[nagdu] Things I wanted to discuss, but just didn't have time to

Garry and Joy Relton relton30857 at cox.net
Mon Mar 9 18:19:33 UTC 2009


People work the dog on the left because 90% of the traffic you will cross
will be on your left.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Tamara Smith-Kinney
Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 12:32 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Things I wanted to discuss, but just didn't have time
to


Hmm...

This is interesting.  Being left-handed, I figured if everyone else works
their dog on the left, leaving their dominant right hand free, I would train
my dog to work on the right, leaving my dominant left hand free.  Then
someone recently told me she had heard the reason guide dogs worked on the
left was so the handler would not have to drop the harness handle to shake
hands.  Oh!  I wonder if that's it or if people work the dog on the left for
the same reasons they shake hands with the right...  That just works best
for a predominantly right-handed population.  /smile/

Is tracking, the way you guys mean it, something to do with follow?  Or with
patterning?  I haven't heard the word used in that context before.  Mitzi
knows follow, but I've realized lately she prefers to pattern, and will
sometimes be patterning when I think she's following...  Or is it the other
way around?  /smile/

Living beyond the reliable sidewalk zone, I often wish I had trained her to
work on my left, since when we're on the side of the road facing traffic,
she's the one closest to it.  Scares me all to pieces.  She does know to
stay to the side of the road and not wander across the white line (when
there's so much as that between us and traffic).  I don't necessarily trust
the oncoming drivers to do so well.  Then again, there's a long stretch
where we have to walk with traffic coming up behind us as we walk in the
pedestrian lane, which puts me on the traffic side with a whole lot of
tension between my shoulder blades.  It would probably be worse if she were
on that side going that way....  I'm used to it now and don't get all
weirded out just walking up to the store, but every now and then I still
think about what we're doing and give myself the hopeless willies!

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Ron Davidson
Sent: Sunday, March 08, 2009 10:31 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Things I wanted to discuss, but just didn't have time
to

I never heard of a guide working on the right but I guess it is necessary it

the person don't have a good working left arm. Just like they train them to 
work with wheel chairs. But I do feel the tracking on the left is taught not

a natural thing where in the ordinary dogs life do you see them tracking or 
following specifically on the left. 


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