[NAGDU] Following and Forward

[Julie McGinnity]

Hi all,

I'm wondering if any of you have dealt with this problem: my dog loves
to follow other people.  Now, I know some schools and trainers teach
the follow command, and some teams do very well with it.  For some
reason, Bill cannot handle it.  When he follows, he loses initiative,
does not guide, and won't even listen to my commands.  I have not been
able to turn follow into something productive because it is unsafe for
us.  I have run into things because he was following a friend and not
paying attention.

My solution?  I stay in front whenever I walk with a friend, trick him
so that if he starts following I give him a command and work with him
until he follows it rather than blindly (haha) traipses on after the
other person.  Now his issue has reached new levels because he has
recently begun slowing down to try and follow.  I have to encourage
him to speed up and stay ahead.

I would like suggestions so that I don't always have to walk ahead of
everyone.  Yes, I am faster than most people, but sometimes I just
won't be ahead of them.  That's life.  I would also like suggestions
for working on his initiative when we move forward.  I believe this is
related to his following issue, but Bill has been hesitating or
refusing to move forward at all.

Any ideas, suggestions, sympathetic understanding?  :)

Thanks guys!



-- 
Julie A. McGinnity
President, National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division,
Second Vice President, National Federation of the Blind of Missouri
"For we walk by faith, not by sight"
2 Cor. 7