[nagdu] Owner trainers

Mon Aug 19 20:50:04 UTC 2013

Yes, I  do traffic training with my dogs.  Traffic avoidance is one of those 
top level skills.  There is a lot of building blocks to get there.  First, 
the dog must understand stationary obstacles, on the left and right.  Next 
would be maybe pedestrian traffic of a normal variety, think people at a 
bank, post office, office building etc.  Next maybe larger crowds and more 
sporadic walking patterns, think shopping malls, Wal-Mart on Saturday 
morning, kids at a playground etc.  The next level might be small wheeled 
obstacles.  I have my Kiddo wheel our large trash bin around to do this 
part.  It's loud so I know what's going on every step of the process. 
Shopping carts, responsible bicyclist, roller skaters etc. would be other 
examples in this category.  then move up to kids on skateboards not paying 
too much attention, bicyclists talking on their phones, Moms with 7 kids who 
are talking on their phone while pushing the shopping cart at Wal-Mart on 
the Saturday morning...you get the idea.  Accidents up to this point are 
going to be unpleasant, but not fatal.

Once the dog has a solid understanding of moving obstacles and I do mean 
solid, then find a friend or family member who likes you and get them to 
drive at you, but not to actually harm you.  I start in the driveway with 
the car pulling in as I'm walking down the sidewalk.  Move to more difficult 
situations, car turning right in front of you as you cross the street, car 
backing up, etc.  Your dog already knows obstacle avoidance, the traffic is 
just practice with bigger and faster obstacles.

Monty is super traffic aware.  He paused just last night in the Wal-Mart 
parking lot because there was a car backing out.  There's an alley I have to 
cross on my way to work that has a building right next to it, completely 
blocking the driver's view of any approaching pedestrians.  We get a traffic 
check there every few weeks.  There's been lots of others.  The scariest one 
ever was at the pedestrian crosswalk.  I had pushed the button and had the 
light to cross.   We were half or a little more across when a lady ran the 
red light and came within inches of turning us into road pizza.  Monty did 
this ninja maneuver to get us out of the way with about a hair's breadth to 
spare.  One gentleman who saw it thought Monty had been hit because of the 
way he moved.  It was that close.

I know of other owner trainers who have used two way radios or other 
communication tools to keep in constant contact with the driver while they 
are training traffic.  It's a good idea, but I haven't done that.  I just 
talk things through with the driver so I know what to expect.  And of course 
there's going to be natural occurring traffic checks throughout the training 
process.  For those you just have to do the best that you can.  All the same 
safety rules apply that you would observe if you were using a cane.  You 
just have to remember that it is your absolute responsibility to keep the 
team safe, not the dog's, until the very end of training when the dog shows 
competence in traffic.  Then you are still responsible, but the dog helps. 
You get what I mean.

HTH
Julie

-----Original Message----- 
From: Sherry Gomes
Sent: Monday, August 19, 2013 3:19 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Owner trainers

Hey Julie,

thank you for this informative message. The idea of hiring a trainer for my
next dog has been brewing in my head, as I expect I won't return to GDB
unless they undo some of the damage they did to their program this year. I
also with my other disabilities, don't feel I could easily start over at a
different program. I also don't think I could have the time to train my own
dog. So, I've considered hiring someone, when the time comes. Out of
curiosity, do you train your dogs to do traffic checks,a nd if so, how?

Thanks again for this great message. I enjoyed reading it so much.Sherry

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Julie J.
Sent: Monday, August 19, 2013 1:54 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Owner trainers

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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