[nagdu] What makes a "good handler"?

[Tamara Smith-Kinney]

Jenine,

Oh, I like this post!  I confess that I'm newbie enough to fear that I'm not
a "proper" handler, that we're not "doing it right," and all that muck.  As
a first-time owner-trainer, I have the same fears about my dog.  So I
frequently have to sit myself down for a good, stiff talking to about that.
We get from here to there and back safely, smoothly and happily, nobody gets
hurt, nothing gets broken, Mitzi gets adored... /smile/  So clearly, based
on results, we're doing it right.

But my inner perfectionist still insists on fretting about it.  Sigh.

That poodle eye contact thing is really something else, isn't it?  Mitzi
still remembers I'm there, though, and these days I only have to speak her
name for her to remember her manners.  Most of the time.  /grin/ Even when I
can't see the eyes -- which is most of the time -- I make a point of looking
down into her face and smiling and talking to her at street crossings to
give her that fix.  She doesn't need constant cheerleading anymore, but an
affectionate grin goes a long way with her.  She is a very funny dog.

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Jenine Stanley
Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 5:48 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: [nagdu] What makes a "good handler"?

Chasity posed an interesting question. In her example, what does indeed make
someone a good handler. This is one of the few times I'll give a school
perspective. From the training staff's perspective, a "good handler" is
someone who is aware of the particular habits and behaviors of his or her
individual dog and takes appropriate action, rewarding or correcting, when
necessary to maintain those behaviors and habits. In other words, if you are
aware of and know your dog, knowing where it is and what it is doing, what
will result in becoming out of control, what may make your dog sick, overly
stimulated, anxious, etc., then you are fulfilling what we hope you have
learned during training, the true "handling" of a dog. This is going to look
different for everyone as no two dogs are alike. One dog will tolerate
attention from a wide variety of people without ever considering them
anything more than just a friendly pat while some dogs will attach
themselves to people strongly, adversely affecting their work. 
 
My last dog was practically perfect around people with any degree of vision
who used said vision to communicate with her. She was quite aware that even
though I tried hard to stay very aware of what she was doing, I could not
always catch or command her visually. I had to seriously limit her
interactions with people who were very visually oriented because I just
ceased to exist. My current dog is very attached to me and though he enjoys
other people's attention, it doesn't take much to get him focused back on
me. Knowing the difference is what makes someone a handler and not just
someone who has a guide dog imho. 
 
I have to cut the first-timers some slack, until they become personally rude
or offensive of course. How many of us thought we knew it all with our first
dogs? Especially when things were gong well and we were getting a lot of
praise for how we handled our dogs? I'm also a firm believer, having had it
happen more than once, that what goes around comes around. <grin> There will
be a dog that will challenge any person who perceives himself a "good
handler" and every dog is a learning experience. 
 
Jenine Stanley
jeninems at wowway.com
 
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