[nagdu] A Mia misconception

Fri Oct 3 13:19:07 UTC 2014

A trainer told me that a dog sees the left side of a crowded area as the path of least resistance, even if it isn't actually. I was told to just let my dog do his thing to avoid unnecessary stress. 

Aleeha Dudley and seeing eye dog Dallas 
Vice President, Ohio Association of blind students
Blindcowgirl1993 at gmail.com
"The wind of Heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears." Arabian proverb 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Oct 3, 2014, at 8:39 AM, Deanna Lewis via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Noah,
> I too have had a problem with my dog's left tendency. He always hugs the left side, not only can it be annoying, but it can also be dangerous. Especially, if you are crossing a street and the dog pulls to the left and ends up getting too close to oncoming traffic. I taught my dog the command, "Keep right." I started teaching this by working in a store (Target in my case) and working down the aisles. I did this similar to the way Rox'e did it. I would start on the right side of the aisle, I would tell him "Forward" and we would go, if he started to pull to the left too far, I would say the phrase, "Keep right". He would go to the right and I would give him a kibble. He learned very quickly, and had it down in just about 5 or 6 aisles. I still use the command from time to time, especially if he veers on street crossings. 
> Deanna and Pascal
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione via nagdu
> Sent: Friday, October 03, 2014 8:12 AM
> To: Beckman, Noah G.; NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] A Mia misconception
> 
> Hi Noah.
> This is a pretty common thing.  It's easier for the dog if she has the building on her left, and all the people have to go around her.  If she's on the right, she has to look right and left, and go around things herself. 
> But I agree with you; a strong left tendency can be very annoying.  I prefer my dog in the center of the sidewalk, so we can dodge left or right, whatever seems best.
> Rox's solution seems good.  I will also say that my dog Echo had a big left tendency that was driving me crazy, so I got a trainer out to look.  He figured out that Echo was very sensitive to how I was holding the harness handle.  If I held it over the center of her back, she walked straight, but, if I pulled it even a tiny bit right, she would pull left.  He showed me how to hold it the way she wanted, and we practiced a bit, and voila!  it fixed the problem forever more.  So make sure you're not pulling on the harness, trying to get her to go right, because dogs are taught to pull in the opposite direction, and it will make her go left. Try to hold the harness right in the center of her back.
> Tracy
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Beckman, Noah G. via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, October 02, 2014 8:43 PM
> 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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> 
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