[nagdu] statement re: ownership and qeustions re: schoolspolicies

[Charlene Ota]

When I trained with my dog at Guide Dogs Victoria, we used food in specific
situations as well.  That was new for me, too.  One of the main times that I
experienced using a piece of kibble was when showing the dog something you
wanted him to find like a bus stop pole or the pole for the crosswalk button
at a crossing you will be using frequently.  We would use a piece of kibble
once or maybe twice for things like that and then after that we just use
lots of praise. Since I hardly ever remember to put a couple pieces of
kibble in my pocket, most of the time I just use praise with my boy and it
works just fine now that we're a team. If I do have food in my pocket it
kind of distracts him as he smells it and is very aware of it.

Charlene 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Jenine Stanley
Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2009 4:19 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: Re: [nagdu] statement re: ownership and qeustions re:
schoolspolicies

Merry, 

I can answer the GDf food question for you. 

We do not use food in most training situations, i.e., daily class work. We
do introduce the use of food for solving problems or teaching certain
behaviors, along with how not to use food and the fact that food should be
tapered off in favor of praise. 

Some instructors may, with some teams, use food or even introduce the
clicker, for specific issues, but it's not part of overall class training. 

I too was one of those people who thought I'd never use food to train or
reinforce a dog as it was bad. Used correctly, in moderation rather than a
sole motivating force, food can be very helpful in stimulating interest or
redirecting until you can get a behavior really cemented. 

I now use food, just regular pieces of kibble, though I do sometimes use
higher value treats, ones that are smellier, richer, etc., in new places
because Swap sometimes has lapses in confidence and I really want him to get
that yes, he did well. 

I don't necessarily think, personally, that using food during training is
bad. I think relying on it as a way to motivate a dog who otherwise isn't
interested in work may not be the best way to go but that's a whole
different discussion.  


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