[nagdu] Command Warm-ups

[Tami Jarvis via nagdu]

Kristen,

I do random short basic obedience sessions with the dogs throughout the 
day, just asking for a sit and maybe some down or stay, just to keep 
them listening to me. If they are not wanting to listen to me that day, 
I will do longer more formal sessions and do some sessions in the yard, 
etc. Mitzi gets bored with obedience, but my husband's mutt likes and 
needs the repetition. Mitzi takes part for reasons of her own, and it 
does seem to do something for her work.

With Mitzi guide, I did regular refresher work on one aspect of her work 
or other for a year or two after she started working. I use clicker 
training, so it was just a matter of reinforcing whatever it was I 
picked to focus on. This helped me more than her, I think, since it kept 
me focused on her and following her lead. Now it's habit, but it took me 
a long time to learn to go with her and listen to what she was telling 
me instead of acting like I knew what was going on.

I added a few commands to deal with working situations, like "under" to 
get her to go under chairs/tables/whatever. I hadn't thought of that in 
her original training, but someone told me about it, which helped a lot. 
I also use "stand" and/or a hand gesture when it's time to get up and go 
again. She would rather get up and go than lie around waiting for humans 
to do whatever they think is so important, so using "stand" worked more 
to keep her in place until I was ready for her to go than to get her up.

These days, I do refresher training -- which still serves both of us -- 
on a more or less regular basis. Part of that is because we don't get 
the regular meaningful work out here in the small town, so we need to 
put in some extra effort to keep our partnership functioning. Calling it 
work isn't entirely accurate, though, since it's still just a matter of 
paying attention and reinforcing this or that more than usual.

Interactive play also helps our partnership a lot, since it's a fun way 
to be listening to each other and responding to each other's signals.

hth

Tami

On 05/26/2014 10:19 AM, Kristen via nagdu wrote:
> Hi everyone--
>
> How often do you do obedience with your guide, practicing and reviewing
> commands? Also, how long do you spend on it, and what particular
> commands do you go over?
>
> When I was in training with Corvette last summer, they had us reviewing
> commands every morning. I've done it sporadically over the school year,
> as I thought he was doing well and had his commands down. Now, I began
> taking him outside every morning for the last few days to warm up. I
> feel there are some commands he could be more familiar with (maybe he's
> forgotten them or just being lazy), and this has seemed to let him know
> that I am in control and not to tug in whatever direction he chooses.
> (For example, if I am walking outside and he sees cars, he will
> immediately tug that way, wanting to get in one as fast as he can to
> leave. Another thing with Corvette is trying to get him out from under
> things, such as desks, restaurant tables, and out of the car. He's
> become a little stubborn, wanting to stay put when I'm ready to leave.)
>
> If he has forgotten or slacked on a command, any recommendations on how
> to reteach or develop new ones?
>
> Thanks for any suggestions/input! The school I attended, KSDS, has lots
> of documentation; however, none of which is in Braille or an accessible
> format. I would like to have this, as he is my first guide, and we're
> still getting used to everything. I'm going to a retreat there this July
> to hopefully help us fine tune a few skills.
> --
> Kristen
>
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