[nagdu] Food rewards with clicker training / Ambulance Transport

[Tamara Smith-Kinney]

Mardi,

Good grief!  Tucson does not sound the heart of enlightenment, for sure!  I
know what you mean about getting a lawyer, though.  I am having that same
problem in trying to find some sourt of recourse against the OCB (commission
for the blind).  Ugh!  Now that I've managed to get the means to get the
treatment I need, I am on the road to wellness again and am thinking how
best to use my case to raise awareness and bring about change, but the
chances of getting any sort of restitution for the real financial lossess
I've suffered are looking pretty small.   Must say, I feel very shaken when
I attempt to discuss the matter and run up against the attitude that I
should be more grateful for all they've done for me (????!!!), with the
clear implication that I am just nutty to suggest that these people are
under any obligation to follow the law, fulfill their obligations and
commitments or anything like that.  I'm just shocked to discover the extent
to which some people -- far too many, although 3 would be too many --
consider the disabled to be nonpersons these days and can't even see the
need to consider that preconception.  Bah!  All we can do is what we can to
effect positive change in those attitudes over time, which is what we all do
in NAGDU and the NFB.  I'm just new at it, so the more unplesant realities
really rain on my parade!

Good luck with your hearing on the 5th!  Keep up the good work.

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Mardi Hadfield
Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2009 8:55 PM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nagdu] Food rewards with clicker training / Ambulance Transport

Hi every one,   I use clicker training with food rewards when teaching
obedience and task training. I do not use it when the dog progresses to
harness guide training. Nala is not food motivated, and if she has eaten
breakfast, she may accept a few treats (not kibble) and then turn her nose
up for any more treats.  She responds to my praise far better than food.
She loves it when I tell her that she is a good girl and how special I think
she is. She just melts when I tell her how much I love her. I often talk to
her when we are out working,and I think some people think I am weird,but I
don't care because my dog understands me and it works for us. Shaman is food
motivated and also responds to praise. After he has learned something really
well, I leave off the treats and just use praise. Shaman will get up on a
table to steal food,and I have caught him several times raiding the biscuit
container.  The sooner I move on to praise instead of treats, the less
distracted he gets.  I find that clicker training works very well, but the
treat does not have to be food.In my case ,praise works just as well. Some
people use a toy or a ball. I have not tried that.  In Tucson,if I need to
go to the hospital for any thing ,even an asthma attack,I will take the bus
rather than call an ambulance. They don't want to transport the dog and they
absolutely refuse to transport my wheelchair. I have had so many
confrontations on this that I just won't call them.I can't get back home
with out my chair or my dog.  Once a friend called an ambulance for me when
I had terrible chest pains. When they found out that I had the dog with me
and my wheelchair,they told me they would not transport me and they felt
that nothing was wrong with me and I should just go home. It was late at
night and the buses had already stopped running. I went home and went to
bed,praying I would wake up in the morning. It was the most scary night I
have ever spent. In the morning,I took a bus up to the Emergency room,and
was admitted with blood clots in my lungs. When I got out of the hospital a
week later,I confronted the Fire Dept. Ambulance Paramedics and was just
treated as a nut case. I tried to get a lawyer, but none wanted to take the
case. I am not one to complain about minor health issues and have seldom
ever even called for an ambulance unless I had a serious problem. If they
treated me like that,how many others have they done it to? Maybe some one
has died because of it? No matter what I said,no one seemed to care and
nothing ever came of it. I will never call an ambulance. I will find some
way to get to a hospital on my own if I need to. Tucson Arizona has some
serious issues when it comes to disabled people here. I have tried to make
changes but have never gotten any where.  I am only one person,and it seems
that no one else is willing to fight for their rights.  Have a great day,
Mardi and Nala,semi-retired and Shaman, gdit
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