[nagdu] Picking up things from the ground

[Lisa]

Hello Nicole,

Thanks for your explanation. I think I could get him used to relieving on a 
short leash. At the moment, I don't touch him while he is relieving. He 
prefers to go behind a tree or a bush for it but I could change that. What I 
was wondering: How did you give your dog free runs or generally time to walk 
around and sniff? Did you never let her off leash? because, even when Taylor 
is relieving on the short leash, the problem with eating things would occur 
again as soon as he is running free.Or maybe I'll just have to find a safe 
place where there is just nothing unhealthy for him to pick up.

Okay, I will research different types of muzzles, the one you described 
sounded good to me.

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 7:47 PM
Subject: RE: [nagdu] Picking up things from the ground


> Okay, so maybe you could try to get him to go on a short leash instead of 
> on
> the long leash. You could do this by slowly making the length shorter. Do
> you keep your hand on him while he is doing his business?
> A muzzle goes around/over the nose of the dog so that the dog cannot put
> things in his mouth. They have several purposes and come in several types.
> The only one that I have ever felt was on the dog about whom I talked who
> ate plants. His muzzle, I think called a basket muzzle, kind of felt like 
> a
> tiny cage that went over the end of his nose. It was made of a wire mesh
> with holes maybe a quarter inch square in it. He could still smell and 
> open
> his mouth, but he could not get anything through the mesh to put it in his
> mouth. I have not felt other types of muzzles, but I would recommend this
> type or some other type that still allows the dog to open his mouth. My
> mother once saw someone who had a cloth muzzle on her guide dog to keep 
> the
> dog from barking, but the poor dog could not even open her mouth to pant.
>
> Nicole
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lisa [mailto:dreamymarmot93 at yahoo.de]
> Sent: Monday, December 22, 2014 10:30 AM
> To: Nicole Torcolini; 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of 
> Guide
> Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Picking up things from the ground
>
> 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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