[nagdu] Finding chairs?

Fri Mar 28 22:41:53 UTC 2014

I think when I get my next dog guide I'll work on this task; not sure 
why I never actively did so with my five previous guides.  My dog Iggy 
(god aweful name) was quite skilled at finding previously visited objects.

If I left my spot in a bar to make room for more beer, on the return 
Iggy would unfailingly return us to the spot we left.  one particular 
time, my gang actually left the lounge for almost two hours for a full 
super in a different location.  When we returned, good old Iggy returned 
to our original spot, now occupied by another party.  He gave the fellow 
sitting in MY chare a nudge and the whole gang, after my apology for the 
intrusion and explanation as to what happened, very politely moved to 
another table.

Iggy ws also very well practiced at picking out cabs, probably because 
at the time, our taxis were burning propane so smelled different, and 
there may have been other visual clues as well since some of our 
government owned vehicles also used this fuel. I would only have to face 
the driveway at a hotel, or even the curb.  If there were a cab nearby, 
Iggy got the yellow lab rope tail going full gear and pulled toward the 
cab.  He sometimes outperformed my sighted company in these situations.  
This almost became one of my party tricks.
For those who are rigid about content related to subject, you can stop 
reading now caust follows is not directly related.

I was with a group at a lounge shortly after work.  Knowing this, I 
braught Iggy's supper doggie bag.  Being in a sharing mood, and noticing 
that the munchy bowl was empty, I dropped some of the kibble into said 
bowl.  We then switched tables and another bunch sat in our original 
spot.  Yes, the did, they also emptied the snak bowl last replenished by 
no other than myself.

It's a true tale!
On 28/03/2014 12:07 PM, sheila wrote:
> tracy that is really funny. My first dog Drake would take me back to 
> familiar objects or places and your right that skill is very useful. 
> Tres will do that but isn't as obvious about it and he never gives up 
> or seems to get frustrated with me which is nice.
> On 3/28/2014 5:47 AM, Tracy Carcione wrote:
>> Once at a convention hotel with Echo, I got mixed up and couldn't 
>> find the elevator, and Echo couldn't understand what I wanted, so she 
>> started showing me things I might want. She showed me where we'd sat 
>> to have breakfast.  It was very helpful, because then I knew where I 
>> was and could give her useful directions.
>>
>> I heard a funny story a while back.  A dog and his rather chunky 
>> mistress got onto the subway, and she told him to find a seat. He saw 
>> an empty seat between two people.  He looked at the seat, and back at 
>> his large person, and decided, nope, too small, and went looking for 
>> a seat with more space. Smart dog!
>> Tracy
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Daryl Marie" <crazymusician at shaw.ca>
>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2014 5:32 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Finding chairs?
>>
>>
>>> LOL
>>> Jenny is usually pretty good at finding EMPTY chairs as opposed to 
>>> full ones.
>>>
>>> I used the treat suggestion, and what do ya know... she found 3 
>>> chairs with the backs facing her! YAY!
>>>
>>> jenny is really funny sometimes, because if we've been somewhere 
>>> before she will often want to go to the same seat we've sat in 
>>> before.  This is usually not a problem, but occasionally the seat 
>>> may not be occupied, but the table is....
>>>
>>> Daryl and the funny Jenny girl
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: craig heaps <craig.heaps at comcast.net>
>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users 
>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 15:24:53 -0600 (MDT)
>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Finding chairs?
>>>
>>> I clicker trained Chase to "find the chair." It even works on BART 
>>> trains. However, I need to teach him to discriminate whether the 
>>> chair is occupied or empty. Occasionally he lays his nose on the 
>>> knee of someone sitting in the side facing disabled seats. I guess 
>>> that's not entirely a bad thing.
>>>
>>> I haven't noticed any issues with chairs pushed in.
>>>
>>> Craig and the chair-finding Chase
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>
>>> From: "Daryl Marie" <crazymusician at shaw.ca>
>>> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2014 10:46:34 AM
>>> Subject: [nagdu] Finding chairs?
>>>
>>> hey,
>>>
>>> Been working with Jenny on finding chairs lately, and I noticed one 
>>> thing she struggles with is finding chairs that are pushed in and/or 
>>> have full arms (a la a couch). She does fantastic with benches, and 
>>> pretty good with chairs that are out... does anyone ahve any 
>>> pointers on this, or just keep working on it?
>>>
>>> Daryl and Jenny (who is confused by cushy chairs in the conference 
>>> room)
>>>
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>>
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