[nagdu] anticipating

[Tamara Smith-Kinney]

Yeah.  Mitzi does a decent follow, but it bores her and frustrates me, so we
hardly ever do it anymore.  If I'm with DD, we go sighted guide instead of
follow, or Mitzi and I take breaks to go out and practice navigating through
the store aisles, then have fun finding him again.  /smile/  Last time I
went shopping all by my lonesome, I ended up going sighted guide with the
clerk, because we had taken a new way there and I was having a hard time
getting comfortably oriented in the corner grocery store.  Once everything
suddenly snapped back into place for me, I went back to being guided by my
dog and just asked the young man to give me sound cues, which he got.
Sometimes I have to translate to "just make noise to let me know where you
are."  /lol/  using jargon like "sound cues" is sort of like asking someone
to open their e-mail client or pull up their web browser when what I should
be saying is "check your e-mail." Or "go on the internet."  iAnyway, this
time my absent-minded use of jargon was something my helper in the store
could translate, so we got along just fine.  Actually, I was ready to adopt
him!  He picked up after the first item which information I wanted to know
when I making a choice instead of zeroing in on a specific item, and just
started giving me those bits of information so I didn't have to keep asking
every time.  I just love it when that happens!

Anyway, as I do better at orienting and sorting out my environment without
sight (the more sight I lose the better I get, except for those times when
my brain screws up the rewiring and I'm useless), the less I use "follow"
for Mitzi.  Maybe if she didn't have to struggle so hard with it when she
would rather be doing her job of guiding, I would use it more.  But it's not
the best for us, so we don't.  /smile/

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Susan Jones
Sent: Monday, August 16, 2010 6:44 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: Re: [nagdu] anticipating

Rhoda anticipates turns, and I love it.  But she is also very flexible, and
when I praise her, and direct her another way, she is very willing to go
that way as well.

I have very mixed feelings about the "follow" command, as I don't want my
dog to be much of a follower.  When someone says, "Will your dog follow me?"
I usually say, "If I ask her to.  Just let me know when you turn, and I'll
be sure of it."

Susan & Rhoda
 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Julie J
Sent: Friday, August 13, 2010 3:14 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
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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