[nagdu] An Introduction

[Larry D Keeler]

Well Valerie, Sounds like you got your hands full! I see you have did your 
research. Personally, UI have just trained dogs to behave in the house. My 
tallent is with birds. However, I'm in the process of training my American 
Eskimo pup to become a hearing dog. Sence ny daughter is deaf and comes to 
visit, she can maybe use him. She has a friend who has self trained a Jack 
Russell for that purpose and was successful. I can tell you seem to have a 
lot of knowledge about animal psychology. Although dogs are different, birds 
also have a flock mentality that is in some ways analogous to the pack 
mentality. I may be wanting to email you for some good ideas! Personally, I 
don't have an issue with dogs that aren't official service dogs as long as 
they behave in public and that the handlers don't try and claim priveleges 
they are really not entitled too. As far as folks not believing the dog is 
really doing what its supposed to, I get that as well! My dog is a 
labradoodle and that isn't reall common for guide dogs although poodles and 
labs are both abundant. The labradoodle in general has the loyalty and 
eagerness to please that a lab has and the34 intelligence of the poodle. I 
think they are great! But, even in harrness and clearly doing her job, folks 
still ask if she is a service dog and what does she do! I have been known to 
reply sometimes that even a blind man can see what she is doing! Keep up the 
great work! I think more folks should do similar projects as you. Some folks 
just get there dogs and assume they'll work without trying to understand 
them. Others don't understand what really goes into training dogs. I'm not 
saying that everyone should get deep into dog psych or behavior but most of 
us should hav a basic understanding about what we're taking on for 10 to 15 
years at a time. Like anything else some of us have interests elswhere and 
may or may not want to train our dogs. But, when I've trainede birds, I've 
always felt a sense of accomplishment when I've gotten them to do things.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Valerie Gibson via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2014 3:06 AM
Subject: [nagdu] An Introduction


> Hi,
> My name is Valerie Gibson.
>
> I subscribed to this list about a week ago and have been silently 
> observing the topics discussed lately.
>
> I am totally blind and am in college.
>
> I posted an email to the students list that I will post here because it 
> was recommended that I do so, and I think you guys might find it pretty 
> cool.
>
> A few years back, I brought up a debatable topic--dog training.
>
> I tried to apply      for a dog training school and was denied on the 
> basis of blindness.  This sparked a debate of sorts: Can a blind person 
> train a dog?
> I responded to a discussion post about guide dogs and training, and with 
> that in mind, I'd like to reintroduce this topic, and give you a peek into 
> what I've been doing and my accomplishments.  I'd also like to hear your 
> thoughts on the matter, and maybe some of you might have questions, 
> criticisms, or words of caution, all of which are fine.
> I'm also going to talk about why i decided to do what I've been doing. 
> Understand though that just because I do this does not mean that everyone 
> should. I just thought I'd take this on, and it's working. I pray it stays 
> that way.
> So, dog truing...
> I've always loved it since I was a kid.  I love learning how animals think 
> and learn.  I love studying animal behavior through written observations 
> and applying ecology, sociology and psychology of animals to this.
> My outlook on dogs is this: Dogs are not people. They are not furry 
> children. They are beings who speak a different language, share a 
> different culture and have a different mindset that we do.  Dogs don't 
> just need a leader, they want one, and some more than others.  Even a soft 
> tempered dog will try to take over leadership position if it feels there 
> is no one to guide it. Hard tempered dogs will try more forcefully to take 
> over this spot, because their mothers or other "leaders" were made of 
> sterner stuff.
> I don't want to bore you with a dog training guide, but that's just the 
> tip of the ice burg for my philosophy.
> Last december, I purchased a seven and a half week old akita puppy in the 
> hopes that I could train it as a guide dog.  I have my reasons for wanting 
> the akita.
> The easiest way to get a guide dog would obviously be going to a school.
> Let me say first that I am, in no way, opposed to guide dog schools. 
> Having never been to one, I can not make a judgement call on their 
> training methods, but given that there are many schools, there are 
> probably just as many training methods for their dogs.
