This page serves as host to my dog guide blog as well as the dog guide FAQ. If you’ve come looking to read about my experiences as a dog guide user, please scroll past the dog guide FAQ categories.
Dog Guide FAQS
I worked with dog guides from 1991 until September, 2014, then returned to work with dogs in 2018. As of January, 2020, I am working with my seventh dog. During my years of traveling with dog guides, I have had opportunities to speak to groups of people of all ages about what it is like to work with a dog guide. I also answered a lot of questions from people as I was out and about doing things like eating at restaurants, shopping, etc. I thought it might be fun and useful to put some of the answers to questions people ask most often up on the Web so that readers might have the chance to find out some interesting things. I often got lots of questions from children; so I try to write these pages with children in mind. I hope that my writings will benefit other dog users as well as members of the community who encounter people working with dog guides.
The most important question: What are the laws about service dogs and public access? This link is to the ADA regulations regarding service animals. If you are looking for answers regarding what animals are legally recognized in public spaces as service animals, whether an entity can charge a fee for access, etc, look here.
If you have a question you’d like me to answer on my site, please post a comment and I’ll do my best to answer it. If you are a teacher and your class would like to put a list of questions together, you can also email me.
The FAQ is broken up into categories. Please follow the links for answers to types of questions about special topics.
Dog Guide Training
Dogs at Home
Dogs at Play
Dogs on the Street and on the Plane
dog guides and public perceptions
FAQs under development:
dogs at work
dogs and retirement
fun stories
On travel while at ITD: reflections after day 1
Tuesday June 27th, 2023 09:58:19 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
My dog continues to act like a travel guru who has had thousands of hours of travel even though we spent two and a half years doing nothing but doctors’ offices after our first academic conference. Perhaps going out of state to the eye specialist has its advantages. I brought a roll-up dog bed, and […]
Travels 2023: ITD – arrival
Monday June 26th, 2023 06:32:01 AM sarah
I think I have followed the Institute on Theology and Disability since quite early in their online presence. It has been a dream of mine for quite some time to attend a conference and participate actively. In 2020, I had a paper accepted and looked forward to presenting. The conference was canceled that year because […]
Traveling without a Guide Dog: Experience with Cane and Walker
Friday October 14th, 2022 01:52:09 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Earlier this week I fell and fractured my heel. I am using a walker during my recovery and my dog guide is on vacation. That is background for this post. I have written a lot about my travels with dog guides. This week I feel it is important to write some things about how we […]
My Dog Is Not Your Friend
Sunday June 13th, 2021 11:34:23 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Now that we are all vaccinated, my husband and I went with a friend to have dinner at a restaurant tonight. We were not surprised when we had to wait to be seated. We were surprised by two things. One was the number of people who stopped on their way to the courtesy stand in […]
Dog Number 7
Tuesday January 14th, 2020 11:55:22 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
My most recent posts about dog guides were made during the fall of 2018, while I was training with my sixth dog, Pepper. I enjoyed helping sighted readers of my Facebook feed learn about my training experiences and how Pepper worked; but at home I abandoned my blogging project despite good intentions. Therefore, today I […]
Helping the Scaredy-Cat and the New Dog Adjust
Sunday November 11th, 2018 12:38:33 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
One of the cats, Kira, has had a great terror of dogs for several years. Kevin and I have been concerned about how she would handle Pepper’s homecoming. Kira’s phases of adjustment to the dog in the house: Thursday homecoming: shaking in terror but allowed me to hold her while Pepper sat at my side […]
Pepper At Home: Breakfast Time
Saturday November 10th, 2018 02:01:28 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
: Updates from home: During training, Pepper learned how she was expected to behave in the environment we lived in. It was a very “sterile” environment. There was no kitchen, no external responsibilities other than the work that I took with me, no unexpected things intruding on our planned training routine, etc. There were two […]
Pepper Homecoming
Friday November 9th, 2018 02:47:55 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
We are home. Pepper did not like flying on United Express. We were right over the wheel on a 50 passenger plane, and whenever the wheel goes up or doen it creates a great vibration that is quite unpleasant. Pepper flies under the seat in front of me, and all my carry-on items go in […]
Pepper Training: Hospital Visit
Wednesday November 7th, 2018 01:48:10 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
this morning Pepper and I will be visiting a hospital. Not because we like to frequent such places, but because sometimes in the course of my life it becomes necessary for me to be there with people whom I love and, once in a while, for my own benefit. It is easier at such times […]
