[nagdu] Owner training

Tracy Carcione carcione at access.net
Thu Jan 19 19:30:54 UTC 2012


Hi Robert.
The first owner-trainer I ever met, back in the 1980's, was Paul Gabias, a
psychology professor now living in British Columbia.  When I asked him
about owner training one evening over a beer, he said he decided early on
that dog training was not rocket science, and that he certainly knew
enough about operant conditioning to do the job, without having to turn
any control over to any kind of agency serving the blind, as he saw the
guide dog schools.  His preferred breed was goldens, so he found a breeder
whose dogs he liked and got a puppy.  I don't know if he did this, but
some breeders offer a contract allowing the dog to be returned if it's not
working out in its new home.
I think Paul started taking the pup-in-training around with him as much as
possible, as soon as it was reliably housebroken.  I know he also did
considerable work on specific situations, for example, making sure he dog
was careful around the lake dock.

Owner-training seems to appeal to you psych guys.
Tracy






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