[nagdu] Picking up things from the ground

[Lisa]

Hello Nicole,

I don't actually walk him on the long leash. I was taught to walk him to a 
meadow or another place where he could relieve and then take him on the long 
leash there. So he can walk around, snif and relieve. In his training he was 
taught that being on grass and on a long leash means time for relieving.
So when we walk on a sidewalk or so, he is close to me on a short leash. 
When he picks up something then, I can take it away often. But not always, 
there are those things he just does a huge jump and swallows whatever was 
there...
I never really thought about a muzzle and I must admit I don't even know 
what they look like. Could you describe to me how they work? I mean, what do 
they do to the dog's snout that stops him from scavenging? And is his nose 
free for sniffing?

Thanks and greetings
Lisa

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nicole Torcolini" <ntorcolini at wavecable.com>
To: "'Lisa'" <dreamymarmot93 at yahoo.de>; "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National 
Association of Guide Dog Users'" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, December 22, 2014 7:18 PM
Subject: RE: [nagdu] Picking up things from the ground


>I know that I am rather late to this thread, but I still want to through in
> my two cents. How often are you walking him on a long leash, and what are
> you doing? I almost never walked Lexia on a long leash for an extended
> period of time. Upon coming home from training, I transitioned her to
> relieving on a short leash. Most of the time, when she was relieving, I
> would have my hand on her, especially if it was an area where there was a
> lot to smell. If she did not start thinking about doing her business in
> about two minutes and was just running her nose, then we moved on. Also, I
> did not relieve and play in the same area. If you can play in one area and
> relieve in another, this may help as he may learn that excessive sniffing 
> is
> not allowed in a particular area. Yes, dogs need to sniff some to do their
> business, but they don't need to do what I call the "Hoover sniff".
> As others have mentioned, you may want to try a head collar. Also, the
> you-were-not-good-fun-is-over technique seemed to work for me.
> Using a muzzle is not a bad idea. You probably would not want it while he
> was working because of what people would think, but, when alone, it would
> help. There are several different types, and they are not as bad as people
> make them out to be. One of my sighted friends had to put a muzzle on her
> pet dog when she took him out for walks because he would eat plants. One
> day, he ate a plant that had fertilizer on it...
>
> Nicole
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lisa via nagdu
> Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2014 3:19 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: [nagdu] Picking up things from the ground
>
> Hello everyone!
>
> Taylor does great guidework and we enjoy every day we spend with this
> playful and energetic dog. But there's a big problem that bothers me.
> Taylor picks up things from the ground, mostly during our walks but
> sometimes also in harness, when it is something very "delicious". Of 
> course
> I try to be very quick, correct him and/or take it out of his mouth but
> especially during walks, when he is on the long leash, that's not 
> possible.
> So he gets the chance to swallow things like leftovers from a sandwich
> including its packaging, napkins or any other stuff that's attractive to
> him.
> The consequence of this behaviour is that he throws up aproximately once a
> week. Then, together with his food and water, a piece of plastic or paper 
> or
> any other not-digestable thing comes out again. Well, I'm glad that it 
> does
> come out. But it's stressful anyway. For him, too, of course, no one likes
> being sick.
> We saw the vet, so I am sure Taylor has no serious problems in his 
> stomach.
> The only reason for throwing up seem to be the things that he picks up. I
> really do my best to monitor him but when he's sniffing around on a meadow
> and suddenly grabs and swallows something, what can I do?
>
> I would be really interested in how you manage this problem--labradors are
> greedy creatures, so probably I'm not the only one who deals with it.
>
> What kind of training could I do to avoid this?
> Any ideas are greatly appreciated!
>
> thanks and greetings from Germany
> Lisa
>
>
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