[nagdu] Dogs on left or right

Dan Weiner dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net
Mon Oct 6 15:35:10 UTC 2014


Well at the risk of reiterating old ground, I want to walk in the center or
left and am not crazy about walking on the right side, you condition your
dogs to walk on the right and you'll start brushing walls and things on the
right and start stepping off curbs on the right and twisting your ankle.
I've been there and done that.
In this case I think the guide dog programs are right.
But I do respect your opinion and if it is something that concerns you then
it is good you mentioned it and  were  forthright about it.
I allow my dog to take my general directional cues and then choose the line
of travel.

I, as opposed to you I suppose--smile, , told the program that I was
concerned that the dogs are drifting too far to the right....so maybe the
poor guys are dammed if they do and damned if they don't--lol

I got Parker from Gda and they don't have that problem I feel the dogs there
had the basics down solidly.
When I was at leader, 2007, the trainers would tell me to "Pull your dog to
the right". So that I could walk on the right side of the bike path. I
refused I am not going to in quotes "pull my dog" and confuse his training.
Just me, guys or as we say JMHO.

Yours sincerely,

	
Dan W.

dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net

 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione
via nagdu
Sent: Monday, October 06, 2014 9:12 AM
To: Star Gazer; NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog
Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] A Mia misconception

I agree with Marion, too.  My shepherd insisted on walking on the left in
the Times Square subway station, and a great thundering herd of commuters
would come rushing at us every day.  Terrifying!
Tracy

----- Original Message -----
From: "Star Gazer via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
To: "'Marion Gwizdala'" <blind411 at verizon.net>; "'NAGDU Mailing List,the
National Association of Guide Dog Users'" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2014 11:42 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] A Mia misconception


> Yes, Marion, I agree with you. It drove me bonkers when my second dog 
> would do this.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Marion 
> Gwizdala via nagdu
> Sent: Friday, October 3, 2014 10:37 AM
> To: 'Aleeha Dudley'; 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of 
> Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] A Mia misconception
>
> 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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