[nagdu] A Mia misconception

Fri Oct 3 15:05:46 UTC 2014

I am inagreement with you on this. I have had folks wonder why our dogs 
work against pedestrian traffic and I don't have a good answer to give them.
On 10/3/2014 8:37 AM, Marion Gwizdala via nagdu wrote:
> 	It has always been my belief that the job of the dog is to protect
> the handler from obstacles and, therefore, put themselves between the
> obstacle and the handler. I contend that training programs condition their
> dogs to work to the left which causes guide dog users to work against
> pedestrian traffic. I have brought this to the attention of my training
> program which asserts this is not so; however, both my dog and my wife's
> pull left in wide areas and this is very frustrating. I have worked with my
> dog on this issue and, even though it has gotten better, he still has a left
> tendency.
>
> Fraternally yours,
> Marion Gwizdala
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Aleeha Dudley via
> nagdu
> Sent: Friday, October 03, 2014 9:19 AM
> To: Deanna Lewis; NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog
> Users
> Cc: Tracy Carcione
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] A Mia misconception
>
> 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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