Pepper Training: Strolling Around
Monday November 5th, 2018 02:53:40 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
I took two trips today. In the morning we did what is called country work. Technically there is no “country” involved. This simply refers to working in places where there is no sidewalk. The person and dog walk on the left side of the road, against the traffic just as a sighted person should, and […]
Pepper Training: Preparing for Home
Thursday November 1st, 2018 02:11:24 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
Note: I shared the followign on Facebook, where many local friends, family, and colleagues follow me. It hreceived much positive feedback and I have decided to post it as a public post in case it is useful. This is a post that I wrote personally and is different from the letter that the school sends […]
Pepper Training: Dog Distractions and Dog Fears
Wednesday October 31st, 2018 02:57:28 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
Tomorrow my partner and I will do our last formal route together. This is not a complicated route for me. It has streets with turn lanes, one intersection with cars coming from the left that are supposed to stop but often don’t, and one intersection with a walk sign that must be activated by the […]
Pepper Training: First Route Done
Monday October 29th, 2018 03:37:47 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
We are done with our first route. Today my partner and I walked the route without guidance from the instructor. This meant that not only did we have to remember all the instructions for walking through this place where we don’t live, which we have only been learning for the past three days, but anything […]
Pepper Training, Day 3
Friday October 26th, 2018 08:29:34 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Today Pepper and I worked as partners with another classmate and her dog. We walk several blocks, then turn and walk one block over, walk back around the blocks we have just walked and return home. Essentially we are making a giant rectangle. Along the way, we negoatiate lots of things: different types of intersections […]
Pepper Training, Day 2
Thursday October 25th, 2018 03:29:36 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Pepper and I are hard-working girls!!! According to the app on my phone, I am walking 3-4 miles/day. Some of this includes the distance in the building. The routes are about a mile. We do one in the morning and one in the afternoon. There is at least one lecture each day about some aspect […]
New Mystery Dog
Wednesday October 24th, 2018 03:41:21 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
This is Pepper. A very cute little black lab. She has a wonderful personality. Gives her paw. Loves to give hugs. Loves to receive pets. Slept under my desk while I have a meeting right after receiving her. I think I’m going to like this dog!
Stepping into the Terrifying
Thursday May 17th, 2018 11:40:02 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Many years ago, my life was altered in a way that was both wondrous and terrifying. In order to reach the wondrous, I needed to conquer the terrifying. As I began to step my feet on the road to do this God sent the best people into my path every step of the way to […]
In Memory of Loretta
Saturday March 11th, 2017 12:45:58 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
People often speak about the bond between a dog who travels with its blind person as if the dog experiences all the things the blind person does. I don’t personally subscribe to this theory–my dogs have all had minds of their own, slept through my classes, walked away while I was preaching so they could […]
To the Dogs and Beyond 11: Would I Ever Like to Drive?
Tuesday March 1st, 2016 12:00:33 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Today’s post is a bit of a departure from my stories about my experiences with dog guides. Part of my goal for this series was to communicate about travel and things that affect me as a blind person who travels. That is something I want to do today. During my adult life, I have taken […]
To the Dogs and Beyond 10: My Humbling
Monday February 29th, 2016 12:00:43 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Many people report that their confidence increases as they begin to travel widely with their first dog guide. My experience was no exception as Elli and I came home from training and went about our routines. I am not convinced that the increase in confidence had everything to do with Elli. A good deal of […]
To the Dogs and Beyond 09: Elli’s Great Distraction
Monday February 22nd, 2016 12:00:31 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
While I was in training with Elli, I decided to solve the problem of my voice loss by teaching her to work in response to hand signals only. During times when we were not practicing routes, we walked around the building, and I gave her hand signals corresponding to my verbal commands, praising her with […]
To the Dogs and Beyond 08: The Great Nap
Saturday February 20th, 2016 12:00:55 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Elli and I spent one year at Anderson University, the college I had attended during the year prior to my training. This year was very challenging. Elli developed some stress-related illness, and I struggled with loss of my vision which eventually required surgery. For my third year of college, I transferred to a large college […]
To the Dogs and Beyond 07: The Tree
