[nagdu] Missing guide dog found struck by car

[Ann Chiappetta]

Hi Meghan;
I, too, have trained Ro this way after we trained with the long lead. Now 
she is great off-leash. So is my other dog. When we camp or go to a friend's 
home, I know she will not wander off and if she does, she will come when 
called. I am still cautious, however, and, if I think she will be tempted by 
another dog or person, she goes on my lead. But so far Ro has shown great 
manners in all things.
Annie and Ro
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Meghan Whalen" <meghan at n-republic.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 20, 2009 8:07 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Missing guide dog found struck by car


> One of the first things I teach my dogs when they come home is offleash 
> recall.  You never know when your dog will slip out the door, you'll drop 
> the leash/harness or who knows what else.  I trust my dogs offleash in my 
> back yard.  No my yard is not fenced.  I stay out there with them, and 
> they know their boundaries.  I have a 20 ft training lead, and we start 
> with that.  When they willingly recall on that in one area, then we 
> progress to offleash.  All dogs from the school I attend come home knowing 
> come, but they really are only taught on leash.  I don't find come on 
> leash to be a terribly impressive skill, honestly.  You can get any dog 
> that is onleash to come.  After the two weeks of onleash time are up when 
> we first return home, I keep treats with me and call my dog at random 
> throughout the day.  At first, whenever she comes, she gets a treat.  As 
> time progresses, she gets that treat less and less often, and in time, she 
> reliably comes to me.
>
> This is how I do it, and I don't want any lectures.  There is a common 
> saying among dog trainers, and I think it carries over to dog handlers.
>
> About the only thing that four dog trainers will agree on is that the 
> fifth one is doing it wrong.
>
> Take care,
> Meghan
>
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