[nagdu] Critical blind people

[Susan Jones]

I find the "find" command invaluable, and use it often, especially for trash
cans, elevator buttons, stairs, doors, etc.
Susan & Rhoda
 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Jenine Stanley
Sent: Saturday, July 31, 2010 8:18 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Critical blind people

Wow, I'm amazed at how many of you have encountered the sentiment that
having your dog find common things, like entrances, elevators, etc., is too
hard. 

This is not a GDf brag by any means but this concept of using the dog's
vision and training to help you find things being too much is so foreign to
how I have been taught for the past 20 years that it boggles my mind. 

My first group of instructors at GDf told us that we could teach our dogs to
find just about anything if we used the method we were taught and started
slowly. We were encouraged throughout class to have the dog find things and
finding entrances and exits was part of every day work. Finding stairs,
elevators, escalators, etc., was as well. During class we have the dogs find
our rooms, not because GDF thinks we can't  but because it does help to
instill that find command. I use this constantly in hotels where I want the
dog to return to my room. 

We, and when I say we, I mean students, teach the dogs to find "my seat"
which is either an assigned seat in the dining room during class, or any
seat I might vacate and leave things at, such as in a meeting. I don't even
have to leave my things there necessarily. 

The hard part about this type of work is allowing the dog to do it, make
mistakes and get it right. You do have to offer the dog a little support at
times and not over correct if he or she gets it wrong, but wow, it's a way
of working with a dog that maximizes both of your abilities and if you have
the least problem with hearing or orientation, this skill can be invaluable.


I've heard one instructor say that the find command doesn't work because
people too often misuse it, asking their dogs to find things that aren't
there or facing one direction and asking the dog to find the door out of a
room without knowing where it is. 

My answer to this is that either the people he has seen don't understand how
the command works or aren't reading their dogs well, or the dogs have never
been taught the command and what is expected of them. Dogs and people who
have been taught the find command and know how to teach it in a variety of
settings, usually get it. I can be facing the back wall of a room and ask my
dog to "find outside." He may turn a couple times or do a circuit of the
room until he recognizes the door out but he will find it. This is
especially helpful in large open spaces like exhibit halls. 

Now, this year in Dallas, Swap found getting out of the exhibit hall very
challenging some days. So did my wallet but that's another story. <grin>
There were often crowds, but not necessarily huge crowds, around the
entrance so when I asked him to find outside, meaning the way out, he would
do a circuit of the room and end up at a booth we liked, always a different
one, but usually not necessarily close to the exit. 

Well, DUH, Jenine, why not try some positive reinforcement when he does get
it? A little food reward paired with the GDF praise "Good outside!" worked
wonders. E

I can't even imagine why other blind people or other handlers would
criticize using these commands, unless it's for the reasons espoused by the
instructor. If my dog just isn't finding something, chances are it really
isn't there or he's confused somehow. That's when I can step in and ask
others for help, just pointing me in the right direction usually works but
sometimes the dog figures out that the human knows best and will default to
that. 

The key to really getting the most out of the find command though once it's
been cemented, is to use it. Expect the dog to find things and reward
appropriately. You also need at times to use other humans to help when
learning new things to find, like doors, elevators and such in new places.
No big deal though. Some dogs are better at words and finding things than
others too. I've had the spectrum and even the ones who weren't truly word
oriented were concept and context oriented and caught on quickly. 

Jenine Stanley
jeninems at wowway.com