> I didn't, not, go with a school because I wanted to go rogue and didn't 
> want to follow their rules, though I think some of the rules (from what 
> i've heard) are unnecessary.  Again, having never been to a school, I 
> would like to add that that that can be taken with a grain of sault.
> I think guide dog schools are great for people who are taking on a dog for 
> the first time or for people who just don't want to put in the time and 
> effort in training their dogs to guide, or for people who simply don't 
> know how.  I applaud guide dog trainers for their work in training tens of 
> dogs at a time to go with handlers who have various life styles.
> So if training a guide dog would be harder, take up more time, and cost 
> more money than just getting one from a school, why not get one from a 
> school?
> First I understand dog psychology and how to train a dog.  Every trainer 
> has their own philosophy, so mine might be different from your's for 
> example.  I also wanted to see if I could do it. If Zion did not become a 
> guide dog, no big deal. At least he would be a very well behaved house 
> pet.  So I wasn't hell bent on this dog becoming a guide dog.
> So a week before christmas, I brought home this akita puppy.  I made sure 
> that the breeder gave me one with the temperament that I was wanting 
> rather than it's appearance.
> Zion's training began the moment I brought him home with crate training 
> and overall good house manners.  He never got any extra privileges until 
> he'd proven to respond favorable to the ones he had.  For example, he 
> stayed in his crate unless he was playing or training. Never did he get to 
> run around the house.  Every three hours, even if he was sleeping, he was 
> made to take a potty break.  This often meant me setting an alarm to make 
> sure that I got up.  It's a good thing I was on christmas break from 
> school. :)
> Once he let me know when he had to go out, and as he grew, his potty 
> breaks were at longer intervals.  Once he could entertain himself in his 
> kennel, he was allowed to entertain himself in one room of my house, and 
> for only half an hour.
> Slowly he got more and more privileges.  When he was a puppy and hardly 
> had any rights in the home, I would let anyone pet him when we were in 
> public.
> What you have to understand is that akitas are very hard to train. They an 
> be trained, and yes, labs and goldens and german shepherds are easier, but 
> I knew what I was dealing with when I took on an akita.  I believe in 
> trainability, they rank number 48. They learn slower than a lab or 
> retriever, and if not handled correctly, they can be aggressive to other 
> dogs and people. They have a natural instinct to guard and protect and 
> often times, they have a mind of their own. Training an akita is very 
> different than training a lab or retriever.  I do not believe in the 
> training method that one size fits all, so the way I'd train an akita is 
> probably not the way I'd train a lab, retriever, brittany, etc.
> Akitas also reach physical and psychological maturation a year or so later 
> than a lab or retriever.  Akitas are not for the novic dog owner also. 
> You, HAVE, to know what you're doing when you work with these dogs. 
> Again, if trained incorrrectly, or if they don't see you as the leader, it 
> won't go well for you.  Akitas are also prone to health conditions if you 
> don't breed responsibly or purchase from a reputable breeder.
> When I started training Zion, i got a lot of frowns (and I'm sure some eye 
> rolling) from both blind and sighted people.
> I stopped going to a puppy obedience class for personal reasons on my part 
> and medical reasons on the part of the dog By the time I stopped going to 
> a puppy socialization class, I'd gotten down the basics and was going to 
> teach my dog on my own.
> Zion went with me almost everywhere, and he hung out almost entirely with 
> guide dogs.  I used a dog that I'd previously trained to teach him 
> commands, because it was a very quick way for him to learn.  He learned a 
> lot from the guide dogs too.  When he was three months, he was potty 
> trained, and he could lie under tables at restaurants and not be a bother 
> (though I'm sure the fellow dogs under the table with him would 
> disagree.).
> Allow me to take a quick detour in the writing.
> There's a lot of hype about people taking their pets, buying a "service 
> dog in training" patch and some "documentation", and claiming their dog's 
> a service dog.  This royally ticks me off, probably more than i t would 
> for you who has a guide dog.
> It gives people like me a bad name because I've got about just as much 
> resource to back it up as they do, with the addition that my dog speaks 
> for himself.  For another, I've put a lot of time into this dog's 
> training. For another, this dog has cost me roughly 3 thousand dollars 
> right now, and he's only mine months, and that's not including the medical 
> issues we've been battling.  I completely understand and agree with 
> service dog trainer's feelings when it comes to this issue because I know 
> they're putting more money and work into the dogs than I am.
