[nagdu] EXTERNAL:Re: Freedom for guide dogs

Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC) REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com
Tue Nov 30 14:46:58 UTC 2010


Food allergies are nasty and can make a person and a dog feel just
miserable. 
I'd expect good behavior but also I'd not worry so much about playing
until he gets sorted out. 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Lora
Sent: Friday, November 26, 2010 8:56 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: EXTERNAL:Re: [nagdu] Freedom for guide dogs

Just so you guys know he has only got on the table twice in the six
months I have had him. I want to give him good smelly treats but he is
on a limited diet to test for food allergies. He doesn't want to play
fetch. When we go outside all he wants to do is smell the ground. My
mom's dog comes amazingly but mine doesn't. I've tried food rewards
but they don't seeem to help any.

On 11/26/10, Tamara Smith-Kinney <tamara.8024 at comcast.net> wrote:
> Dan and Lora,
>
> Sometimes it's the orthodoxy that is ill-advised.  /evil grin/  I'm a
big
> proponent of freedom to run play in wide open spaces.  Apparently,
most if
> not all U.S. guide dog programs are against that sort of thing.  At
least
> they used to be; I hear they're getting less uptight about it lately.
>
> The key is to find a place where your dog will be as safe as possible
to run
> and play and even socialize with other dogs.  Especially at first,
because
> reliable recall and boundaries take time to learn.  Also, it seems
that
> reliability is a matter of maturity, so you need to maintain
protections for
> a wild and crazy dog until at least the age of 5.  /smile/  Well, the
level
> of total reliability I'm referring to there means that the dog is
> self-disciplined and obedient enough to walk with its owner off-leash
around
> a city neighborhood without getting into trouble or endangering itself
or
> others.  Used to be, Portlanders would take their well-trained,
> well-mannered dogs all over the place that way -- farmer's markets,
street
> fairs, community picnics, you name it.  Then people started taking
their
> untrained, ill-mannered scurvy curs to those venues, so now those of
us who
> have taken the time to train our dogs have to keep them on leash even
though
> the law still says on leash or under control.  Oh, well!  Mine is just
now
> mature and reliable enough for me to consider wandering around a
farmer's
> market or such with her off leash, and I would be using her as a guide
> anyway. Still!  I would have loved an opportunity to see all that
patience
> and perserverance come into play, just a time or two.  I'm silly that
way, I
> guess.
>
> So the 5-year maturity limit is only if you really want to have a dog
that
> is totally reliable off-leash in unfenced areas.  I do, so I've been
working
> with Mitzi poodle on that since January of '07...  While I still limit
> potential risks when we're doing our thing with no physical connection
> between us, she's pretty awesome and I don't worry much these days.
Also,
> she truly does jingle guide and squeak guide with her ball, so it's
great
> for just walking around in the great outdoors with her.  /smile/
>
> I put bells on her collar so I know where she is, and I always
reinforce
> recall and minding boundaries.  Which I can now set on the fly, so
that's
> cool.  I have no need to take her on a sidewalk near traffic, and
would not
> choose to do so.  However, it is nice to know that if for whatever
strange
> reason I have a need for her to be off-leash, she would be fine.  I
did
> actually manage to lose my leash at the park a couple of years back
and was
> astonished at how well she did coming home without it.  It was a
pretty safe
> walk, except for a couple of passages, but she was awfully darn good,
> especially considering her age and general level of overall
snottiness.
> Love her, but she is Mitzi poodle, after all.  /grin/
>
> Incorporating interactive play into your off-leash time also does
wonders.
> You can do a lot of reinforcing your training without actually doing
any
> training.  And you can both get lots of exercise while having fun
together.
> You can praise a behavior your dog makes in the course of play ("Good
bring
> it!), then reward the dog by throwing (or kicking) the ball,which is
the
> reward.  It's a fun way to have a dog that listens and responds well
during
> off leash romps.
>
> With my ulta high-energy wild and crazy curly girl, I have done my
best to
> follow a couple of hard and fast rules for myself:
>
> 	1.  Always reward recall.  Always!
> 	2.  Never give a command you know your dog will not obey.
>
> Oh, and when it comes to teaching your dog to pay attention to you
when it
> counts...  Smelly treats!  If they're much too expensive and you can't
stand
> yourself when you have a pocket full of them, then you're probably on
the
> right track.  /lol/  Early on, especially, using rank bribery to start
> conditioning obedience is definitely the way to go.  Dogs are
> scent-oriented, so a smelly treat will get the dog's attention and
bring it
> to you, even when said dog was planning to run by you demonstrating
that it
> has no intention of coming to you just because you called it.  I speak
from
> experience there.  /grin/  It's a way to condition the dog to come
whether
> it wants to be conditioned or not.  /lol/  I could still see Mitzi
well
> enough on sunny days to catch her expression when that start kicking
in.
> She was so mad!  But she couldn't help herself because, well, you
know...
> Smelly treats are smelly treats.  Yum!
>
> Don't know if any of that is helpful in your situation.  It was fun to
> suddenly find myself thinking back through all the fun (and sometimes
scary)
> times with my curly girl, seeing those sunny days in the park by my
old
> apartment with far more clarity than I probably really did....
>
> Now, I need to remember how to walk around the house I live in on this
dank
> and dreary winter's night... /lol/
>
> Good luck, and let us know how it goes.
>
> Tami Smith-Kinney
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf
> Of Dan Weiner
> Sent: Friday, November 26, 2010 10:39 AM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Freedom for guide dogs
>
> Well, just my opinion.
> First of all, with outside do you mean a fenced-in area or an open
space
> with no borders?
> If it's fenced-in, then really no harm done and let him run around and
get
> rid of pent up energy.
> If it's totally open, I would say that letting her off lead is
ill-advised.
> Perhaps you could buy a flexi-lead to give your dog more space to roam
> without getting away.
> I have a fifteen foot nylon leash I bought about 15 years ago, one
foot per
> year--lol.
> The problem is that your dog can get tangled up in it.
> So, fenced-in area, all right, open area, not so hot--smile.
> Indoors, well, and this is just a general comment, I find that people
are
> really uptight about everything their dogs do. How can your dog learn
what's
> expected without freedom in the house. Besides, keeping him/her on
leash if
> it's your home will make you a nervous wreck and start feeling like a
> burden.
> Even the best guide dogs I've seen will eventually do something silly
in the
> house, so don't sweat the little stuff.
>
> Perhaps unorthodox but my two cent worth anyway.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf
> Of Cindy Ray
> Sent: Friday, November 26, 2010 1:33 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Freedom for guide dogs
>
> Um, I wouldn't let him outside off leash myself. As for inside, are
you
> doing obedience? Often the dogs really need that for a while before
you can
> get what you are looking for. I do obedience on leash sometimes; then
as a
> final exercise I do it off leash to see if he'll do it.
>
> CL
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Lora" <blindhistory at gmail.com>
> To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, November 26, 2010 12:27 PM
> Subject: [nagdu] Freedom for guide dogs
>
>
> After about six months I have been trying to give my guide dog freedom
> outside and inside. He still gets into trouble mostly outside. He
> won't listen off leash. Any suggestions?
> --
> Lora
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
nagdu:
>
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/cindyray%40gmail.
com
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
nagdu:
>
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/dcwein%40dcwein.c
nc.n
> et
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
nagdu:
>
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/tamara.8024%40com
cast
> .net
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
nagdu:
>
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/blindhistory%40gm
ail.com
>


-- 
Lora

_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
nagdu:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/rebecca.pickrell%
40ngc.com




More information about the NAGDU mailing list