Friday February 19th, 2016 12:00:08 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
My neighborhood was fairly quiet; and Elli and I could walk on residential sidewalks most of the time. Elli had to learn to ignore toads, which were plentiful in Texas during the summer. With my cane, I never thought about toads. With Elli, I knew about every toad we encountered–at least, until she learned to […]
To the Dogs and Beyond 06: Elli and the Cat
Thursday February 18th, 2016 12:00:32 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Training with a dog guide has evolved in many ways over the last 25 years. Schools have addressed discipline techniques so that the relationship focuses on preventing distractions and rewarding positive behaviors. New strategies for traffic work have been introduced so that dogs are able to work effectively in our society’s complex environment. Additionally, The […]
To the Dogs and Beyond 05: The Parking Lot
Wednesday February 17th, 2016 12:00:53 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Training was not always a smooth experience. It is very intense; and I struggled with a great fear of failure. I realize now that this is a common experience for people who are training with their first dogs. Some people talk about it openly, and some hide it deep inside. I hid my fear. for […]
To the Dogs and Beyond 04: What a Big Mouth You Have
Tuesday February 16th, 2016 12:00:10 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
After lunch on Sunday afternoon, all students retired to their rooms. No, this was not an afternoon siesta. It wasn’t even quiet. For me, it felt a bit like a strange game of hide and seek, except that I wasn’t allowed to do any seeking. I heard instructors walking around the halls, accompanied by panting […]
To the Dogs and Beyond 03: Waiting for Dog
Monday February 15th, 2016 12:00:00 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Today, social media makes it easy to know who is doing what in dog training. People can easily follow the progress of a friend or family member who chooses to post updates on Facebook or in a blog. The Seeing Eye installed a technology center in 1994 so that students could access reading machines and […]
To the Dogs and Beyond 02: Into the Lion’s Den
Monday February 15th, 2016 01:03:29 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
My first class date at The Seeing Eye was scheduled for July, 1991. I was notified in January, and I was comfortable that I had plenty of time to prepare. My second semester at Anderson University ended in early May, and I took a trip to visit a friend for a few days. When I […]
To the Dogs and Beyond 01: Stepping Out of Dog Fear
Sunday February 7th, 2016 10:27:14 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Twenty-five years ago, I did something that changed my life. I did not realize at the time how much it would change me; and maybe it changed the people around me. During the last few months, I have realized that it continues to change me even though things are very different now. So it is […]
Dog Meets Cats
Monday January 19th, 2015 05:36:19 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
My house was a very happy dog/cat home for 23 years. Obviously, I did not have the same dogs and cats for all of that time. As I have been a member of both dog and cat communities and seen the same question come up often, I thought that it might be helpful to know […]
thoughts on news articles about guide dogs
Wednesday December 18th, 2013 09:41:56 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
There is an article circulating in the news media about a guide dog who rescued his owner from subway tracks after the owner passed out and fell from the platform. Whenever articles are published regarding dog guides and accidents, there are always a host of questions and misconceptions that follow. In this case, the dog […]
learning curves
Tuesday August 20th, 2013 04:22:17 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Please pardon the lengthy silence between entries. Life in the LaRose household has been busy as Kathie continues to adjust to her new environment and little Kira grows like a weed. I have not had a kitten in the house in ten years, and I have forgotten much of what it is like to raise […]
3 weeks home
Tuesday July 30th, 2013 11:06:59 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Kathie is approaching the mark of her third week home. She continues to do well with brief periods off leash. She is extremely excitable, and I am learning to recognize when she is reaching her limit of tolerance for stimulation. She needs these periods of fun and exercise, but it will be some time before […]
day 5 home
Tuesday July 16th, 2013 08:15:24 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Kathie is a very, very exuberant dog. She loves everything and wants to be a part of everything all at once! The other day, I stepped out of the office while she was on the tie down to get something from the kitchen. When I came back (about 30 seconds later), she began dancing and […]
day 4 at home
Monday July 15th, 2013 09:07:19 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Kathie and I have had a big weekend. In case that sounds too exciting, I should say that it really means we have been working hard on in-house behavior. She has had several brief periods off leash, during which we have played hard until she has become tired. Once she has become tired (and much […]
day 1 home
Saturday July 13th, 2013 02:45:53 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
