[nagdu] Two weeks with Taylor - Update

Tue Oct 14 06:33:29 UTC 2014

Lisa,

congrats!  You seem to be managing your dog well.

In regards to correction and redirection, what was before said is true.  Though, I try nto to think of one as better than the other.  What works for one dog, may not work for another.  For example, depending on the destraction or my dog's mood for that day, I might use correction or sometimes redirection.

Starting off with redirection, as you're doing, is good.  It's for the more stubborn hard heads that you might want to use correction, but I'd not fear that with your furry friend.  

Sometimes a dog's drive just gets so high that it won't focus on you to even give the redirection. That's where a "Hey, I'm talking to you" correction comes into play.

Keep up the good work. :)
On Oct 13, 2014, at 11:17 PM, Danielle Antoine via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Congrats Lisa AND TAYLOR. It SOUNDS LIKE YOU ALL ARE BOTH DOING
> WONDERFUL. KeepUP THE GOOD WORK.
> 
> Danielle
> 
> On 10/13/14, Nicole Torcolini via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Lisa,
>> 
>> 	Yes, and it is so funny when they do their little happy dance or whatever
>> it is to indicate that they are happpy. Lexia sticks her nose in the aiir
>> and wags her tail. As far as redirection versus correction, it sounds as
>> though you are primarily using what many handlers refer to as redirection.
>> Redirection involves refocusing the dog in a way that is usually neutral or
>> positive whereas corrections are generally thought of as negative..
>> Corrections can be thought of as communicating to your dog the idea of stop
>> or no. Redirecction is more like teling your to do something else instead.
>> Let me know if that did not make sense. Also, let me know if youu would like
>> me to give you a summary of the pros and cons of both techniques and
>> examples of where each one would/would not work well.
>> 
>> Nicole
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>> On Oct 13, 2014, at 9:32 AM, Lisa <dreamymarmot93 at yahoo.de> wrote:
>> 
>> Hey Nicole,
>> 
>> yes, when Taylor finds this particular gate, I praise him and he is so happy
>> about that everytime.
>> Hm, I'm not exactly sure what correction and redirection practically mean...
>> When I notice that he is getting distracted but is still kind of
>> concentrated, I tell him "Forward" and then he's back to his task most of
>> the time. But when he's really distracted and pulling and going elsewhere, I
>> often stop for a moment to get myself orientated and him focused again and
>> then I show him our direction and start walking again. Leash corrections
>> have been shown to me but I try to avoid them so far because I figured that
>> my other corrections are working fine as well.
>> 
>> take care
>> Lisa
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nicole Torcolini"
>> <ntorcolini at wavecable.com>
>> To: "'Lisa'" <dreamymarmot93 at yahoo.de>; "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National
>> Association of Guide Dog Users'" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Saturday, October 11, 2014 9:32 PM
>> Subject: RE: [nagdu] Two weeks with Taylor - Update
>> 
>> 
>>> Lisa,
>>> 
>>> Glad that things are going well. Luckily, Lexia does not destroy
>>> things that are not toys, but she definitely  does a number on those
>>> ropes,
>>> which, for some silly reason, she likes more than the other toys. I am
>>> glad
>>> to hear that he likes to work. When he gets distraction, do you use
>>> corrections, redirection, or some combination of both? When he finds the
>>> gate, do you praise him?
>>> 
>>> Nicole and Lexia who will destroy certain toys
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lisa via nagdu
>>> Sent: Saturday, October 11, 2014 10:42 AM
>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>> Subject: [nagdu] Two weeks with Taylor - Update
>>> 
>>> Hello everyone!
>>> 
>>> Now it's been two weeks since Taylor and I graduated from guide dog
>>> training.
>>> Those two weeks have been both exhausting and incredibly fun.
>>> By now, we have destroyed one toy (a rope with two knots that now
>>> consists
>>> of a thousand single strings), figured that this dog tries to chew on
>>> EVERYTHING that he can find, including our wardrobe, soap, plastic bags,
>>> shoes, paper, bottles just to name a few items. But I got him some
>>> obviously
>>> delicious chew bones of cowhide and his behaviour inside the apartment is
>>> getting better literally day by day.
>>> His guiding is flawless as it has been during training and it is so great
>>> to
>>> work him. When I take the harness, he is so excited and happy. And other
>>> dogs, children and most of the other things you face outside don't
>>> distract
>>> him. Only when people start looking at him too fascinated or dare to say
>>> something, he starts pulling like crazy. But I was able to correct him
>>> and
>>> get him focused again anytime so far.
>>> 
>>> The last few days, we've been working on finding a certain entrance.
>>> There's
>>> a building I have to go to quite often and when I was still using my cane,
>>> I
>>> could find it easily. But now that the dog is on my left side, I cannot
>>> look
>>> at the different stones there anymore. So I wanted to show Taylor the
>>> right
>>> gate and then make him remember it. I now have a command for this gate and
>>> I
>>> was so astonished how incredibly fast he learned it. We went there
>>> several
>>> times now just to practice it and by now, he guides me to the gate
>>> everytime. I'm so proud of him.
>>> 
>>> Furthermore, the school made him sleep in his crate in a seperate room
>>> with
>>> the door closed during the night. I thought it was quite reasonable
>>> during
>>> training, so we all would get some proper sleep. But now since training
>>> is
>>> over, I had the wish to have him around me during the night as I have
>>> during
>>> daytime. So one evening, I didn't tell him to go in his room. At first,
>>> he
>>> was totally confused and started running around and playing in the bed
>>> room.
>>> When he was still up at 1 AM and started eating the carpet, I decided to
>>> give him one more night on his own. ;-) But since the evening after this,
>>> he
>>> has been sleeping on his blanket in our bed room so quietly and
>>> peacefully.
>>> This is just awesome. So we are much closer and he is much more involved
>>> in
>>> our everyday life.
>>> 
>>> Okay, I think this is enough for now. Let me say once again that I'm
>>> really
>>> happy to be here on the list because I already learnt a lot from your
>>> e-mails!
>>> 
>>> take care and greetings from Germany
>>> Lisa
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
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