[nagdu] Command Warm-ups

Kristen via nagdu nagdu at nfbnet.org
Mon May 26 19:12:55 UTC 2014


Tami--

What exactly is clicker training? They're beginning to use it at 
KSDS but didn't yet when I trained around a year ago.

I live in a small town as well, so I know how it takes a little 
extra effort. Yes, playtime definitely helps and gives him a 
chance to release energy.
--
Kristen


 ----- Original Message -----
From: Tami Jarvis via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Mon, 26 May 2014 11:41:10 -0700
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Command Warm-ups

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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