[nagdu] [Nagdu] guide dog Training in Sweden

[rhonda cruz]

 hello i also use clicker training, it comes in handy.
  nice to have you back on the list,

On Jul 20, 2013, at 9:33 AM, Raven Tolliver wrote:

> Hi Leye,
> First, welcome back to the list!
> I have recently learned that there are quite a few differences in
> guide dog training in Sweden.
> As for clicker training, check out the email I sent to the list,
> directed at Steph.
> You can use clicker training while the dog is in or out of harness. It
> is mainly used to teach animals to learn new behaviors. After a dog
> regularly responds to a command or performs a behavior, it is not
> necessary to click. Treating can be used every time, sometimes,
> occasionally, or never, but it is always good to praise the dog for
> performing the desired action. So since your dog already knows to find
> stairs and curbs, you don't need to use a clicker, but if you choose
> to give food rewards, treats help continue to reinforce the behavior.
> again, using the clicker comes in handy when teaching a guide dog to
> locate new objects or new places.
> In the US, guide dog schools that use this definitely teach it to
> their students when they learn to use a guide dog.
> Another obstacle there in Sweden might be that the SRF, who regulates
> the guide dog training programs there, does not allow clicker
> training. I'm not sure if that is the case, I'm just saying it is a
> possibility that they do not permit it. They may be mistaken or
> ignorant about ways for blind people to use clicker training. I know
> that the SRF set the regulation there that guide dogs are not to be
> trained to avoid moving vehicles, which is another thing guide dogs
> schools do train here.
> As for another difference between training here in the US and in
> Sweden. I have a question for you.
> Is it true that guide dog users there do not use leash corrections
> with their dogs? A leash correction involves a sharp tug on the leash,
> which in turn pulls on the collar the dog is wearing, which can be a
> slip chain, prong collar, or martingale check collar. This applies a
> short, quick pressure to the dog's neck and is used when a dog makes
> an error or behaves inappropriately. Leash corrections are commonly
> used in the following situations: when a guide dog does not clear the
> handler around an obstacle, when the guide does not stop at a curb or
> stairs, when the guide sniffs in harness, when the guide barks or
> growls in harness, when the guide interacts or tries to interact with
> other people, dogs, or animals in harness. Of course, verbal commands
> such as “quiet,” "hop-up," “no,” and “leave it” can be used. Some
> people talk to their dog more than correcting them physically, other
> people simply expect their dogs to behave certain ways in harness, and
> if the dog doesn’t obey after the first couple times a verbal command
> is given, the dog is given a leash correction.
> If leash corrections are not used, what are the students taught to do
> when their dog makes a mistake or behaves inappropriately?
> 
> -- 
> Raven
> 
> On 07/18/2013 06:39 AM, Leye-Shprintse wrote:
> BS"D
> 
> Hello,
> 
> What I understand some guide dog schools in Northern America use
> clicker training to train their dogs and the method are taught to
> their students during training. In Sweden, we do't use it since blind
> persons can't use this method of training. I wonder if someone has the
> time to tell me how it works, how do you use this method and when? As
> an example, can you use it when you work the dog in harness, when the
> dog shall 'find the stairs/kerb/lamppost'? Thank you for taking the
> time to read this!
> 
> Kind regards,
> Leye-Shprintse ?berg
> Sweden
> 
> Courriel : leyeshprintse at ymail.com
> 
> Envoy? de mon iPad
> 
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