[nagdu] training methods of schools

minh ha minh.ha927 at gmail.com
Sun Sep 15 23:10:40 UTC 2013


I agree about the clicker training not given as much time and
importance as it should during training. My instructor only gave me a
forty five minute lesson where we targeted Viva to a random piece of
equipment in the gym. It was a really cool demonstration of what the
clicker could do, but she didn't show or tell me how versatile clicker
training can be when working with a guide. When I got home, I got kind
of creative and just experimented withdifferent things on my own. I
used the clicker to teach Viva to heel right up against my leg because
I didn't like the 45 degree angle that GDB teaches their dogs. It just
throws me off my line of direction.

I think when people hear leash corrections, they think at the first
sign of a mistake, boom, comes the leash correction, but GDB, and I
think other schools teach you to use the verbal corrections before
using the leash. When Viva starts acting up, I use my stern voice to
indicate to her that if she doesn't stop, then she's going to get into
bigger trouble. I hold her at really high standards so I only give her
one chance to do it before I use the leash to correct. After all, when
I'm standing on a busy campus path, I don't want to stand there and
beg her to continue working. As long as the guide and handler
understand the parameters of their relationship, I don't think leash
corrections are necessary all the time, but it's there to reinforce
it. I equate it with a parent really yelling at you when you get into
mischief or something.

Minh

On 9/15/13, Raven Tolliver <ravend729 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Nicole, does GDB use the martingale check collar on their dogs? In
> case you don't know what that is, the martingale check collar is an
> adjustable strip of nylon connected by a loop of chain. It can also be
> connected by another loop of nylon, but when I attended Guiding Eyes,
> the instructors issued the collars connected by the loop of chain.
> They told us these were the collars to use when our dogs were not
> working. Personally, I don't like any kind of slip collar or slip
> lead, so I use the martingale check when I work my golden guy.
> Danielle, there are still schools that do not use treat training, but
> that does not mean they do not use positive methods. The GDF grads can
> correct me if I'm wrong, but GDF is one of those schools that uses
> verbal and physical praise, rather than food rewards. This is
> perfectly fine. But I understand what you mean, because schools that
> use reward-based, rather than correction-based, training methods are
> likely to involve treat training.
> Also, I'd like to clarify that clicker training does not necessarily
> mean there is a clicker involved in a school's training practices.
> Clicker training refers to the use of an event marker to signal that a
> desired behavior or a sequence of desired behaviors has been
> performed. For instance, whale and dolphin trainers are clicker
> trainers, even though they use whistles for the water mammals rather
> than clickers. Sometimes, when I am training dogs, or working with my
> own guide, I don't use the clicker, but instead the words "yes!" and
> "perfect!" It's still clicker training.
> When I attended GEB, they only spent two days on the clicker. Not
> enough, in my opinion. People leave guide dog schools believing that
> the clicker is only some kind of targeting tool, and that could not be
> further from the truth. I have just noticed that guide dog school
> grads gravitate toward the leash correction as a problem solver,
> rather than the clicker. The clicker can be used to teach anything
> from basic obedience and house manners, to advanced behaviors, to
> guide work. The clicker signals to the dog or animal that they have
> done something right, and the reward, whether it's a treat, toy,
> marking, or digging, serves as positive reinforcement for the
> behavior, increasing the likelihood that the behavior will occur
> again.
> I understand that guide dog schools only have so much time to cover so
> many things, but they really don't do the clicker justice. I'm sure
> they use it frequently during formal guide training, but they don't
> incorporate it enough into the training of future guide dog handlers.
> Nothing wrong with asking grads how the different schools train the
> dogs, but if you're looking for a program that uses reward-based
> methods during puppy-raising and formal guide training, email
> different schools' training departments and ask some open-ended
> questions. Ask how puppy-raisers are taught to teach pups house
> manners. How do they minimize inappropriate behaviors? How do they
> reinforce good behaviors? How are the guide dogs trained to stop at
> curbs? How are the guide dogs trained to stop at stairs? These are
> just a few of the questions that would help you gain insight into the
> training methods of a guide dog program.
> And just for the record, I am not a person who rejects the use of a
> leash correction. I prefer to use verbal corrections and body language
> over a leash correction. But in those rare instances when my dog is
> not paying attention to me or his work after I've signaled to him,
> then I have no problem dulling out a wake-up call.
>
> --
> Raven
>
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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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