[nagdu] Finding the Way was Re: GDF training

Tue Mar 20 17:51:57 UTC 2012

Two summers ago, when I interned at the University of Washington, I would 
eat my meals in a large cafeteria. It took Lexia a little while, but, once 
she got the hang of it, she could get me out of there regardless of where I 
was sitting. There is a similar situation this year in the new dining hall 
at Stanford. The dining area is upstairs, and I use the elevator. When I get 
up to leave my table, Lexia will take me to the elevator. Sometimes, 
something, I am not sure what, happens, and she takes me somewhere else, 
but, if I tell her again to find the elevator, she usually can do it.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "GARY STEEVES" <rainshadowmusic at shaw.ca>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2012 10:43 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] GDF training

> Hi Jeanine:
>
> That was a great email. Dog guides Canada teaches the find command and 
> they are empowering in teaching us to taylor it to our needs when we get 
> home. I'm still learning how I need to give the command to Bogart and see 
> if he will do it. He has a tendency to go to the the esculator going in 
> the wrong direction. I've recently started to tell him find the esculator 
> right and it has worked. I have also tried things when buried deep within 
> a store to say find the way out and let him go. I was amazed the first 
> time when he did it with no issue. Maybe I should try saying find the 
> esculator up (or down) and see what he does.
>
> Just out of the blue one day at a place where I encounter a T intersection
> and I'm on the bottom of the T I asked him to left, find the curb. He 
> actually turned onto the grass and lined us up with the curb across from 
> us. I was blown away. So now I will give more complicated commands as long 
> as they are using words that I think he already knows. It has great 
> results. There is probably so much more he can do without me even knowing.
>
> Gary
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Jenine Stanley <jeninems at wowway.com>
> Date: Friday, March 16, 2012 8:49 am
> Subject: [nagdu] GDF training
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>
>> Thank you all for your interest in how GDF's training is
>> slightly different
>> from that at other schools. As always the disclaimer applies
>> that everyone's
>> mileage may vary on this but these have been my experiences as a
>> graduatesince 1990 and staff member since 2008.
>>
>> Back in 1990 when I first went to GDF, I knew a bit about having
>> a guide
>> dog. I'd had 2 already from another school. I also knew that
>> dogs could do
>> more than what that school told me they could but I had no idea
>> how to get a
>> dog to the point of being able to do all those extra things.
>>
>> Needless to say, I was amazed when taught at GDF that I was
>> indeed a dog
>> handler and had the knowledge and power to teach my dog
>> additional things.
>> This was back before clickers and food rewards.
>>
>> Nothing wrong at all with using those training techniques but I
>> was taught,
>> and GDf still does teach people, how to teach my dog to find
>> things for me
>> without using a clicker or food. It was my job to retain the training
>> techniques.
>>
>> My first instructor told me that my dog would do as much or as
>> little as I
>> expected of her as long as she understood those expectations.
>>
>> At that time during our training, we learned how to show the
>> dogs the
>> difference between a flight of stairs going up or down. I could
>> then say to
>> my GDF dog, "Find steps up." In a staircase and he or she would
>> choose the
>> correct flight of stairs. Same with escalators.
>>
>> This has been dropped from most classes now as people just
>> weren't using it,
>> but it's something I work with each of my dogs during class to
>> master.
>>
>> The greatest difference I saw back in the '90's with my GDF dogs that
>> continues to this day is the use of the "find command". More
>> schools are
>> indeed using this command in many ways but it's been at GDF for
>> much longer
>> than I've been associated with them.
>>
>> During class at the Smithtown facility, you are expected to have
>> your dog
>> find your seat in the dining room each day, an empty seat in the
>> lecturerooms, your own room, doors, the training vans, the trash
>> cans at the relief
>> area and anything else you want him or her to find for you. I
>> teach my dogs
>> to find the Coke machine right away. <grin>
>>
>> All of this is done without clickers or food or other external
>> devices. The
>> dogs work for praise.
>>
>> Yes, we do use clickers in some phases of training but not
