[nagdu] some miscellaneous issues and updates fromAleehaandDallas

Nicole Torcolini ntorcolini at wavecable.com
Wed Nov 20 05:38:26 UTC 2013 

Do you have a chair that you can practice with? You need to work on at some
point when you have a lot of time. It sounds like you need to back up and
take this one step at a time, starting with having Dallas just lay between
your feet in front and slowly working to sliding him under the chair. 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Aleeha Dudley
Sent: Monday, November 18, 2013 11:13 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] some miscellaneous issues and updates
fromAleehaandDallas

Bi,
  I am trying to get him to face outward, but he literally will not. I have
to really coax and cajole him to get him settled. In my class today, all he
wanted to do was go in head first. Be actually ended up settled next to my
chair.
Aleeha and the studious Dallas

On 11/17/13, Buddy Brannan <buddy at brannan.name> wrote:
> Putting the dog under the chair with the head facing backwards also 
> seemed counterintuitive to me, and I never did it. At TSE when I went, 
> I was never corrected on this; it was a habit I got into with my first 
> dog. In any case, it seems to me that having the head facing forward, 
> between your feet, would give you better control over where your dog's 
> head is and what his mouth may or may not be trying to grab off the 
> floor, not to mention less likelihood of people trying to give your dog
stuff without your knowledge or consent.
> --
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
> Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY
>
>
>
> On Nov 16, 2013, at 11:20 PM, minh ha <minh.ha927 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I agree with Nicole, that just seems counterintuitive for a dog to do 
>> that. Also, a lot of chairs have bars and stuff on them so I don't 
>> think squeezing them in there would be very comfortable.
>>
>> On 11/14/13, Nicole Torcolini <ntorcolini at wavecable.com> wrote:
>>> Head facing the back of the chair? No offense , but, JMHO, there's 
>>> your problem right there. Some dogs don't like putting their heads 
>>> in confined spaces. Also, they like to be able to see what's going 
>>> on, even if they are not directly involved in it.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of daniel
>>> Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2013 5:29 AM
>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] some miscellaneous issues and updates from 
>>> AleehaandDallas
>>>
>>> hey aleeha, I wonder what it is about these dogs that set off the 
>>> veehicle nervousness? If I remember correctly you went to training 
>>> the class before I did (summer)? And I know Irene is having issues 
>>> with all veehicles along with another member of my class. As for the 
>>> chair thing: at tse they taught us to put the head facing towards 
>>> the back of the chair...for some reason irene hates this. I've just 
>>> started putting her with her head facing the table (or the front of 
>>> the chair) and now she does just fine...
>>> When you get over the veehicle problem with dallas, could you let me 
>>> know how you did it? I'm trying food rewards and they don't seem to 
>>> have much affect...
>>> hope dallas is doing well,
>>> daniel and the allways sleeping Irene.
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Aleeha Dudley" <blindcowgirl1993 at gmail.com>
>>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2013 11:23 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] some miscellaneous issues and updates from 
>>> Aleeha andDallas
>>>
>>>
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>    I contacted The Seeing Eye last week and spoke with someone 
>>>> about these behaviors. I am working on them and hope to get them to
improve.
>>>> Dallas did show his fear of vacuum cleaners during training, but 
>>>> never exhibited any of these other fears.
>>>> Thanks for all your wonderful suggestions!
>>>> Aleeha and the currently snoozing Dallas
>>>>
>>>> On 11/9/13, Nicole Torcolini <ntorcolini at wavecable.com> wrote:
>>>>> Did Dallas exhibit any of these behaviors during training? Have 
>>>>> you contacted the school about any of them? As for suggestions...
>>>>> Do you have a chair at home with which you can practice him going 
>>>>> under the chair? You might want to try it without the harness a 
>>>>> few times as he might be nervous about the harness getting hung. 
>>>>> Also, I would not recommend forcing him to go under the chair if 
>>>>> he is afraid as this might just make things worse. Do you have a 
>>>>> clicker and use clicker training? You could try to use it to train 
>>>>> him to go under the chair. Start by sitting in the chair and 
>>>>> having Dallas lay between your feet facing away from you. Click 