> I've heard that soon businesses will have a legal right to see 
> documentation on service animals, and I agree with this. If it were 
> possible to provide documentation to show that my dog is indeed a service 
> dog in training, you'd better believe I'd jump on that immediately.
> Now that that is said, I took zion almost everywhere with me.  As his 
> restrictions got less and less at home, they got stricter in public.  Now, 
> people had to ask me to pet him, and they could only do so if he sat down 
> politely.
> When he was about seven months, he began to wear a harness with "service 
> dog in training" patches on each side of it.  By this time, he was used to 
> going places with me, and he knew what I expected out of him.  Did that 
> mean that he did not test me? Absolutely not!
> He wore the harness at first to get used to the feel of it, but he was 
> still walked on leash.  At night, when no one was around, i walked him up 
> and down the corridors of my apartment to teach him what it would feel 
> like for someone to be holding onto the harness.  Luckily the apartment 
> has pretty distinct left and right turns, and even at nine months, we're 
> still working on those.
> The first break through for me came on August second.  I'd let him guide 
> me before to the train station or to the front office, but I always had my 
> cane out.  This time, I was not going to use my cane at all.
> Dangerous? sure, but if i didn't give him, and myself, a test, how would I 
> know what he'd learned.
> Apart from getting distracted a few times, he led me to the train, guiding 
> me around planters and pausing at stairs.
> I knew that this didn't mean that he could guide me anywhere. It just 
> meant he had the idea of what he was supposed to do.
> If things are too distracting for him, I'd never let him do that, but if I 
> feel that he can work and there are not too many distractions, I will 
> trust him to guide me.  I will never put him in a situation where he would 
> fail as a guide because he is still in the learning and correcting phase.
> That's another thing. Having never had a guide dog before, it was my 
> responsibility to have trust in my training and in him, and that was a big 
> step for me too.
> Since then, zion has guided me to the front office of my apartment, to the 
> train, to walmart, to petco and back to my apartment.  These are places 
> that I know really well, so it's easy for me to correct him when I know 
> he's made a wrong turn or is distracted.  Zion can find petco better than 
> I can with a cane. Imagine that. :)
> At some point soon, I am hoping to get certified with the association of 
> professional dog Trainers so that I can train other people dogs and maybe 
> see if the NFB can't have a national association of blind dog trainers. :)
> This certification would also give me some credibility in the work that he 
> will be doing.  Right now, it's very difficult to find a trainer who will 
> back you if you're a blind person training your own dog.  Throw on a 
> "service dog" title, and it's almost impossible.The only thing that I 
> would not train when it comes to dogs is dogs with aggression issues.  I 
> think that this is where a blind person must draw the line.  Dogs 
> communicate through body language, and it's easy to tell what body 
> language the dog is giving off but with aggression, you need to know, and 
> you can't afford to make a wrong move.  One could argue that a growl is a 
> sign of aggression, but that's not always the case, and if it is, the dog 
> has given off a few body signals before the growl that a trainer must 
> notice.  You never want to get to a point where your dog feels the need to 
> growl because that's usually the last signal it will give before snapping.
> I'd be interested to hear any feedback from dog lovers.  If anyone has any 
> questions, I'd be eager to try and answer them, but I i do not have all 
> the answers.  Zion's training is no where near finished, but even sighted 
> people tell me: "he's come a long way as a puppy."  I once was told by 
> someone that they had reservations that I was really training him as a 
> guide dog, but they can see thahaht he would make a good guide dog.
> If anyone has trained their own guide dog, please email me. I'd love to 
> hear of your experiences, and throw around some ideas on how best to 
> train.  If there are any sighted dog trainers who'd be willing to think 
> outside the box in regards to a blind person training their own dog, I'd 
> be honored to hear from you.
>
> Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope it was enlightening 
> and not too boring. :)
>
> If you want me to keep you posted on Zion's training, I can do that.
>
> Everyone have a good rest of the day and good luck in school next 
> semester. :)
>
> Thank you for reading my Not so brief introduction. :)
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