Kathie’s first day home has been less eventful in some ways than her days at The Seeing Eye were. On the other hand, adjusting to a new environment is hard work. She is learning to not chase after the cats–that in itself is a very big job. She was rewarded this evening by Sierra giving […]
day 18
Thursday July 11th, 2013 08:57:53 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Kathie is a phenomenal flyer! I don’t usually sit in bulkhead seating–my legs are too short to drape over a sprawled dog, and the only benefit ends up being a queen-size seat for a dog that is well trained to snuggle up in small spaces. Today I took the bulkhead after being bothered about it […]
day 17
Wednesday July 10th, 2013 05:34:25 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
I am sittting in the lounge, waiting to go on my last trip. We will be walking through one of those roped-off mazes that is used to direct a line toward a counter. These can be hard for dogs because the dogs want to go under the ropes or bars instead of following them like […]
day 16
Wednesday July 10th, 2013 12:40:25 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
We are winding down to home-going, and Kathie is one tired little dog. She is having a rest in the room this evening while I am in the lounge with a cup of hot tea writing this post. It is hard to believe that training is almost over. I will keep blogging after our arrival […]
day 15 trips
Monday July 8th, 2013 08:58:12 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
This morning, we walked around on the campus of Drew University to see how the dogs would do with walking in areas where sidewalks intersect at random. My work at Drew was a big different from the work my trip mates did. They practiced orientation, coaching, and soloing through a planned route such as from […]
day 14: bonus post
Sunday July 7th, 2013 05:36:01 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
I am up late writing tomorrow’s post in advance. Tomorrow we have the whole day off, and I am planning to do some serious resting and reading. I have put up a page as part of the dog guide FAQ that includes questions about dog guide training. One question turned into a long answer; and […]
day 13
Saturday July 6th, 2013 10:23:05 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
I am beginning to make the first preparations for my and Kathie’s home-going, which will occur on Thursday morning. I don’t like to pack everything all in a rush; so I am gathering things slowly, sorting them into what I can pack and what I will need for the next few days, etc. Today and […]
day 12
Saturday July 6th, 2013 10:24:21 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
Yesterday was a very hot day; so we did our morning trip early and our afternoon trip inside. For our morning trip, we walked around some streets that have angled intersections and islands in the middle of the street. Kathie handled them remarkably well. My dislike for them did not improve, and I’m glad that […]
day 11 catch up
Friday July 5th, 2013 10:58:03 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
I have had a rough couple of days and have been resting during much of my off time. Please forgive the lack of blog entries. I wrote on Facebook that if I had planned to train my dog in a sawna, I would have gone to find one. The heat and humidity has been very […]
day 8
Monday July 1st, 2013 10:50:36 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
Today Kathie and I meet our personal match: my left knee pain. It kept me awake last night and made me walk oddly this morning. On the way out to the relief area, I heard someone say that it would be rainy all day. I replied, “Pfui.” That is a habit I should break… Kathie […]
day 7: solo route
Sunday June 30th, 2013 01:53:54 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
In working with Kathie, one of the hardest balances for me to maintain is the delicate balance between my control over our travel and my trust in her work as guide along the path we take in getting toward our destination. Before I can train with a dog, I must have the ability to travel […]
day 6
Sunday June 30th, 2013 10:43:38 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
Kathie and I walked one route in the morning yesterday and had a visitor in the afternoon. My uncle took a video of us while he was here so that our friends could see her doing a tiny bit of work. Mostly they will see her hamming it up for the camera when he tries […]
a little good ribbing
Saturday June 29th, 2013 01:54:57 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
Our route today is four blocks long, then we turn left, repeat the four blocks, turn left, come back around the one block, turn left again, and go about halfway down the first block to the training center. It is not a hard route, but I developed some strategies to remember the names of the […]
day 5
Saturday June 29th, 2013 11:03:04 AM Sarah Blake LaRose
Kathie and I are now in the phase of training in which we walk routes in a downtown area with various kinds of intersections. Some are controlled by lights, some by stop signs at one corner, and some by four-way stop. I make traffic judgments at all these intersections, and Kathie negotiates the traffic so […]
day 4: walks and Kathie’s picture
Thursday June 27th, 2013 08:55:41 PM Sarah Blake LaRose
I was tired last night and more interested in posting details than figuring out how to post a pic, so I guess you all got to experience meeting a dog the way that I do: finding out that she has lots of personality and is very fluffy. Now I will post a picture and put […]
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