[NAGDU] Use of treats during training

[Becky Frankeberger]

Hey Buddy, with my first dog we were crossing and my crazy dog stopped
nearly in the middle of the reasonably quiet street. Still howdy was I ever
unnerved and hupped him up. Well seems there was a red car driving on the
sidewalk we were about to go on, and Baylor just didn't think that was safe.
I agreed and praised him to the moon when we got out of the street. In my
case I saw the red car, but you could have easily heard the car with its
radio thump thump.  I tell you I shook for a while. Walking and marveling at
my dog's intelligence.

Becky and Jake 



-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Buddy Brannan via
NAGDU
Sent: Monday, June 27, 2016 10:36 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Buddy Brannan <buddy at brannan.name>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Use of treats during training

I sure hope you don't have cars turning into you at upcurbs. Downcurbs,
sure, but those crazy New York drivers need to stay the hell off the
sidewalks. 

When Hilde started forgetting to stop at curbs, a skill she had from six
months old or so, I did start treating at both up and down curbs. This
worked for us, in part, because a lot of this reinforcing behavior happened
on quiet streets, but also, you really don't want to spend an age doing the
treating. We were able to remove the treats pretty quickly, since again,
this was a skill she already had, but she just needed reminding that yes, it
really is important. 

--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: 814-860-3194 
Mobile: 814-431-0962
Email: buddy at brannan.name




> On Jun 27, 2016, at 1:12 PM, Tracy Carcione via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
wrote:
> 
> I'd be really concerned about offering a treat at the upcurb.  Sure, it
> would encourage the dog to find that upcurb and not mess about, but will
> he also be watching carefully for traffic?  My bet is he will be focused
> on that curb, and the treat he's going to get. He'll still see that idiot
> turning on top of us, but will he notice as soon as he would otherwise? 
> Doesn't sound like a recipe for success to me.
> Tracy
> 
> 
>> Hello, beautiful people.
>> Dan W.  from Florida withies Royal Majesty, Parker Dog here.
>> Well I'm wondering about something, for example, is there life on other
>> planets, and is there life before coffee--smile.
>> Well, all right, seriously...I've heard a lot of comments and talk about
>> the
>> fact that many of the guide dog programs are using a significant amount
of
>> food rewards during training.
>> I don't mean the occasional treat that I've always used, say to reward
for
>> finding something or whatever, but say, treats every time a dog finds an
>> up
>> curb or down curb, carrying around a treat bag and so on.
>> I'm wondering what peoples' experiences have been.
>> I've heard that a majority of US programs are doing this now...and as I
>> said
>> it seems to be a lot, not just the occasional reward.
>> So what happens if you can't give the dog a treat every time, will the
>> dogs
>> get used to having treats phased out? And what about a dog who might
>> already
>> be food distracted, couldn't that lead to scavenging, or generally, well
>> silliness--smile.
>> 
>> It does concern me.
>> 
>> As I've said I have always incorporated treats in my method but
>> occasionally
>> as a special reward, and it would seem to me that a dog would need to be
>> able to work for praise and just for the love of working...tell me what
>> everyone thinks and what's going on.
>> 
>> 
>> I hope everyone's doing great.
>> 
>> Dan the man and his four-legged side-kick
>> 
>> dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net
>> 
>> 
>> 
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> 
> 
> 
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