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

Tue Apr 24 00:34:50 UTC 2012

Yah, I also have some minor twisting moves with the harrness that get 
uncomfortible!  She can do this twisty thing and almost turn around while I 
still have her harness.  So, I just put pressure the other direction and she 
gets the point!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tami Kinney" <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, April 23, 2012 6:47 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Wanting to Chase all moving animals, especially small 
ones...


> Larry,
>
> That's pretty much the same thing I do with my poodle nut. Well, she grew 
> out of frequent extreme distraction frenzies... Though she still has a few 
> saved up for special occasions.
>
> But pretty much what I do is plant my feet and stand with my attention 
> elsewhere until she settles down and gets bored enough to let me know she 
> would like to go forward and get back to work. Depending on how snotty and 
> rowdy she has been, I will wait a few beats, still giving her no 
> attention, just to help her remember who actually mades the decision in 
> this team. /smile/ But for the most part, now, I can simply give the 
> forward command quickly and off we go. Then I look at her and smile and 
> praise or click.
>
> Actually, I seem to have a "leave it! Forward!" command that is separate 
> from just leave it or just forward. It's mostly for sniffing but also for 
> more exciting distractions... Usually it works to get her refocused and 
> going when I first feel her starting to react to a kitty or some such. 
> Puppy Zay is learning that one now, too, around this neighborhood. /smile/
>
> I think one reason I have really come to like the GL -- or the slightly 
> different headgear I have for Zay for her different construction -- is 
> that it is self-correcting while enabling me to keep control. I could not 
> believe how strong my seemingly featherweight poodle pup was when she 
> would get a yen to pull against her collar. Also, I learned that poodles 
> will do that and pull so hard they damage their tracheas. So I would walk 
> her in a walking harness or a GL. I still do, just in case. Also, when she 
> would get psycho distracted in harness, if she was pulling and yanking too 
> much on the harness handle while I was standing ther planted, I could just 
> drop the handle and let her run herself into the nosepiece of the GL... 
> Then it was up to her to decide if she wanted to do that again. Me? I was 
> just standing there! /lol/ Stubborn little cuss would really go rodeo at 
> times, a bucking and rearing wild stallion! But it didn't pay for her to 
> keep doing that, and all I was doing was standing around with my attention 
> on something else, so... She would eventually decide that what she really 
> wanted to do was to get on with a nice civilized walk or working errand. 
> /lol/
>
> Funny, adapting to our good old-fashioned mutt from poodle... Zay is 
> really responsive and shows some brains, and she is learning a lot of good 
> habits from Mitzi on our double dog walks. But she needs a bit more 
> firmness in correction than Mitzi, for whom finesse is the only way to 
> go... When I have the two fo them together, I have to use different 
> leashes so I don't accidentally offend Mitzi by treating her like a common 
> cur. Or let Zay get too far out of bounds by giving her light voice 
> reminders and only a pinky twitch on the leash... Well, Zay is coming 
> along nicely, so I can now get through most of a double dog walk without 
> too many exotic threats upon the persons of both of them... /lol/
>
> Tami
>
> On 04/23/2012 05:00 AM, Larry D. Keeler wrote:
>> Yah, Holly would love to chase squirrels, rabbits and especially scunks! 
>> One of those got her a couple of years back and you'd figure she'd learn 
>> but, I guess not!  I sure did though!  Interestingly, she like cats and 
>> ferrets.  She has played with both.  And, like Marks dog, she will 
>> sometimes get distracted by pidgions.  Especially when a whole flock of 
>> them!  But, I'll just stand there and hold on tight!  I usually correct 
>> her and just stand until iether they go away or until holly gets bored!
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cindy Ray" <cindyray at gmail.com>
>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, April 23, 2012 7:24 AM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Wanting to Chase all moving animals,especially small 
>> ones...
>>
>>
>>> Hannah, everyone's dog, I am sure, has some issue with something. They 
>>> are one of them perfect because they are dogs. For some it is cats and 
>>> squirrels, for some it is other dogs. You have to keep reminding her 
>>> that this is not the time to be going after them. For mine it is dogs. 
>>> He is a little better, but he still has not overcome it and I've had him 
>>> three and a half years. You won't ever have a perfect dog, so just keep 
>>> working on it and be attentive to the fact that you are going to run 
>>> into a problem like this from time to time. I am not saying you 
>>> shouldn't keep correcting, and maybe some kind of reward if you know 
>>> that you have passed up a distraction, but dogs are alive. Just relax 
>>> and enjoy the dog and pay attention. That's really the only advice I 
>>> would know how to give on this.
>>>
>>> Cindy
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
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