>> during formal
>> class and wean the dogs off them quickly. We do use food and
>> suggest its use
>> in problem solving but we don't expect you to carry around a
>> treat pouch to
>> get your dog to work.
>>
>> Some of the things people from other schools find challenging
>> about class,
>> and I'm speaking here of class in our facility, include the
>> footwork. We
>> have you step off with your right foot, using your left leg as a
>> fulcrum to
>> steady yourself.
>>
>> I had to work to overcome my original training of investigating
>> the curb
>> with my right foot then stepping off with the left. This often
>> found me
>> losing my balance and stumbling off the curb onto my dog. I've
>> never done
>> that starting with the right foot.
>>
>> Some people will note that their dogs don't care which foot they
>> start off
>> on and the dog adjusts. Some dogs do. Others struggle with it.
>> I'm told
>> often by grads and observers that our dogs watch the handler's
>> feet for
>> position and any uncertainty and correct their guiding
>> accordingly.
>>
>> We also do some of the turns a bit differently. I'm struggling
>> here to
>> recall what was done in my last class regarding left turns as I
>> do them the
>> original way I was taught at GDF. This involves coming to a
>> corner and
>> before giving the "left" command, turning my body 90 degrees to
>> face left,
>> trying not to twist the handle of course. My knees are against
>> my dog's
>> side. Then I give the "left" turn command and my dog has space
>> to back up
>> around any obstacles like shrubbery or poles at the corner.
>>
>> The right turn command also is a tad different from what I was
>> used to
>> before. It involves taking a step back with the right foot then
>> putting your
>> weight on that foot and moving the left one back as well to give
>> the dog
>> space to make the turn.
>>
>> In my early days at GDF we used a lot of hand signals. Those
>> were dropped by
>> Mike Sergeant but are being reinstituted. Some people choose to
>> use them and
>> some do not. I can't live without them. The thought is that
>> using hand
>> signals does alert your dog to focus more on your body movements for
>> direction.
>>
>> The final thing that is different about GDF that is probably the
>> toughestthing to learn is leash guiding. Yes we teach it and yes
>> we teach it in a
>> very specific way to stay safe.
>>
>> Do many dogs guide on leash? Sure they do but can they do so in
>> Manhattan?Our dogs have.
>>
>> That said, we have drastically revised our leash guiding
>> instructions due to
>> the increasing traffic threat out there. Distracted drivers
>> don't give dogs
>> enough time to react when leash guiding so we no longer
>> recommend using
>> leash guiding for street work. It can be used indoors, in
>> familiar areas
>> outside without traffic but isn't recommended for street
>> crossing any
>> longer.
>>
>> The distance between the dog's head and shoulders and your body is
>> significantly shorter when leash guiding, giving less reaction
>> time. Your
>> hand should be in a specific position on the leash with a
>> specific length of
>> leash between you and the dog. It's not as easy as it sounds.
>>
>> I can imagine some of you saying "that's not really very
>> different from my
>> school."
>>
>> It may not be now as many schools have picked up on some of our
>> methods.Some instructors still get into friendly but heated
>> discussions with me
>> about why the "Find" command is impossible and often misused. My
>> response is
>> to ask if those misusing the command are from schools who teach
>> it during
>> class thoroughly such as Southeastern and GDF. The answer, a
>> sheepish no.
>>
>> When teaching your dog to find something, you're also paying
>> attention to
>> the dog's signals when it's not there. You also are a partner in
>> helping to
>> find it, not just giving a command and hanging on.
>>
>> I'll end this message with a situation that always gets me. I've
>> even caught
>> our grads doing it. Them I can chide, in a friendly way of
>> course.
>>
>> We're in a room, say at a convention, and someone comes up and
>> asks how to
>> get out of the room.
>>
>> My thought, "Tell your dog to 'find outside'. Or whatever the
>> command is you
>> use to find a doorway. Your dog can do these things. It's up to
>> you to
>> practice and keep him sharp. It's also up to you to use your
>> knowledge of
>> orientation to give him clues. That's what GDF taught me. Hope
>> this helps.
>>
>> Jenine Stanley
>> jeninems at wowway.com
>> http://www.twitter.com/jeninems
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
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