[nagdu] length of training

[doug weil]

Hi Julie, 
I'll jump in on this one as I have worked for several guide dog organizations and know alot of instructors from all the schools. I'm a semi-retired GD Instructor and have no affiliations with any school right now. I've been lurking on this list for several years and do learn alot from all that post their ideas/problems/concerns. I like hearing what you all have to say and it gives me more insight into training guide dogs.

As far as length of training time, I think Tracy hit it on the head with 4-5 months. Most reputable, good schools should have dogs ready in about 4 months. Back in the day when I started, we had 2 trainers per team and had 25 to 30 dogs to get ready in 4 months. Each trainer had about 12-15 dogs and you could train 7 per day. That means each dog got out about 2 or 3 times per week for training. As training progressed and you lost dogs; they got out more often. At the end of training the average # of workouts was about 25-30 and the dogs had all the basic skills needed to pass final blindfold testing. Now adays, I know most schools have more trainers & resources. I know GDB has 4 trainers and a supervisor per string and each trainer has 3 or 4 dogs to train, meaning they get out everyday and some twice a day. That really can cut training time by months but you have a lot more hours in the dog. The average # of training sessions per dog is now about 80+
 vs. 25 back in the day. The result being shorter training time but far more sessions and hopefully much better working dogs going into class. 

When I trained independently and only had 1 dog to train, I worked him everyday and twice a day most days. At the end of 6 weeks he was finished including traffic. He was an exception to the rule as he was very responsive to training and willing to do whatever you asked. So, alot of it depends on the type of dog
along with experience of progressing without pressuring the dog.

I know of a school that had dogs in for training average about a year before they went out. Far to long as dogs can get kennel sour. Most schools I know run about 4-5 months training time which is good for the dog to get placed sooner with his blind partner and allow the dog to develop its relationship with the partner rather than with the trainer. Hope this helps answer your question. I'll try and contribute more in the future. Have a great day!

Doug Weil



________________________________
From: Julie J <julielj at windstream.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Fri, April 9, 2010 5:07:29 AM
Subject: [nagdu] length of training

Hello all!
Maria Orovcíková  posted on the list a bit ago about research she is doing for her Masters degree in Slovakia? I think.  I have been in contact with her and we have run into a small problem.  In her country the length of training time is measured in months.  When asked the trainers explain that they train the dogs however much time they have each day or week.

She is using the GDUI survey for info on the American programs.  GDUI has the length of training time in hours.  Maria needs to put everything into months for comparison.

So I'm wondering if people know in weeks or months how long the guide dogs from the various American programs are in formal guide training?  I know that typically it is 4 months, but when you look at the GDUI survey the hours vary from a low of 15 to a high of 120 or more.  That doesn't seem to convert easily to 4 months.

Thoughts?
I'll pass along whatever anyone has to share to Maria.

Thanks much!
Julie


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