[nagdu] motivation update

[Jenine Stanley]

Hi Julie, 

 

Sorry I didn't chime in on this one earlier, but it sounds like you've found
a good motivator for Monty. One of my dogs had a similar issue with routes
and I did pretty much the same thing, stopping to "pet her up" which sounds
obscene outside of a training context. <grin> 

 

Btw, it's not that unusual in the realm of guide dog instructor advice.
Granted, the full body contact might be, but then again, most instructors
would say if it's working, you don't mind and he doesn't jump on anyone else
unbidden, why not? 

 

Can you discover a way to pet him up during play that doesn't involve him
jumping up on you to avoid the muddy paws, dusty paws, etc.? 

 

Swap will slow and stop, turning to poke me. If I don't acknowledge this
either with a sincere petting session or a full stop, he will pout. I find
the second or so it takes to do the full stop and scratch under the chin and
smile at him is well worth it later. 

 

You also might leave the really high value treat for a point on the route
where there's no place else to go but work, then another one at work. This
way, from anywhere you vary the route, when he gets to that point of
recognizing it's work, he gets a prize, a big prize, high value prize. Then
another one when you get to work.

 

I've heard instructors recommend cat treats as high value easy to stow
training treats. I personally use the Baa-Baa-cues, dried lamb lung, broken
into small pieces. Stays dry, doesn't smell or spoil. 

 

Jenine Stanley

jeninems at wowway.com

 

From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Julie J
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2011 5:12 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] motivation update

 

I thought I'd update yawl on my efforts to motivate Monty on the trip to
work.

I tried the dog and cat noises.  the first time he stopped at looked up at
me.  I imagine he thought I'd gone right round the bend.  Subsequent animal
noises got no acknowledgement what-so-ever.

I tried varying the route as much as possible.  This helps a bit, until we
get close and he figures out what's up. 

I tried treats, just the ordinary ones though.  I need to get some
dehydrated meat or something that won't spoil for a higher value treat.  The
treats seem to inspire him for about 6 feet.  I'm not giving up on them
altogether though.  I think if I had something extremely tasty that I
brought out only on rare occasions it might be more motivating.

I tried petting him while walking, but I'm not very coordinated.  also he
was a bit unsure about what I was doing.  It felt clumsy and awkward.  I
don't think this will work for us.

What I did find that works pretty well is something I used when I was
training him.  I stop and invite him to jump up.  I then rub his head and
neck vigorously.  Not a conventional reward/motivator for a guide dog, but
it works amazingly well.  I have no idea what I'll do if it rains again.  I
can't show up to work with muddy footprints on the front of my shirt!
*smile*  For the moment it's working and I'm content.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions!  It helped me to really think about
what motivates him.

Julie
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