[NAGDU] {Spam?} RE: Corrections

Sat Sep 24 12:48:52 UTC 2016

Hi.
I, personally, do not let what the public thinks or wants effect the way that i work with my dog.  yes, i do use leash corrections when needed.  fortunately, that’s not very often.  if one allows the public to dictate how you work with and handle your dog, i fear that you would not have a very good working dog, and, you would never get anywhere.  they would want to pet, feed, talk to, and otherwise interfere with you all the time.  
when i do need to give a leash correction, i do it firmly, quietly and quickly and move on.  i have seen folks using the leash while yelling at the dog, also giving a bunch of yanks on the leash.  this will draw more attention.
i don’t think any of us should have to allow our dogs to get away with bad or dangerous behaviors because of what the public might think.
just my thoughts here, i don’t mean to offend or any such, i am just a blunt person who says it like she sees it.

Vivianna

> On Sep 24, 2016, at 6:52 AM, Howard J. Levine via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi in what city do you live where it not allowed to give leach correction?
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Rachel Grider via
> NAGDU
> Sent: Saturday, September 24, 2016 12:56 AM
> To: Nimer Jaber
> Cc: Rachel Grider; NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog
> Users
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Corrections
> 
> Nimer, thank you for sharing. I am sorry that this has happened to you but
> glad that you worked out an alternative. If you don't mind my asking, in
> what city do you live where leash corrections are actually illegal? When I
> travel with my dog, should I expect to find myself in places where it is
> illegal to correct her, or is it not a very common practice to outlaw leash
> corrections?
> 
> By the way, Demi did an amazing job on our route home tonight. I took her on
> a more circuitous route than usual so that we would be able to get in more
> practice, and I upped the praise as well as the corrections. I honestly
> didn't have to correct her much, and I feel like we started to achieve a
> deeper level of connection. I don't know how to explain this, but I think
> that we are on the right track, and as long as I remain consistent and don't
> allow myself to worry about what others think, we will soon be a solid team.
> 
> On 9/23/16, Nimer Jaber <nimerjaber1 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hello,
>> 
>> I have been accused of abusing my dog a few times, and where I live, I 
>> was informed that giving a dog a leash correction is illegal. My dogs 
>> all came from the Seeing Eye. As soon as I know that there was a 
>> report filed, or that there might be one filed, I contact the school 
>> and have a positive conversation with them about it, and I have never 
>> had any additional problems. I don't try to handle the situation with 
>> the individuals reporting me, because people have different ideas 
>> about what constitutes abuse, they don't understand the working 
>> partnership, and many times, they are bent on the fact that it was 
>> abuse. The best thing I can do at that time is to calmly advise them 
>> to contact my school for more information or to file a report.
>> 
>> As for the city... Unfortunately, there is not much the Seeing Eye can 
>> do about that, or that is what i was told. A video was taken of my 
>> correction, and a Seeing Eye instructor explained to the animal 
>> officer that that was in fact what I was taught to do to regain 
>> control of my dog in situations that warrant it, but the city did not 
>> budge. They gave me notice that leash corrections are not permitted 
>> here. As a result of that, and because of this larger issue as a whole 
>> that seems to come up once a year or so, i have gone to not giving any 
>> physical correction, and very limited verbal corrections. I make it 
>> clear to my dog through praise when she is doing good. When she is 
>> doing something undesirable, I redirect the behavior to something 
>> simple that I know she can do, and then I praise the hell out of her. 
>> So far, so good... better than when I gave the occasional correction
> actually.
>> 
>> Thanks.
>> 
>> On Fri, Sep 23, 2016 at 7:33 PM Rachel Grider via NAGDU 
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>> 
>>> Hello, Everyone:
>>> 
>>> As many of you know, I am still a fairly new guide dog user and have 
>>> had my dog for almost four months, including our time at The Seeing 
>>> Eye. I feel like our partnership has solidified in so many ways since 
>>> bringing her home. Having said this, I have noticed that Demi has 
>>> become more easily distracted while in harness just within the last 
>>> two weeks. Up until about two weeks ago, Demi was extremely solid 
>>> while in harness, but I feel like she has slowly become more and more 
>>> distractable in a short amount of time.
>>> 
>>> I have had a couple of conversations with instructors at TSE about 
>>> this and have done what they told me, but after a particularly 
>>> frustrating experience last night, I realized a pattern in my 
>>> handling that may be contributing to this problem.
>>> 
>>> I think that my greatest weakness as a guide dog handler is giving 
>>> corrections. I have no problem doing verbal corrections, but it took 
>>> me awhile while at TSE to feel comfortable giving Demi a leash 
>>> correction. I have gotten  over this reticence for the most part; if 
>>> we are walking down the street and Demi gets distracted, I have no 
>>> problem stopping and giving her a leash correction. Without thinking 
>>> about it, though, I have realized that I shy away from giving 
>>> anything beyond a verbal correction when I know that there are people 
>>> watching. I know that this is ridiculous and that people could be 
>>> watching at any time without my knowledge, but if I know that there 
>>> are people around me and I feel Demi's head dip down to sniff, I give 
>>> her a verbal and a sort of wimpy jerk on her leash to get her head 
>>> up, and just drive her on with a hup-up. I think that the reason I do 
>>> this is a fear of people thinking that I am abusing my dog, which is 
>>> also silly because no one has yet accused me of such a thing.
>>> 
>>> Now that I have become aware of this pattern in my handling, I am 
>>> thinking that it may be at least partially responsible for Demi's 
>>> increasing lack of focus. and am determined to change it before it is 
>>> too late. I made sure I did obedience with her right befor we walked 
>>> out the door this morning, and I left home early so that we would 
>>> have plenty of time to stop, correct, and rework if necessary. 
>>> Overall, things have been going quite well today...
>>> 
>>> So here is my question: Have any of you actually had someone accuse 
>>> you of abusing your dog? If so, what have you said to convince the 
>>> accuser otherwise?
>>> 
>>> Thank you for your support.
>>> 
>>> Rachel
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> 
>> 
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