[nagdu] anticipating

[Meghan Whalen]

Kirby is the queen of anticipation, and I definitely find it to be a useful 
skill at times.

What I do is to be sure I have given the command before  she begins to turn, 
even if I know she will do it on her own.

I think the concern the schools tend to have is that handlers will be 
passive members of the team` and rely on their dogs for more than they 
should.

For example, being so dependent on a dog to navigate a complex route with 
many turns that the handler wouldn't even know when or where to turn without 
that dog.

So, I try to stay one step ahead of Kirby as we walk familiar routes.  I 
have to tell her to leave it as we approach familiar turns, or she'll take 
me that way, even if that's not where I'm headed.  She has a tendency to be 
very persistant that we not deviate from the way we went last time, so if I 
were not aware, and I let her go on autopilot, I would be in big trouble 
when it came time to go somewhere new, because she would take over and 
refuse to go the new     way.

I hope this makes some sense, but, to summarize:

Kirby anticipates, I anticipate her anticipation, and by doing so, I am 
still the one making the decisions.  I tell her to turn left, even though I 
know she's going to do it anyways, because I want to encourage her to think 
of me as the navigator and her as the guide.

Meghan

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Julie J" <julielj at windstream.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, August 13, 2010 2:14 PM
Subject: [nagdu] anticipating


> Heya all,
>
> I will have had Monty two years tomorrow. We have worked together as a 
> team for about 10 months of that.  I was reflecting back on all the 
> progress we have made and how smoothly we are working together, at least 
> most days. *smile*
>
> Anyway this morning on the way to work I was pondering the issue of guides 
> that anticipate turns.  My understanding is that most of the programs 
> discourage this.  I'm talking about a dog who makes a turn on a regular 
> route without direct direction from the handler to do so.
>
> Monty does this all the time.  I have actually cultivated the skill 
> because I appreciate it.  Of course if I feel him begin a turn and I want 
> to go another way I simply stop, praise him and give the new instructions. 
> Also if we pass a place where we have turned in the past, but it's not a 
> really regular place, he'll sort of do a half turn with a pause and look 
> back to see if that's what I want.  I absolutely love this and can't 
> imagine working it differently.
>
> My route to work is basically straight west with only a deviation of one 
> block north.  I vary the route as much as is possible.  It really makes no 
> difference where I choose to turn north, he always figures out where to go 
> at the next corner.
>
> I'd love to hear how all of you balance the initiative of the dog, 
> anticipating turns, indicating possible turns and the like.
>
> Julie
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