[nagdu] a few concerns

Daryl Marie crazymusician at shaw.ca
Wed Nov 19 11:59:28 UTC 2014


Hi, Rachel,
The 3-4 month mark seems to be a bit of a bear for lots of people; I experienced that with Jenny, but that also had extra circumstances of her feeling insecure (we changed jobs and work schedules, and our house had contractors in and out with dehumidifiers and fixing water-damaged walls, so everything was covered in plastic).

Definitely use the clicker if you can.  Redirect _i.e. "Leave it, forward!"  This works with Jenny... she can't go sniffing/scavenging and move forward at the same time.  Not sure why this works, but a programmer friend told me that people - and in this case my dog - will listen to the second option (command) more readily than the first, so perhaps there's some truth to it.

Not sure about the having to relieve in the middle of the night... though if you reinforce the behavior by letting him out, that might cause this to continue...

Daryl
----- Original Message -----
From: Danielle Burton via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
To: Rachel Becker <Rachel at BeckerConsultants.com>, NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 22:19:11 -0700 (MST)
Subject: Re: [nagdu] a few concerns

Rachel, do you use the leave it command with him? I would tell him to leave it when he's sniffing and then tell him forward and then if he does this then praise and treat. Also use your clicker if you still have it. And incoporate food refusal in obedience daily if not on a regular basis. Just keep working at it. He may just be testing you too. You guys are still a new team and I'm still a new handler working my first guide from Guiding Eyes as well. I was at GEB in June and about the same time you are telling us this my dog was rather sniffy as well and scavenging so just keep working at it. it may take some time but it will work out.  

Danielle and Willa 


> On Nov 18, 2014, at 10:24 PM, Rachel Becker via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello. My name is Rachel Becker. I received my first guide dog Nigel from
> Guiding Eyes in August. He is a great dog and I had a great experience with
> the class instructors at Guiding Eyes. Lately, I have had a few concerns. He
> has been very interested in sniffing and trying to eat things off the
> ground. Also he has been needing to go to the bathroom in the middle of the
> night. I'm also concerned that he's not getting enough exercise, which may
> be causing the waking up problem, but I don't have a fenced area for him to
> run around in. I tried to play fetch with him on the long line a few times,
> but he was more interested in eating grass and did not go after the ball or
> kong, so I kind of gave up. What should I try?
> 
> Thank you for your patience.
> 
> Rachel
> 
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