[nagdu] Owner trainers

Julie J. julielj at neb.rr.com
Mon Aug 19 19:53:52 UTC 2013


I just picked out a puppy that is being privately trained for me. 
Coincidentally the private trainer is also blind. I wrote about it recently 
on the list...maybe a month ago or so.

In short I was looking for a puppy who was friendly, interested in what was 
going on around her, bold, and confident.  I relied quite a bit on the Puppy 
Aptitude Test, somewhat on the breeders suggestion and my own instincts. 
There is a significant correlation between the retrieve puppy test and 
successful guide dogs.

I think the most difficult part of owner training is finding a puppy or dog 
that has the temperament to make a good guide.  I've been thinking about 
what I want in my next dog since I finished training Monty four years ago. 
I started looking for a breeder last fall and finally things came together 
this summer.

The second most difficult part is raising the puppy.  Monty and Belle were 
older puppies when I got them.  They were a handful, but Miss Jetta at 8 
weeks old required more work than three of Monty.  Baby puppies know 
nothing...what to chew on, when to sleep, where to sleep, how to be on their 
own, where to pee...It's like having a newborn baby, except a puppy can 
walk, run, jump, has teeth and gets into everything.  They are cute though! 
*smile*

The actual guide training is the easy part.  By this point, you should have 
a well socialized dog with nice manners who knows how to learn.   It's like 
dog college.  College students want to be there.  they are dedicated 
learners.  Compare that with a preschool or kindergarten.  I suppose a 
really good early childhood teacher could keep a neat, clean, quiet and 
orderly room, but mostly there's a lot of finger-paint on the walls, snot 
running from noses, many trips to the bathroom, lots of running and shouting 
and general mayhem.  See what I mean?  Seriously, the guide part is a 
breeze!

So there are some options when training a new dog...you can use your cane to 
find obstacles and curbs so you can teach the dog what you want when you 
encounter them.  Or you can use a familiar environment, like your front yard 
with maybe some set up cues to help you, like a radio on the front porch or 
a rug at the top of the steps or things like that.  another method is to 
work your current guide and have the trainee tag along.  The younger dog 
will pick up a lot from the older more experienced dog.  Of course that only 
works if you have a current working dog.

Each method has advantages and disadvantages.  Probably a mix of approaches 
is what ends up working.  I mostly introduce things in a familiar 
environment, then supplement with the use of a cane.  I also worked Monty 
only in areas where I was reasonably certain of my safety given his current 
level of training.  So if he didn't know to stop at stairs, I didn't take 
him to places with stairs without a back up plan, until he mastered that 
skill.  This meant that I would prescout places to train with him.

No, you don't have to go through any training to owner train a guide dog.  I 
had a lot of experience training dogs in other capacities before I trained 
my first guide, but zero experience training a guide dog.  I have never had 
a guide from a program.  I've trained three guides and my next guide is ten 
weeks old and living with her trainer.  I just didn't have the energy to 
owner train again.  It's an incredible amount of time and energy.

To teach a dog to stop at curbs is really easy.  I approach the curb with 
the dog, I stop at the curb where I want the dog to stop.  I prefer just a 
bit back from the edge, instead of having my toes hang over.  The dog should 
stop with you because they have already been taught to walk nicely on leash. 
When the dog stops, click and treat or tell him good boy and give pets or 
whatever method you use.  Rinse and repeat.  The dog will learn extremely 
quickly that he should stop at the curb to receive his accolades.  Then with 
the dog in harness or on leash but a bit ahead, pay special attention to any 
indication that the dog is slowing or stopping before you do.  Click and 
treat the moment he shows that he is stopping or hesitating at the curb. 
rinse and repeat until the dog takes the initiative to stop before you stop. 
Now take the show on the road and practice with other curbs.  Once that is 
mastered, add in blended curbs.  Teaching to stop at stairs is the next 
level of this training.  Just keep layering skills onto the basic building 
blocks the dog already knows.  It's like Legos!

There is no book about training your own guide dog currently available.  I 
am working on one.  I had hoped to have it out about two years ago now. 
*sigh*   It is in the final revision phase.  I need to fix some punctuation 
problems.  I've also been asked to include more about the actual how to 
parts of owner training.  I haven't decided if I want to do that or not. 
Anyway when I do finally get the book done, I will be self publishing it as 
an eBook.  I'll let everyone know when that happens.  We'll have to have a 
party or something.  I've been working on this project for forever!

Julie 





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