[nagdu] GDF Questions

Sat Oct 31 07:18:16 UTC 2009

I did have one evaluation before I decided to owner-train.  It was only my
second ever Juno walk, so I didn't have much to go by.  So Juno stopped and
sniffed, and I gave what I considered apretty harsh leash correction, far
stronger than I was comfortable with.  So Ms. Juno insisted that next time
she sniffed I giver her a two-handed leash correction with every ounce of my
strength.  I complied, since it was just Juno, but...  I will confess that
my first thought was, "If that's all the better you can do at training your
dogs, I don't want one!"

Okay, so I grew up handling large animals, some of them dangerous, and I
know there's a time and a place to use physical force to prevent them from
harming you or themselves and that you had better not be kidding around.
Those animals outweighed me by 10 times or more.  Yeah, I could knock an 18
hand, 1750 (ish) pound mean Appy mare off her feet before I hit 100 pounds.
We will not discuss a father who would put his own child in a position to
need to do that on a somewhat regular basis.  She was his horse, and I
entirely understood why she was so vicious.  That did not mean I was going
to let her smoosh me.

So given my own life context, I really had a hard time with the very notion
of giving a dog that level of correction for sniffing. The two-handed bit
seemed much.  Which is not to say I won't turn Ms. Mitzi around in circles
if I need to.  Or needed to; she's not a pup in training anymore.  Even
downtown when she's in a mood for pigeon chasing, I don't have to use full
one-arm strength; I just stand there until she remembers what she's about or
just give a verbal reminder to pay attention.  She bounces a bit, but she
doesn't go all rodeo on me anymore.  /smile/

Anyway, it's good to hear others' experiences in assessment Juno walks.  I
know that when it's part of a home evaluation the assessor is looking for
certain things that they need to know to give you a good match...  I did
find that one incredibly off-putting, though.  Seriously, if she needed to
see how well I could correct a dog her organization trained with an all-out,
two-handed leash correction for sniffing...  She wasn't a trainer or
instructor, at least as far as I know, and I've met some very nice dogs from
that program who don't seem to need aggressive manhandling, so I know it was
a mistaken impression.  Still!

For the record, I have been mad enough at Mitzi at times to consider trying
that exact same maneuver. /smile/  Wonderful dog; very head strong.  Even a
very lightly sharp leash correction, however, has the exact opposite effect
I might want with her, though, so I stick to finesse.  Now that I don't even
have to do that on a consistent basis -- she saves her misbehavior up for
really special occasions -- I hardly know what to do with myself.  /smile/

Then again, there are always pigeons.  /smile/

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Wayne Merritt
Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 7:20 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] GDF Questions

I remember being at The Seeign Eye and my instructor purposely pulled
harder or very little in order to get a "feel": for how much of a pull
I wanted and how fast I was able/willing to walk. I would rather have
the dog pulling slightly in front of me, so that if the dog ever
suddenly dstopped, I would have some warning that something was up.

Wayne

On 10/30/09, Angie Matney <angie.matney at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Gary,
>
> One thing to keep in mind is that most schools will consider the amount of
> pull you want when they match you with a dog. Also, when I was at GDB
> getting my first dog, I had Juno walks from two different instructors on
> campus before I got my dog. These walks felt very different. This is not
to
> say that the school's philosophy of using the harness shouldn't be a
> consideration; I just mean that part of the differences in Juno walks can
> sometimes be attributed to the individual instructors.
>
> Best,
>
> Angie
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Gary" <rainshadowmusic at shaw.ca>
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 11:32 AM
> Subject: [nagdu] GDF Questions
>
>
>> Hello Albert:
>>
>> How are you. I am on the guide dog list as well and have applied at
>> gdf. I am curious what you thought of the schools programs? This is
>> your first dog? It will be mine as well. Taking that in mind, how did
>> you find the training program? Was it reasonably easy to learn what you
>> needed to learn to work with your new dog? Did the bonding process go
>> smoothly for you?
>>
>> With regard to the schools guiding philosophy, how do they teach you to
>> use the harness? I have done two Juno walks (using a harness without the
>>>dog) with two different schools and they had very different styles. One
>> had the dog slightly ahead of me so that my arm was forward at about a
>> 45 degree angle (or maybe slightly less). They also had quite a bit of
>> pull/tension  on the
>> harness by the dog. The other school I have done this walk with had my
>> arm down more by my side, say around the place where the seem of your
>> pants would be with very little tension on the harness.
>>
>> I have decided I like the second way much better so want to be sure
>> that the school I go to does not do it the way my first walker did.
>>
>> What does gdf do?
>>
>> Thanks very much for anything you are willing to share with me. I am
>> waiting for a poodle so I have applied at three schools.
>>
>> Feel free to apply off line at g.steeves at shaw.ca if you would prefer.
>>
>>
>> have a great day.
>> Gary
>>
>>
>>
>> Gary Steeves, BSW, RSW
>> 204 - 1110 West 10th Ave
>> Vancouver, BC  V6H 1J1
>> Work: 778-452-6504
>> Cell: 604-764-0777
>> Email: g.steeves at shaw.ca
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
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-- 
My blog:
http://wayneism.blogspot.com
My websites:
www.wayneism.com
www.whitecaneday.org

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