[nagdu] guide dogs and hand signals

[Tami Kinney]

That's funny. I do that, too. Sometimes, I will lean forward as if to
move my foot and make a gesture with my free hand (with a clicker in it,
naturally!) and get mad at my cane for not doing anything. when I say
sharply and insistently, "Forward!" /lol/

DD gives me guide dog commands, which I pass on to Mitzi. Or my cane, in
the rare times I'm using that because Mitzi is at the groomer. For all I
know, he's giving me hand signals. Sometimes, when Mitzi is the one who
knows how to retrace a route, I will catch myself dropping the harness
handle to give him hand gestures while I'm telling him which way to go
because Mitzi has told me which way to go. /lol/ Mitzi, BTW, does not
approve of this at all and refuses to guide but just turns me around in
circles until I agree to behave myself and follow her lead. Okay, we
don't do that all the time, but I have caught us all doing it on more
than one occasion. Fortunately, there weren't people around to watch our
private version of the traveling circus. I'm sure they would have found
it highly entertaining, though. Mitzi has demonstrated that she can find
the truck after he gets us all lost on the way back to the truck. Mostly
by ignoring my hand gestures, which I'm making by then because I can't
think of anything more useful to do. /grin/

Tami

On Sun, 2011-09-04 at 15:51 -0600, Sherry Gomes wrote: 
> GDB uses hand gestures.  Gosh, they are so much a part of me now, I don't
> think I could ever eliminate them from my work with a dog.  I use them even
> if it has nothing to do with a dog, forward, right or left hand signals are
> second nature to me.  Among some of the other things, like patting my leg
> when I tell someone to come over to me.  grin.
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Cindy Ray
> Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2011 3:48 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] guide dogs and hand signals
> 
> TSE teaches hand signals. Steve, thought you were going to say they use sign
> language with the dogs. I just am a little crazy; don't mind me.
> Cindy
> 
> On Sep 4, 2011, at 4:44 PM, Steven Johnson wrote:
> 
> > Leader still does this, and also uses sign language with their students
> who
> > are deaf/blind.
> > 
> > Steve
> > 
> > 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> > Of Criminal Justice Major Extraordinaire
> > Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2011 8:16 PM
> > To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
> > Subject: [nagdu] guide dogs and hand signals
> > 
> > Hi, all,
> > Do all the guide dog schools have trainies use hand signals or has that 
> > fazed out?
> > I do remember when I trained with Orleans back in training at GEB May 
> > 30/June 24, 2000, I was continuously told to use hand signals.
> > When I switched to Pilot Dogs and began doing that again August
> 22/Septenber
> > 
> > 10, 2004, the trainer who prepared Freedom David Berry for training told
> me 
> > that they weren't doing it and Freedom David Berry didn't like how I'd
> move 
> > my hand around.
> > Her claim was that he wouldn't work if I kept using the hand motions.
> > Truth is that when I arrived home with him, I returned to the hand signal 
> > training and he managed just fine.
> > upon going back to Pilot Dogs March 27/April 8, 2005, Odie's trainer, Mike
> 
> > Tessmer did suggest using the hand motions because there were times when 
> > that would be needed and warranted.
> > *Just curious*
> > Bibi and Odie
> > the happy spirited bounty labra wolf 
> > 
> > 
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> 
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