[nagdu] Owner training

[Julie J.]

Robert,

You are too funny!  We have talked about owner training fairly 
extensively on this list, but not in some time.  I'm answering on list 
because usually when someone asks me to write off list about owner 
training, there are several other people requesting that I share my 
thoughts on list.  So here goes!

1. In regard to selecting a dog...you are right the larger schools do 
have multiple dogs to choose from when matching you, but the smaller 
ones do not always.  Choosing a dog to begin the owner training process 
is the most difficult part of the whole thing.  I've started with older 
puppies for my last two guides.  Their temperament is fairly well 
established and you mostly get what you see.  With a young puppy you 
won't know exactly what he/she will turn out like until months later.  
The best advice I can give here is to choose a breeder wisely, get in 
lots of socialization and have a back up plan if it doesn't work out.  
Actually the back up plan isn't just for puppies.

2.  Reasons for owner training...these have changed a bit over the years 
for me, but the main reason that has never changed is that I just plain 
love to do it.  I like training dogs.  I enjoy seeing a young clueless 
dog slowly metamorphose into a competent guide dog.  I find it mentally 
challenging and extremely enjoyable.

Other reasons I like to owner train include: complete ownership, the 
ability to choose equipment, the ability to choose what food to feed, 
the ability to obtain veterinary care as I feel appropriate, no need to 
complete any yearly paperwork, no need to go to doctor's appointments 
that I don't need so I can fill out applications, no need to take off a 
month of work and family life, no need to stress about living with 
strangers for a month, and a huge sense of accomplishment for a job well 
done when the dog guides me around an obstacle for the first or even the 
471st time.

Disadvantages for me...there is no trainer to call if I run into a snag. 
It can be expensive. There are no guarantees of success. It's a load of 
time invested. It can be emotionally difficult at times. I have to 
advocate for myself, always.  Sometimes other guide dog handlers and 
service dog users can be quite unpleasant about owner training.  And 
it's a lot of work.

3.  Pace and pull...I believe that pace and pull are partly a product of 
the dog's individuality and part training.   Again I've started with 
older puppies so I feel I could gauge at least pace pretty well.  I 
prefer a strong enough pull to know there is a dog in the harness, but 
not so much that I'm being dragged down the street.  In my experience 
dog's naturally pull and it is mostly a process of getting that pull 
down to the level that is comfortable.  I used to walk very fast and so 
picked an athletic dog that could keep up.  Now since I've broken my 
foot, Monty and I are having to  learn to work at a slower pace.  It's a 
process, but we are getting there.

4.  Training theory and approaches...my best advice here is to find a 
method that resonates with you.  I was originally taught dog training 
way back in the day with the very harsh correction methods.  Those 
methods pretty much flopped with Belle so I had to learn a new way of 
working with her.  I learned about clicker training and used it with a 
lot of success.  Now I use a variety of techniques depending on the 
situation, the dog and what will work best.  I lean toward a more 
positive approach, meaning clicker or operant conditioning.  Especially 
in the early stages of training I give the dog the benefit of my doubt.  
Generally I will assume a mistake by the dog means that I haven't 
trained that skill to the level I was asking the dog to perform.  We 
back up and practice more in lower distraction places, less complicated 
situations or break the task down into smaller pieces so the dog can be 
successful.  Later when I am 110% sure the dog knows exactly what I'm 
asking him to do and is blatantly choosing not to do it and a verbal 
reminder has had no effect, I will use corrections.

All that is just me though.  No training method is going to be 
successful if the trainer doesn't believe in it, doesn't use it 
correctly or isn't consistent.  I also think that one way of training 
doesn't fit every dog.  I guess that's another advantage of owner 
training.  If I try teaching a skill one way and it doesn't work, that 
doesn't mean the dog fails.  It means that I find a new way of 
presenting the information to the dog.  Belle required repetition to 
understand things.  With her it was practice makes perfect.  With Monty 
if I do too many repetitions he starts thinking there is something else 
he needs to do.  He'll start getting creative, adding, elaborating or 
improvising.  For him 3 or 4 run throughs, then a break to do something 
else works best.  He also generalizes scary fast.  I had to be about 3 
steps ahead of him or he'd make giant leaps of learning in new 
directions that I wasn't prepared for.

5. sighted help...If you have people available to help you, sighted or 
blind, it will be most useful.  Knowing what is coming up can be helpful 
during the early stages of training.  In the beginning the dog won't be 
guiding, you will actually be guiding him through what you want him to 
learn.  A cane is useful too.  Safety is the main thing.  Whatever you 
need to do to keep safe is the right thing.

I'd say that I do about 98% of the training independently.  My son 
enjoys setting up obstacle courses on the front sidewalk for me to work 
through.  I'd also have him help with early moving obstacles.  first 
he'd push the wheeled trash can around.  Then we'd progress to 
skateboard, bike or scooter.  Much later I had my husband drive a car to 
practice traffic avoidance.  If you don't have sighted assistance, it 
can still be done.  I know of owner trainers who do it this way.

The second part of this question was about socialization and where to 
take the dog...I did not take Monty to work with me until he was fully 
trained and then some.   I did not purchase a vest that said puppy in 
training.  Again I was working with older puppies.  By the time I was 
absolutely certain they weren't going to have an accident in a store and 
I had had the dog long enough to know them well enough to gauge what 
socialization was appropriate, I was starting the very beginning of 
harness work.  I put the harness on and took them into businesses 
wearing it.  I did have a patch that said "service dog in training" with 
Belle.  I lost it for a while and didn't find it until after Monty was 
past that stage.  I am also extremely conservative with taking dogs into 
public during training.  I plan very carefully.  I do not take young 
dogs into public because I need to buy something or run errands.  Each 
time I take a young dog into a public place it is a specific training 
session with specific goals in mind.  I frequently use dog friendly 
places for the majority of early socialization, parks, outdoor 
festivals, farmers market, school playgrounds, outside of stores, walks 
downtown, hardware stores etc.

With Belle and Tia I worked  from home or was going to school.  My time 
was very flexible around their schedule and training.  With Monty I 
worked part time.  He was in his kennel while I was at work.  I have 
absolutely no idea how you could owner train a dog while working full 
time with no one at home to help.  Perhaps if you started with an adult 
dog and had an employer who was agreeable to bringing a dog in training 
with you to work.

6.  When is the dog fully trained...for me it is when I stop questioning 
myself every time I leave the house.  Have I taken the dog to this place 
before?  Is he familiar with that type of situation?  How did he do last 
time?  How long will I be gone?  Is he ready for this type of 
situation?   When I quit doing that and instinctively reach for the 
harness, then the dog is fully trained.

I hope that answers some of your questions.  I firmly believe that owner 
training a guide dog is not  rocket science.  I think there are a lot of 
blind people with the ability to do it.   The crucial factor is 
commitment.  Belle took about a year and Monty a little longer to get 
from adolescent to capable guide dog.  During that time I'd work every 
single day on their education, rain or shine, arctic freeze or 
blistering heat, we were working.   Not everyone has that amount of time 
or wants to devote it to dog training.  I happen to find it extremely 
enjoyable.  I found it no hardship to spend my free time training.  
Actually the opposite is true.  Now that Monty is a fully trained guide 
dog I find myself dreaming up new things to teach him or the occasional 
daydream about getting another dog.  I don't know if I will owner train 
again or not.  I know the determining factor will be my available time 
and physical ability to do the work and not the desire to train.   My 
heart will always be with owner training.

Anyway this has gotten extremely long.  I hope you find something useful 
in there.  Please feel free to ask any questions or to talk about owner 
training freely.

Julie