[nagdu] A Mia misconception

[Nicole Torcolini]

Depending on from which program you got her, it is probably what the school
taught her. Either way, JMHO, you have a few options. First, you can do what
I do in most cases, which is to just allow the dog to do her thing and let
her and the people nuke it out. Our dogs are trained to go around obstacles,
and people are just more obstacles. If there is a gap, then tell her forward
and praise her. If you are really dead set on getting rid of this behavior,
then you can work on praising her a lot for staying on the right. Do not
correct her, especially if it is something that the program has taught her.
Dogs often do not understand what corrections mean and why they are being
corrected. They know that they are doing something wrong, but they do not
know what. They need redirection. I would try what Rox has suggested.
Although I have never tried it, I think that it would work quite well as
most dogs catch on rather fast to what gets them food rewards.

 Nicole

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Beckman, Noah G.
via nagdu
Sent: Thursday, October 02, 2014 5:44 PM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nagdu] A Mia misconception

Good evening everyone,
                I am noticing a consistent tendency in Mia's guide work that
I would like to eliminate.  It seems as though her perception of her guiding
window (the space both above her and to her right that she needs to keep
clear of obstacles) is quite a bit wider than necessary.  In other words, I
think she feels she needs to guide me as though my right arm is raised and
pointing straight out to my right.  Although her efforts to make doubly sure
my right shoulder doesn't collide with anything might seem touching, it has
several negative symptoms.  As we walk down a sidewalk, she will tend to
favor either the middle or the far left side.  If there is a building line,
curb into the street, row of parking meters, etc. to my right, this tendency
becomes especially pronounced.  As I attend a large university, the volume
of people on the sidewalk at any one time can reach levels comparable to New
York City.  This means that her love of the left often results in oncoming
people either having to step off of the sidewalk or cut over to my right in
order to avoid us.  Or, if we approach a group of people that is standing on
the sidewalk such that there is still a little bit of room for us to pass,
she will sometimes freeze or walk at a snail's pace.  The same is true for
slightly narrow, but definitely navigable gaps between furniture or other
objects.  When I ask her to hup right, she will (usually) but not all of the
way to the boarder of the sidewalk.  Also, she will drift back to the left
immediately.
                I've tried putting the leash in my right hand and tugging
slightly to the right.  I've tried scolding her and, in extreme or repeated
offenses, correcting her when she pulls me to the left.  I've tried putting
on a praise party on those few instances where she keeps me to the right
without repeated encouragement.  None of these efforts has noticeably
mitigated the issue.  I am not exactly sure how or why this started; I only
became acutely aware of it in late August around the time other students
started moving back to campus.
                Other than this problem, I hardly have grounds for complaint
when it comes to any aspect of Mia or her work.  I simply want to be able to
walk along and have thoughts or conversations with others that are not
continually interrupted by me having to remind my dog that we need to stick
to the right.  Your thoughts and suggestions about how to correct this issue
would be much appreciated.

Thank you,

-Noah

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