[nagdu] Wanting to Chase all moving animals, especially small ones...

Mon Apr 23 20:44:02 UTC 2012

Hannah, have you tried some possitive reinforcements/ Like petting her
head and talking to her to get her attenchen instead of giving her a
leash correction? Some dogs do better with these things instead.

On 4/23/12, Hannah Chadwick <sparklylicious at gmail.com> wrote:
> Lisa,
> I did call the school today and got to talk to the head trainer. He seems to
> think that corrections is the way to solve all these issues so I guess I'll
> just keep doing what I'm doing. He did say I could call back in a few weeks
> and if nothing works, then I might have to go back to training...
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Lisa belville
> Sent: Monday, April 23, 2012 10:29 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Wanting to Chase all moving animals, especially small
> ones...
>
> Hi, Hannah.
>
> Were you able to get in touch verbally with a Pilot trainer?  It sounds like
> some follow up might be helpful.
>
> These aren't necessarily deal breakers, in fact most of us have had some of
> these issues with our dogs.  But having a trainer who knows the school's
> training techniques goes a long way toward building your confidence as a
> team.
>
> Lisa
>
>
> 1st Law of Procrastination: that which can be done will be done . . .
> TOMORROW!!
> Lisa Belville
> missktlab1217 at frontier.com
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Hannah Chadwick" <sparklylicious at gmail.com>
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, April 23, 2012 10:19 AM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Wanting to Chase all moving animals,especially small
> ones...
>
>
>> Julie,
>> Thank you. I do have a few friends who are guide dog users, and I've
>> spoken with them. However, they haven't had all these things pop up
>> that I've had.
>> Juanita, it sounds like your dog listens well. I usually have to do
>> some serious corrections or just drag Princess away from the
>> distraction. I don't like doing this, but it seems that I have to or
>> she won't budge.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of Julie J.
>> Sent: Monday, April 23, 2012 8:08 AM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Wanting to Chase all moving animals, especially
>> small ones...
>>
>> Hannah,
>>
>> I think the struggles you are having with Princess stem from a
>> discrepancy between what you expected and what you got.  It could be
>> that what you expect is absolutely within normal parameters for a
>> guide dog and Princess isn't trained to that standard.  Or it could be
>> that what you are expecting is not attainable or not at this point in
>> the partnership.  Either way, it's clear that you are not happy with
>> her level of guiding.
>>
>> If it helps I think everyone had ideas of what a guide dog would be
>> like before they actually got one;  marvelous, ease of travel, less
>> getting lost, safer, faster etc.  I'd also bet that most of us had
>> some surprises in the first year.  I know for me I seriously
>> underestimated how much the dog would think on his own.  that sounds
>> silly.  It's true though.  I never anticipated all the give and take
>> that would be involved.  I never thought I'd stand on the corner and
>> have discussions with the dog about which direction we'd be going.  I
>> thought I'd say left and the dog would go left.
>> While that's generally true, there are a million exceptions to why it
>> isn't exactly true.
>>
>> Do you have friends with guide dogs in your area?  It might be helpful
>> to visit with some people in person and see how they work with their
> guides.
>> Email isn't always the best means of communication.  We do tend to
>> talk about the more positive aspects of having a guide, although I
>> have noticed a trend in the past few years to be a lot more honest
>> about the less pleasant bits.
>>
>> I guarantee you that each and every guide dog handler has had their
>> share of struggles, especially in that first year or so.  Monty, bless
>> his heart, was a distracted horror for the longest time.  In the very
>> beginning when I was still training him, he used to bounce up and down
>> when he saw another dog.
>> I mean literally bounce up and down like TTigger. He used to pick up
>> all sorts of crap off the sidewalk, trash, sticks, bugs, a snake
>> once...oh and the dead bird.  I remember walking round and round at
>> the park with him so we could come to an understanding about the
>> squirrels.  Now he's pretty good about the squirrels, rabbits and
>> cats, but if one gets within two or three feet of
>> us, he will make a lunge for it.   They usually don't get that close, so
>> it's a compromise I'm willing to live with.   He doesn't pick up stuff
>> anymore and he's 99% better about other dogs.  It took work to get there.
>>
>> My experience is different though because I owner train.  I expect
>> nothing in the beginning.  You were expecting a fully trained and
>> trustworthy guide and you didn't get that.  I think the question now
>> is, what are you willing to do? There are lots of options and people
>> have made many suggestions. I hope you find the path that is right for
>> you.
>>
>> all my best,
>> Julie
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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