs. I , but you have to be a strong cane user to get the most out of your dog. You have to be a strong traveler and be flexible and listen to your dog. It is a partnership. They, they take care of you and you take care of them.

Sara Brown 19:19

Alright , Leslie , thank you so much for coming on Change Makers today and talking to us.

Leslie Weilbacher 19:23

Absolutely. I'm happy to.

Sara Brown 19:26

And there are quite a few guide dog organizations that includes Guide Dogs for the Blind, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Leader Dogs for the Blind, and S eeing Eye D ogs. Please check t he Show Notes for links to those websites, and there are plenty more organizations out there as well. Now we're gonna shift gears and get some great gift inspiration for the holidays. It's that time of year where it's time to start thinking about what to get people for the holidays. And here at American Printing House for the Blind, we've got some suggestions for children and college students and all those who love anything tech. I've got three people here to share their thoughts on what would make a great gift this holiday season. Let's start off with a few products for those who have kids.

Melissa Matthews 20:16

Thank you so much, Sara. I'm Melissa Matthews, the digital content manager for families with the APH Connect Center. And I have three products that I think are absolutely fabulous for families. The first one is a Carousel of Textures that is a variety of different textures that I love to cut and add to board books or add to other books to give that texture and that feel to books that a lot of our students and children are needing. The second product is the Graphic Art Tape, which is a great one to add to a lot of the board games, to keep the pieces on the board and help your child move along the board and feel their way through a lot of the games that you play at home as a family. And finally, it is so exciting to be able to offer at the LEGO Braille Bricks. That is a product that I know secretly I've been hoping would be available to the public. And it is a perfect time to get those into the hands of children and your child and as a family to play and explore braille and Legos together in a fun setting at home. So those are my three suggestions from APH.

Sara Brown 21:26

And Melissa, can you just talk a little bit more about those LEGO Braille bricks? We know people love LEGO's, so the fact that we now have LEGO Braille Bricks available for commercial retail. Can you just talk a little bit more about what makes these stand out from the regular Legos?

Melissa Matthews 21:42

Absolutely. Um, what I love about them is, as a person who is teaching a child how to read braille, it does have the braille dots as well as the print next to it. So it is for both your sighted child as well as your child who might be learning and exploring braille to really support recognizing letters, numbers, and putting words together. Um, I love that they fit together on , they have a big gray slate , um, piece that they can use. And so you can again, follow and start working on that tracking, working left to right, top to bottom, creating words. And I think more importantly, my favorite part is when little ones are first starting to learn braille and you can put their name on that big Lego board and they can feel their name for the first time. It's really cool.

Sara Brown 22:32

Awesome. Thank you so much. Melissa. Addie, you're a college student. What do you like?

Addie Tighe 22:39

Thank you, Sara. Hi, my name's Addie Tighe. I am a college student. Um, and the first product that I would really think would most college students would really enjoy is the Walk Run for Fitness Kit. Um, as college students, we wanna stay healthy, we wanna avoid those Freshman 15, so having products that would allow us to be able to walk or run safer is amazing. Um, another product that I think would be really helpful for a lot of college students, and this one is not quite as fun, but I personally have used it and it's been really lifesaving, is Tactile Clothing Tape. So it's a way to keep our clothes a little bit more organized so we can know exactly what we're about to put on. And I like to dress to impress , so this has helped me stay a little bit more organized , uh, and I very much appreciate it. And then my third one I think would just be really great way to keep interactive when you are wanting to stay more involved and have more time with friends is the , uh, talking Glow Dice. Um, I know that all my friends and I love to play board games, and so this is just another way for me to be able to interact without having to cumbersome, ask someone to read the dice for me.

Sara Brown 23:44

Awesome. Addie. So talk a little bit more about that fitness kit real quick. Tell me a little bit more if you can.

Addie Tighe 23:49

Yeah, so the fitness kit has , um, specific types of like tethers and a few other clips as well as I think what would be used as like guidewire. So it's a way for you to be able to connect to a sided person who can walk or run beside you. Um, and that way they can guide you in a way that is safer than just running <laugh> running by yourself. Um, and then all the other additional stuff in the kit will help you run even more independently and safely , um, in a way to just stay more active.

Sara Brown 24:19

Awesome. And now Joe, tell us what's on your list for tech products.

Joe Hodge 24:25

Thank you, Sara. My name is Joseph Hodge. I am the Lead Technical Quality Assurance Analyst at APH. So on my list I got about four things this year. Uh, the first , uh, is the Code and Go Mouse. Uh , it's a really fun tool to sort of start learning coding. Uh, it's meant for children, particularly for coding, but as an adult I actually love playing with it because it's just, it's just fun. It's one of those toys I wish I had when I was a kid , uh, growing up totally blind. So , um, I think it's, it , it's fun for all ages. Um, the second would be , um, I seriously am wanting a Google Pixel Tablet. Um, they're relatively cheap. They come with a speaker doc. Uh, it kind of gets me playing with Android a little bit. Uh, so I think that's something that's on my holiday list. Uh, the third thing , um, would be the RC Snap Rover Kit sold by APH. Uh, this is a really cool thing where you can, it's a remote control rover. You build it , uh, it gives you instructions and you can actually , uh, make it kind of , uh, sort drive around your house. You know, you kind of have fun with it. So I I played with a lot during Covid , uh, and entertain me <laugh> , so that was fun. Uh, and the fourth thing , um, that I would recommend is I personally use the, our Chameleon. Uh, it's a little bit more , uh, you know, a pricey holiday gift, but it's one of those things that I connect and use on the go all the time. It's a 20 cell braille device , uh, and you can connect it to all of your technology, so your iPhone , uh, et cetera . And it's just a great way to sort of , uh, keep in touch with friends and, and write down ideas as they come

Sara Brown 26:08

And Code and Go Mouse. Talk real quick about how, how you use that.

Joe Hodge 26:12

So , Code and Go Mouse is a, you, you sort of have these little squares and you put them together and you have little coding cards. So , um, it'll, it'll kind of be a tactile graphic and it'll teach you how it'll say, you know, you can kind of feel how to build it. And so you put the squares together and then you put also have like little , uh, mazes up that the mouse has to go through and it starts on a square. You have to program it around the maze , uh, so it doesn't bump anything. And then there's a piece of cheese at the end that his nose hits and he will do a little squeak , uh, when that happens and you've completed your code. So it's, it's a , it's a lot more challenging than it sounds, but it's a lot of fun as well. And then you can also just, you know, drive the mouse around your house and , and annoy your cat, you know, whatever you wanna do, <laugh> .

Sara Brown 26:58

I love it. All right , Melissa, Addie and Joe , thank you all so much for sharing your gift ideas with me.

Joe Hodge 27:05

Thank you so much for having us.

Melissa Matthews 27:07

Thank you.

Sara Brown 27:08

Thank you.

Leslie Weilbacher 27:09

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Change Makers . I've put links to various guide dog agencies if you're interested in pursuing a guide dog, as well as some of the gifts mentioned in that holiday segment. As always, be sure to look for ways you can be a change maker this week.