[nagdu] walking into objects

[Hannah Chadwick]

Bibi,
All the things she's walked me in to are not clear. They are solid and in
the middle of the walkway. I've also done a lot of getting in her face and
telling her to "knock it off". I've also called Ray, and he told me "it'll
take time" and that I should keep working with her.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Criminal Justice Major
Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2012 5:52 AM
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Subject: [nagdu] walking into objects

Hi, Hannah,
When Odie would run me into objects, I stopped right away and dealt with the
problem.
Majority of the time, I'd tap the object I'd ran into with my free hand and
say no along with touching the item.
Upon that, I'd have my partner rework it until he did everything and reward
him with lots of high praise.
Keep in mind that there are some objects that the dog may not be able to see
directly more because it may look like a clear color of glass.
I had an incident seven years ago where Odie ran me smack into the side of
the Super Wal-Mart hard and my head hit the ledge where the carts were
supposed to go.
I was knocked down backwards and it definitely scared the crumbs out of me.
The area where I hit wasn't vissible to Odie and it looked clear like glass.
I didn't give up though as I had my husband go out to the area with me.
He stood near the correct entrance and I worked Odie a few times.
We kept working on it until he understood what he was supposed to do.
I did feel uncomfortable at times to where I'd still hold my right arm and
hand above my forehead to prepare for impact if it were to happen.
I eventually was able to relax and not feel anxious whenever Odie and I
reached that mark: the hole for the carts.
He walked past that with no problem and I was able to put that trust and
faith into him for good.
Yes, I've had to get hard and struct with Odie if he continuously kept
walking me into things.
During training, the instructor who trained Odie had to come down hard on
him too.
A few times, he had to get up in Odie's face, gritting his teeth and telling
him "knock it off" in a stern, firm voice.
I've had to go that route on occasions and let Odie know that I meant
business.
Yes, I would definitely praise him after all of that.
Just keep working with Princess and stay on top of her.
If this problem is still occuring, a call to pilot Dogs may be warranted
immediately.
The school will decide then on what type of action they'll take and more
likely, they may have you come back for a refresher course where they can
have you there from a week or two.
Another idea would be to have your vet check her eyes too.
Hope this helps.
Bibi, husband Dale and son Odie
medical alert service dog
the happy spirited bounty labra wolf
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