>>>>> and treat. Once he is comfortable with that, make sure his tail 
>>>>> and hind legs are not sticking out and gently scoot  him back a 
>>>>> tiny bit toward the chair by putting both hands on his chest and 
>>>>> pushing backwards. Don't push him all the way under the first time 
>>>>> but rather work up to it. Each time, have him stay in that 
>>>>> position for a little while and then let him get up. When he gets up,
make sure that he is not getting hung.
>>>>> He might be afraid of going under the chair because he got stuck 
>>>>> once. Also, of course, make sure that you do not inadvertently 
>>>>> move the chair while he is under it and get on his feet or tail or 
>>>>> ear or something.
>>>>> As for the bus, I would recommend giving Dallas treats. Can you 
>>>>> tell when there is going to be a stop? If so, you could pet him 
>>>>> and try to keep him from jumping up. I would not use a correction 
>>>>> for him jumping
>>> up.
>>>>> Instead,
>>>>> gently pull him back into a down position and try to calm him down.
>>>>> Once he is back in the desired position, give him a treat. Also, 
>>>>> is this something that he does in all vehicles or just in buses?
>>>>> What does Dallas do when you vacuum at home? You could try get him 
>>>>> used to it. Take Dallas in a room and shut the door. Have a friend 
>>>>> go a few rooms away with the vacuum cleaner, but make sure that 
>>>>> you have some way to communicate, such as a cell phone or walky 
>>>>> talky. Put Dallas in a down position and give him a treat. Then 
>>>>> have the other person turn on the vacuum cleaner. If he 
>>>>> immediately jumps up, turn the vacuum off and start over.
>>>>> Keep doing this and using treats until he does not jump up any more.
>>>>> It may take a few sessions as doing it continuously for a long 
>>>>> time can make it worse. Once he does not jump up, slowly increase 
>>>>> the amount of time that the vacuum cleaner runs. Then, once he can 
>>>>> tolerate it for more than a minute, have your friend move one room 
>>>>> closer so that the noise is louder. Keep doing this until Dallas 
>>>>> can tolerate it in the same room.
>>>>> If you take Dallas out on a regular schedule and know that he does 
>>>>> not need to go when he pulls over into the grass, then I would 
>>>>> give him a leash correction, and the same for when he just 
>>>>> randomly stops, especially if it seems random and he does not seem 
>>>>> to be confused or anything.
>>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Aleeha 
>>>>> Dudley
>>>>> Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2013 1:21 PM
>>>>> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>>>> Subject: [nagdu] some miscellaneous issues and updates from Aleeha 
>>>>> and Dallas
>>>>>
>>>>> Hello all,
>>>>>  I know I haven't written in a while. It's been quite the busy 
>>>>> time here.
>>>>>  Good news: Dallas did fairly well at our state NFB convention 
>>>>> last week.
>>>>> He didn't have an accident in the hotel, but he was a bit 
>>>>> constipated for a couple days. The biggest issue I saw was his dog
distractions.
>>>>> He likes to twist around in harness, making things very difficult.
>>>>> Most of the time, nothing but a high collar will get him even 
>>>>> close to past a distraction.
>>>>>  I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions for a couple of problems 
>>>>> I'm having with Dally boy. He's a wonderful guide, but these 
>>>>> issues are somewhat annoying. The first of them is his hesitance 
>>>>> to go under chairs. I almost have to drag him under the chair, 
>>>>> which makes both him and me uncomfortable.
>>>>> A sighted person says he shows some fear when I try to get him 
>>>>> settled.
>>>>>  Second, Dallas has a similar behavior on busses. He seems very 
>>>>> fearful and, at times, cowers under the seat, leaping up at every 
>>>>> stop.
>>>>>  Third is his irrational fear of vacuum cleaners. I can handle 
>>>>> this at home, but when one is being used, in a restaurant, say, I 
>>>>> literally cannot keep ahold of him.
>>>>>  The last issue is the most serious. Dallas likes to pretend he 
>>>>> needs to park, pulling off to the grass and not going. He also has 
>>>>> a tendency to stop in the sidewalk and stand there, looking 
>>>>> around. No amount of coaxing will get him going again.
>>>>> Any suggestions?
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>> Aleeha and the little yellow Dally boy
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>> --
>> "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the 
>> dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was
vanity:
>> but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on 
>> their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible." T. E. Lawrence
>>
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