[nagdu] pet-proofing your dog

Tamara Smith-Kinney tamara.8024 at comcast.net
Tue Jan 4 03:04:26 UTC 2011


Jenine,

I'm going to remember that training strategy for next time!  Having someone
to set it up with would be great and would be less frazzling than doing it
on the fly as I did with Mitzi.

Hand targeting is great, too.  In fact, a couple of the discussions in the
past week or so have reminded me to play "the touch game" with both dogs to
get their attention when I need it.  It also can help them learn to let me
know they're there by touch.  /smile/

As a last resort, I will do obedience exercises during the distraction.  I
am so happy I don't have to do this hardly ever, because working my dog that
way in public is highly embarrassing!  It also seems to cramp her style and
be embarrassing to her, so it does work.  Silly poodle!  

With spring coming (eventually), I think I'll do some mental review of the
greeting practice you describe to see if we can work it in once all the
soggy, rusted Portlanders pop outdoors with their dogs to enjoy the sunshine
again.  /smile/  Danching the leash dance with another happy dog just happy
to see someone is certainly entertaining, but I think I've milked all of the
amusement out that one that I can.  /grin/  I'll have to think of some
friendly, creative way to ask another owner to "help me work with my guide
dog."  They always seem to like it when I put it that way, and they love to
join in the mini-training session with their dogs.  People in Portland are
just too funny when it comes to dogs.  /smile/

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Jenine Stanley
Sent: Monday, January 03, 2011 5:09 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: [nagdu] pet-proofing your dog

These are just some  things I do to get my own dogs to ignore petting. I'll
start with an exercise we do at GDF called Meet and Greet. We do this during
class but encourage people to practice it often. 

Let's say you come up to someone with a dog and want to say hello. Both
people make their dogs sit and stay. The first person comes forward and
shakes hands with the second person then asks if he can pet the dog. The dog
must not break its sit/stay. If it does, the first person steps back and the
whole thing starts over again. Meanwhile, the first person's dog is sitting
and staying at the end of a long leash. The first person gives a short pet
to the chest or shoulder of the dog and goes back to his dog. The second
person then repeats the exercise. The key here is not to step in front of
your dog. It teaches the dog that the important interaction is between the
humans, not with it. 

If and when I do allow petting, my dog may not go to the person. My dog must
sit or stand near me and not move toward the petting. I've done a quick 180
turn to my right at times to get my dog's attention if he or she was
straying too far and not listening to me. 

With Swap, who can be pretty social, I have used hand targeting to get his
attention back on me. If he is looking hard and wagging at someone, I'll
make a fist with my right hand and place it just to the right of my right
thigh. I will then ask him to "Find it." This means to touch my fist.
Sometimes there are treats that magically appear from the fist. 

The other thing to do, and I know this sounds really old school, is to
practice obedience. Do it where there are distractions. The more you do it,
with most dogs anyway, the more they will understand what's expected. 

I've had to use the gentle leader on Swap for initial encounters such as
first days at conventions, where he's just over stimulated and wants to
sniff everyone and everything. That does help and I can usually take it off
after that first day. 

Swap has it figured out though. He has a move we call his bucking Bronco.
When he sees someone he likes, person or dog, he will stand still and jump,
first the front feet go up then the back feet go up while the front goes
down. He will stay in the same place by my side doing this until whoever
comes over to pet or sniff him. He's not a small dog so though it's kind of
cute how he figured out that he can't move toward the distraction, it can
get a little wild at times. 

If you do use the hand target, start out with really high value treats, like
liver or lamb lung or cheese. You can use the hand targeting for so many
things but redirecting attention is a great one. 

Jenine Stanley
jeninems at wowway.com



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