[nagdu] working up to obstacles

Stephanie Mitchell naturelovingmom at gmail.com
Wed May 1 10:51:48 UTC 2013


You could always tell her th hup up to the obstacle and then 
trail around it yourself.  That's what I do with Gypsy when she 
won't go round someth".
Steph


 ----- Original Message -----
From: Julie McGinnity <kaybaycar at gmail.com
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:07:25 -0500
Subject: Re: [nagdu] working up to obstacles

Hi all,

It depends with Brie.  If there is a branch blocking the 
sidewalk, she
will take me up to it maybe about a foot or two away and then 
expect
me to decide where to go.  If I make a decision that Brie doesn't
like, then she will refuse until I give her one she agrees with.  
For
example, if I told her to go towards the street to get around it, 
she
wouldn't do that.

The problem we encounter frequently is trying to get around cars 
that
sit in the cross walk.  Just today I was crossing the street at 
the
right time, when all of a sudden, Brie was taking me left way out 
of
the cross walk.  I told her no and tried to get her back in the 
cross
walk.  Then a couple friends of mine came by and told me there 
was a
car blocking the entire cross walk.  So Brie was smart, and I was 
not.
 :)

But I think that if the sidewalk is blocked, so that we would 
need to
get on the grass, Brie would stop and wait for that direction.  
This
is good because I think I would freak out if all of a sudden she 
was
taking me on the grass randomly.

When we are inside, and there is an obstacle blocking the way
entirely, Brie will wait for someone to move it out of her way.  
I am
curious if anyone else's dog does this.  Of course, it can't 
happen
with every obstacle, but let's say we are walking across a room, 
and
our way is completely blocked by a desk.  Brie will stop two or 
three
feet away from the object--just enough that I can't see what it 
is or
feel if there is room to move around it, and she won't move.  No
matter what she won't budge until someone comes along and moves 
the
obstacle for her.  We are working on getting me closer to the 
obstacle
so that I can move it or finding a different path in the first 
place
so that she can completely avoid it.

I hope that made sense, and sorry for the long post.

On 4/30/13, Christel Sogenbits <christel.chrissu at gmail.com> 
wrote:
 Hello to everybody!

 My Roosi  is usually finding the way by her self but still 
sometimes I  mess
 her up.  Trust issues I think.  But when we stop infront of some 
obsticles
 then I just say to her a command to find the road.  If it doesnt 
work for the
 first time i repeat the command  for several times and when she 
still doesnt
 move then I tell her the right way.  For example  to go to right 
or left or
 back.  But usually she finds the right way and is so really 
happy when she
 gets so many good girls and happy words...  Hmm..  I dont know 
how it is in
 english when you say to your dog that she is really good girl 
and did good
 with happy voice.  Well I hope you understand:)smile:)
 Oh, and please dont think that I dont trust my dog.  But 
sometimes when I
 have better days and i can see a little then I still sometimes 
want to
 lead:)smile:)


 Tervitades / With greetings
 Christel Sogenbits
 GSM: +372 58 440 521
 E-mail: christel.chrissu at gmail.com
 Skype: christel.chrissu


 -----Original Message-----
 From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy 
Carcione
 Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 8:52 PM
 To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users
 Subject: Re: [nagdu] working up to obstacles

 Ben will go within a few feet of the obstacle, then turn to go 
around it.
 He only stops if the alternate path is also narrow, like when a 
car is
 across the sidewalk and a tree is close to the path to go around 
the car, or
 at the curb, if we have to step into the street.

 In class, we worked what the trainer called a trap.  She laid 
out
 construction tape along the side, then blocked it with more tape 
at the end.
 The dog is supposed to see that the end is blocked and not go in 
the trap at
 all.  I kinda messed Ben up though, because, when he went to 
turn away from
 the trap, I thought he was messing around and made him go in.
 He seems confused about such things to this day.

 All my other dogs worked obstacles the same as Ben, go within a 
few feet,
 then choose a path around.  At GDB, they wanted us to go up to 
the obstacle
 and then turn, but I dropped that at the first opportunity.
 Tracy

 Julie,

 Mitzi, too, will figure things out from a distance and find 
another way.
 Very confusing, but I've gotten used to it for the most part.  
Every
 now and then I will argue her into taking me up to the obstacle, 
and
 she is very smug when we finally turn around and backtrack and 
take
 the way she told me to in the first place.  /lol/

 I don't know where she got it, either, since I didn't 
specifically
 train her for it.  I suspect she just noticed that obstacles and 
having
 to turn around irritate me, or else she just doesn't like having 
to
 turn around because it's boring.  Who knows? /lol/

 Tami

 On 04/30/2013 06:59 AM, Julie J.  wrote:
 I’m wondering how everyone else’s guides work impassable 
obstacles?
 For example, let’s say there’s been a severe thunderstorm 
and a
 largish tree branch has fallen across the sidewalk, entirely 
blocking
 it off.

 How would your guide work that situation?  If you’ve had more 
than
 one guide did they work something like this differently?

 Do they go all the way up to the branch and then stop to wait 
for
 further instruction?
 Would they alter course from a distance, so you never get close?
 Would they stop a few feet away, at the most obvious turning 
point to
 go around the thing?
 Something else?

 Monty has always worked obstacles from a distance, meaning he 
will
 choose a clear path from as much as half a block away.  Of 
course, I
 never taught him this.  I have no idea what obstacles are that 
far
 away so I could offer instruction from that kind of distance.  
This
 is just how Monty has interpreted his job duties.  Mostly I
 appreciate not walking up to the obstacle only then having to 
double
 back and go a different direction.  Sometimes though, it is 
rather
 annoying, not having the slightest idea why he is insistent that 
we go a
 different
 way.  He is zealous about safety to the point of insanity.   If 
he views
 something as unsafe, no amount of coaxing, prompting or 
encouraging
 will get him to budge.

 I do appreciate his stubborn insistence on safety, I just wish I
 understood better what we were going around.   I also wish I 
knew how I
 managed to give him the impression that he should stop so far 
away.
 *sigh*
 It’s not really a problem so much as a curiosity to me.  
He’s a
 very smart dog.  I wonder what goes on in his fat head.

 Julie
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--
Julie McG
National Association of Guide dog Users board member,  National
Federation of the Blind performing arts division secretary,
Missouri Association of Guide dog Users President,
and Guiding Eyes for the Blind graduate 2008
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
life."
John 3:16

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