[nagdu] unfamiliar areas

Mon Apr 20 00:09:42 UTC 2015

Hello:

I have used follow with all my dogs.  Pilot doesn't teach it either so, I 
taught Eva myself.  Actually my brilliant girl taught herself.  Eva followed 
my sister to her car the afternoon when I got off the bus our first day 
home.  I let my sister give Eva a little petting and then I pointed to my 
sister and told Eva to follow her.  Eva amazed both of us by following 
perfectly as if she'd been taught it before.  I kept saying follow in a 
happy excited voice making this a great fun part of guide work.  When we 
reached the car, I gave lots of hugs and praise.  I continued working on 
this as we stopped at the pet and grocery stores.  That same week, I 
continued to practice this with my sister or parents and gave plenty of pets 
and praise for a job well done.  It might be easier if you start teaching 
follow with a person your dog knows.  These dogs will naturally want to 
follow someone they like.  If Eva gets distracted and isn't following, I 
give her a verbal no for the distraction, then immediately remind her to 
follow.  Now Eva will find my sister, mom or dad if we get separated in a 
store.  I feel I am much more independent having my dog follow instead of 
going sighted guide.  Sometimes the person with you is carrying things or 
the space is too narrow to walk sighted guide.  Some examples where follow 
is helpful are; when a clerk is helping you in a store, when you are being 
led to a table in restaurants, when a nurse is leading you to an exam room 
in a medical office, in bus terminals and airports when your hands are full 
so going sighted guide is not possible.  Some dogs might seem to lose 
confidence and try to depend on the sighted person so, it is up to you to 
keep them focused and their confidence level up.  Occasionally my last dog 
Tara would look at the person with me to help her figure it out but, with 
encouragement, she would do her own work and only follow when I asked her to 
do it.  If the dog does make you bump into something or stumble on a curb, 
then stop to correct your dog even taking the time to rework it.    People 
are very understanding when you explain that you must not let the dog get 
away with sloppy work even when they are following  another person.  I think 
follow is an extremely useful command that all guide dog schools should 
teach.

Sandra and Eva

-----Original Message----- 
From: Elise Berkley via nagdu
Sent: Sunday, April 19, 2015 7:11 PM
To: Sherry Gomes ; NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] unfamiliar areas

I was told to be careful using the follow command because your dog will just
follow anyone and you may not want them to follow that person.

-----Original Message----- 
From: Sherry Gomes via nagdu
Sent: Sunday, April 19, 2015 3:41 PM
To: 'Marianne Denning' ; 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of
Guide Dog Users'
Subject: Re: [nagdu] unfamiliar areas

I discourage my dogs from following people, and instead, I ask someone I'm
with to walk behind me and give directions for me to pass to my dog. I've
had dogs in the past that became too dependent on following and I don't like
the loss of control I feel using follow. I feel like it takes away my
handling in a way, that the dog won't listen as well to me, and I feel it
diminishes the dog's initiative. Having said that, I know tons and tons of
handlers who like using the follow command and use it well and effectively.
It's all down to personal preference, and neither way is better than the
other.

Sherry

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Marianne Denning
via nagdu
Sent: Sunday, April 19, 2015 12:43 PM
To: Danielle Burton; NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide
Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] unfamiliar areas

Some of my dogs have been better than others.  That is why I ask the
person to keep talking.  If I wanted to teach the command I would
probably begin by having my dog follow someone he/she knows and give
frequent rewards and praise when the dog is successful.  Then, find
someone your dog does not know so well and keep working on the skill.

On 4/19/15, Danielle Burton via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi everyone,
> This conversation leads to a question I have. GEB doesn't teach the follow
> command. So, my dog doesn't know to follow. She will sort of but not 
> really.
> How would you go about teaching this? Also, they do not recommend you do
> this because the dog could risk not paying as much attention. Is this true
> for those of you handlers who have worked multiple dogs?
> Thanks,
> Danille and Willa who hasn't figured out how to follow yet
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Apr 19, 2015, at 11:40 AM, Pam via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> hi everyone. i'm just wondering what u all do if u r working your dog in
>> an area that is not familiar to u but u also have a sighted person with u
>> too. do u just follow the sighted person with your dog? it's not 
>> something
>> i've really done yet so just curious what others do. thanks â~ºï¸
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
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-- 
Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
(513) 607-6053

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