[nagdu] What's up with all the scavenging anyhow?

[Kaye Kipp]

Liberty is a real scavenger.  I don't know if it's because she was trained with food rewards, but she is what she is, and I have to keep a handle on it.  I'm not crazy about using food rewards either, but I do it because that's how she was trained.  I guess I'm kind of old school.  And one of my dogs I had before they started using food was also a really accomplished scavenger.

Kaye

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione via nagdu
Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2015 6:09 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Cc: Tracy Carcione
Subject: Re: [nagdu] What's up with all the scavenging anyhow?

I'm not sure it's a scavenging epidemic.  It could just be me, mostly, trying to figure out my problem.
And Krokus was really great about not scavenging until about 3 days before we finished training.  I can pinpoint exactly his first win, in Grand Central Station, walking down some stairs.  He grabbed something, and realized I couldn't always stop him, and became a monster.  Now I get to try and break him of it.  I enjoy betting on the horses myself, so I know how nice it is to win, and how it encourages one to bet again.
I do wish we'd done more with food refusal in training, especially after that eventful trip, but that boat has sailed and it's not coming back.  I'll remember for next time. 
I'd much prefer not to have a scavenger, but, to me, it's not bad enough to throw him back and try again.  We all have our own "last straws", and they're all different.  And sometimes I think I'd never keep a dog who does X, but, when I've got him, I try to fix it instead. Krokus is not my ideal dog, but, so far, he's good enough.  A bit of a project, but good enough to keep working on it.
Tracy


-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Vivianna via nagdu
Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2015 1:51 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Vivianna
Subject: [nagdu] What's up with all the scavenging anyhow?

ok, here goes a contraversial post.
i am reading a load of posts about folks having problems with their dogs grabbing things off the ground.  it seems that, this is the most common problem that folks seem to be having with the second being dog distractions.
do you think that, since many schools are using food to train the dogs that this problem has come up?  i have had several guides and have never had a dog try and carry things around.  i also never use food as a reward for my dog.
i am just so totally against feeding my dog treats in order to get her to guide me properly.  
from what i read, dogs are grabbing things off the ground while actually guiding, while lying on a bus or train, in restaurants, in stores, while relieving, etc.
for me, and, this is just my own preference, i could not work with a dog that did this.  i can put up with some behaviors but, this is definitely not one of them.
folks seem to think that it’s ok to treat the dog for good behavior and then they wonder why he’s so focused on food.  i have even had 3 labs and, they didn’t want to carry things around.
for a pet, yeah, maybe it’s cute to see the dog carrying around toys in public, but, a guide dog?  this should be a professionally trained dog doing a professional job, looking out for the handler.
i think that, if the dogs were trained without the use of treats this would be way less common.
this is all only my opinion and things that i, personally could not handle.
i have probably offended some but, maybe, i may just caused some to think about the food-based training a bit.

Vivianna


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