[nagdu] fear and correction

Fri Jun 13 02:37:50 UTC 2014

Julie,
I agree with your approach of just letting your dog be a dog. Dogs are
housewolves, and you can't get all of the instincts and dogginess out
of them, so you either suppress it or embrace it.
The Golden Guy is quiet and keeps to himself in harness, but out of
harness, I don't bother to stop him from exploring and interacting
with his environment the way dogs do. Outdoors, there's plenty of
sniffing all sorts of plants and pee-mail in the grass during leisure
walks, sometimes marking, and barking at other dogs and howling at
raccoons and skunks. Indoors, he'll definitely sit by the window and
growl, howl,, or bark at the critters outside. If it's late at night,
I'll give him something else to focus on, but otherwise, I leave him
be. As long as he doesn't do these things in harness, I'm perfectly
fine with these behaviors. I respect him as a dog, and so I will not
prohibit him from exhibiting his doggy-specific characteristics and
behaviors. There's a time and place for everything.

On 6/12/14, Nicole Torcolini via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> LOL, okay, that kind of explains why we have different policies about
> sniffing. Luckily, Lexia does not do it much in harness. When she does,
> though, both in and out of harness, she goes to whatever it is that she is
> smelling and berries  her nose in it. Sometimes, I have to kind of pull her
> away from whatever it is. I can generally avoid these situations, though,
> as
> the things that smell the most seem to be located at the bottom of trees or
> light poles, so I just keep her away from these places as much as possible.
> If she is doing her business and moving around and getting closer and
> closer
> to a tree, I will sometimes move her away from the tree before she gets too
> close and the sniffing intensifies. Sometimes, the best way to solve a
> problem is to take steps to avoid it in the first place whenever possible.
>
> Nicole and Lexia who likes to read the newspaper
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Julie J. [mailto:julielj at neb.rr.com]
> Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2014 6:30 PM
> To: Nicole Torcolini; NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide
> Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] fear and correction
>
> But that's the thing, sniffing and barking are not a problem for me.  I
> freely allow both out of harness...unless he goes way overboard.  If that
> happens I just redirect him to something else that isn't bothersome.  I
> don't correct for sniffing or barking.
>
> Neither behavior, sniffing or barking, is an issue in harness.  Monty has
> never barked away from the house in or out of harness.  He will
> occasionally
> sniff, but it isn't a frequent thing or something that distracts him from
> what he's supposed to be doing.   His sniffing is more like breathing
> deeply
>
> in the general direction of something.  He doesn't deviate from the path
> and
> he doesn't plant his face smack into the middle of whatever it is he wants
> to smell.  I'm quite content with the current arrangement.   It's working
> for us and I see no need to change it.
>
> Julie
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nicole Torcolini via nagdu
> Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2014 7:29 PM
> To: 'Julie J.' ; 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog
> Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] fear and correction
>
> Lexia was never a barker anyway, so it is not a problem with which I have
> had to deal. There are some behaviors, such as running around and having
> fun, that I allow out of harness but not in harness. However, there are
> others, such as sniffing and, if it was a problem, barking, that I do not
> allow at all.
>
> Nicole and the quiet Lexia
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Julie J. via
> nagdu
> Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2014 3:58 PM
> To: Daryl Marie; NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog
> Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] fear and correction
>
> I don't think I'm probably the best person for advice about unwanted
> barking!  LOL  My dogs bark like insane maniacs in the yard.   My
> philosophy
>
> is that they are dogs and dogs bark and they should embrace their dogness
> and bark...in the yard, in daylight hours and stop before my head starts
> pounding or the neighbors start complaining!
>
> It is interesting that when I have Monty out with me in the unfenced
> portion
> of the yard, he doesn't bark, like ever.  The only two places he has ever
> barked are in the house and in the fenced yard, both places where he's
> contained in some way.   Perhaps it's an issue of frustration that he can't
> go check out what he's looking/barking at?   I don't let him go check out
> random things when he's in harness, but maybe he feels like he's freer to
> look at things?  I don't know.  It's interesting to ponder though.
>
> Julie
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Daryl Marie via nagdu
> Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2014 1:45 PM
> To: Julie J.
> Cc: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] fear and correction
>
> Julie,
>
> Your Monty sounds a lot like Jenny in behavior.  She has only ever barked 3
> times  in harness:
> 1) When a really drunk REALLY weird guy approached me at a bus stop (I've
> had weird/drunk people approach me before, but this one set her off)
> 2) When someone was tying their shoe in the middle of a sidewalk. She
> couldn't go around him (busy street to  my left, 3-foot snowbank on my
> right)
> 3) When a bartender made prolonged uninterrupted eye contact with her.
>
> Usually, though, out of harness, I am almost always with her when she
> barks.
>
> At home I would be on the computer and she'll just perk up and bark at
> something.  Perhaps the redirection is a good one.
>
> This begs another question.  Sometimes Jenny will bark at neighbors if she
> sees them when we step outside to relieve.  This only happens at home,
> never
> anywhere else.  Any advice?
>
> Daryl and the vocal Jenny
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Julie J. via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> To: Abigail Bolling <violingirl30794 at gmail.com>, NAGDU Mailing List, the
> National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thu, 12 Jun 2014 12:01:09 -0600 (MDT)
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] fear and correction
>
> At home I call Monty to me and praise him for coming.  If him leaving the
> situation and coming to me doesn't seem to enhance his calm I will use
> calming petting or tell him to down and stay until the UPS delivery guy is
> gone or the neighbors are done with their loud conversation in the street
> or
> whatever.  With Monty, it's an alert behavior.  he wants me to know there's
> something going on.  when I acknowledge that, he usually quits.
>
> Admittedly, he's kind of barky at home.  I've just come to accept that he's
> always going to let me know there's something happening outside.
> Interestingly he does not feel the need to bark when we are out and about.
> I'm okay with this arrangement.
>
> Julie
>
>
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-- 
Raven