[nagdu] Play time

Wed Apr 21 18:41:24 UTC 2010

Julie,

Oh, yeah!  I forgot clicker training for fun.  Our dogs like competing with
each other over the targeting clicker.  /lol/  Oddly, they do get trained in
the process, even though I pretty much use the targeting clicker to
entertain them and get them to be less inappropriately rowdy and obnoxious.
/smile/

Mitzi likes to run wild, run free, too, while I walk or even try jogging in
the park.  She's mature enough now to pretty good with her off leash
behavior, but she likes to test the limits so I can call her back.  "In
bounds," I will say absently.  She grins and whirls and *dashes* back at top
speed.  "Lightening Poodle!" I laugh happily.  We don't have a place to
really do that these days because in the areas I can walk freely on safe
ground and even jog a bit safely (if I manage to fall on my face, I will
just bounce off the springy turf), some of the people in the houses
overlooking that part of the park have taken it upon themselves to ensure no
dogs behaving themselves off leash when no one is around will eat the
children -- even when the children are at home or in school and nowhere near
those dangerous killer dogs.  Sigh.  Well, the park rules do require an
actual leash, so I have little ground to argue...  I tried requesting
reasonable accommodation, but we're in the middle of a pendulum swing with
loose dogs, so my request was not treated as reasonable.  The guy was
polite, everybody's been polite, but they just don't want to deal with the
conflict between the people who call to report and complain and the dog
owners who chose to play in the big field when there is a designated off
leash area right there.  I get that, but I also get that the ground is not
so safe for me as a blind person, the trees and picnic tables are pretty
exhausting when I'm walking around, and the running dogs and people are
enjoyable, and I like them, but they're also a safety hazard.  Then there's
the value of my dog's training and the increased likelihood of injury just
from playing dogs, let alone the dog who comes into the off leash area who
shouldn't be allowed around other dogs.  Sheesh!

We still manage and get some play in there.  I'm good enough at jogging that
we jog together with her on leash, so that's cool.  She loves that, too.

She also loves to work, especially on long walks and hikes where we can get
out and go together.  I still use the clicker for positive reinforcement,
even though I don't really need it from a training perspective anymore.  She
enjoys being clicked for her cleverness at problem solving and stuff, so I
click so she can have fun and validation.  /smile/  She really, really gets
a kick out of it.

In other words, for her, work is play.  She is a poodle, after all.  /smile/

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Julie J
Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 4:49 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Play time

Monty's most favorite playtime activity is to run free on our farm.  He 
doesn't get to do this very often though.  He also enjoys serious tug games,

but I can't really play those because I can't hold onto the toys so well. 
He enjoys fetch quite a bit and it tends to be our default game.  I also 
allow both of my dogs to wrestle and play tug games together.
they both also very much enjoy learning new things through clicker training.

We do more of this during the winter months when it's harder to get exercise

outside.

Julie

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cheryl Osborn" <chapalacheryl at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2010 10:12 PM
Subject: [nagdu] Play time

> Hi everyone,
>
> Thought it might be interesting to find out what you and your dogs
> like to do for play.
>
> My dog likes to play keep-away and wrestle with a toy. And, sometimes
> tug-of-war.  My last dog liked to play hide-and-go-seek. My first dog
> was Kong crazy.
>
>
> -- 
> Cheryl in Mexico
> chapalacheryl at gmail.com
>
> _______________________________________________
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