[nagdu] When keeping you safe leads into distractions

[Daryl Marie]

Hey, Raven,
Yeah... it just seems a bit odd that distractions weren't the issue, really. I have no problem with her looking at another dog if it is likely to intersect our path, like she did last night... esp. since I found out later that dog wasn't leashed.  I think I would be more concerned if she seemed more interested in greeting the dog, rather than getting away from it.  She was so determined to go the same direction as the other dog that I THOUGHT she was distracted, when instead she was taking us home.

It seems that lately I have been second-guessing her when she has been doing good work, even if (under stress) doing something that I might not otherwise want her to do.

*sighs*
Daryl
----- Original Message ----- From: Raven Tolliver <ravend729 at gmail.com> To: Daryl Marie <crazymusician at shaw.ca>, NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org> Sent: Wed, 11 Mar 2015 09:40:10 -0600 (MDT) Subject: Re: [nagdu] When keeping you safe leads into distractions  Daryl, If your dog is so distracted you can't get her back on track, wait things out if you don't feel confident taking the wheel, so to speak. There are times when I have to do some steering if the Golden Guy is too distracted. But if I am unsure on route or unfamiliar with the route, I stop moving and wait the distraction out until the Golden Guy can focus again. Good that you realized your mistake. We all goof up, especially when distractions are around and we just want to move on from it. -- Raven You are valuable because of your potential, not because of what you have or what you do. Naturally-reared guide dogs https://groups.google.com/d/forum/nrguidedogs On 3/10/15, Daryl Marie via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote: > So, I have come across this twice today, and have a sneaky suspicion it will > happen again before we get everything all melted away, so would like some > advice, pointers, or reassurance. > > I live in northern Canada, and we are experiencing a very fast thaw. One > portion of our walk includes half a block of sidewalk that is buried under > 3-4 inches of water, with ice underneath. Today, both to and from work, > Jenny has guided me around it. This morning, we walked down the street, > parallel to another 1 or two dogs. Jenny watched them, but didn't seem > overly interested, and we kept on walking straight, got me to the sidewalk > safely, no problems. > > On the way home, we hit that portion of the sidewalk, and I found out later > that another dog was approaching us from the opposite direction. Jenny and > I walked across the street, made it up to the opposite sidewalk, and made it > to the corner, where the other dog and its owner - which Jenny was watching > intently - approached us. I asked them to keep moving, which they did, but > Jenny kept turning to the right, in the same direction they were traveling. > I told her no, we kept going straight, and I realized that her instinct was > right: going the same direction as the other dog took us home. > > Writing this out has been helpful. I think the other dogs just happen to be > coincidental to the issue of keeping us dry and safe from the ice and > sidewalk lake... but would love any other impressions, advice, etc. > > Thanks! > > Daryl > _______________________________________________ > nagdu mailing list > nagdu at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for > nagdu: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/ravend729%40gmail.com >