[NAGDU] Dog Distractions

Alysha alyshaj at comcast.net
Mon Feb 27 19:43:47 UTC 2017


Hi Jordan,
I have dealt with this problem as well, although it started a few months
after class for me. First, I tried a clicker approach as recommended by an
instructor from my school. I taught my dog the word "look" meant he should
turn to look at me. As soon as he did, I clicked and gave him a treat. We
first practiced this while walking with no dogs around and then worked up to
doing it when a dog was nearby. This helped redirect his attention back to
me during the distraction. If the dog was far enough away, this method
really seemed to help, but we still had problems when dogs came close enough
to pass us on the sidewalk.

I called the school again after it became clear that the clicker alone
wouldn't solve our problems, and they recommended using a prong collar. I
was pretty against this because I thought it was cruel, but I really wanted
to preserve our partnership since everything else about my dog's work was
great. So I sucked it up and gave it a try. It really helped a lot. I just
had to give him a few corrections with the prong collar, and he got the idea
that going after dogs was not OK. I know the prong collar would not have
worked on my first dog since he was very sensitive, but my current guide is
a lot more confident. He doesn't like it when I put on the prongs, but he
still wags his tail and enjoys working even when he is wearing it.

Today, I still use a combination of the word "look" rewarded by click/treat
to redirect his attention and the prong collar to correct him if he lunges
or barks at another dog. I won't say that his dog distractions are
completely gone. I think it's something we will always have to work on. But
he has gotten so much better now with the combination of those 2 tools. The
key for us was intense and consistent practice. Our neighborhood has tons of
dogs, so it was easy to go out every day and work on the distractions.

How does your dog interact with other dogs he knows? I was worried my dog
was aggressive when he lunged and barked/growled at other dogs, but after
getting to know him and observing him interact with other dogs, I truly
don't believe he would actually start fighting with another dog. If you
believe your dog would bite another dog, that could be a very serious
problem. I would seriously demand the school send someone to observe and
help you with this.

I really hope you're able to find a solution that works for you. It's a
shame that your dog was exhibiting this behavior in class, and the
instructors didn't do anything about it. I think this is one of the toughest
behaviors to manage in a guide dog. I know many handlers that have this
problem, and I think the schools need to really step up their game when it
comes to working on this.

Best,
Alysha

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jordan Gallacher
via NAGDU
Sent: Monday, February 27, 2017 2:22 PM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Cc: Jordan Gallacher <jordanandbelto at gmail.com>
Subject: [NAGDU] Dog Distractions

I am having a bit of a problem with Belto that even the school cannot figure
out how to solve.  I received Belto last February, and even during training,
he would lunge at and/or try to chase other dogs possibly trying to attack
them.  My instructor during class did nothing to work on this behavior nor
did he give me any suggestions on how to solve the issue or at least calm it
down a bit.  Everytime I have contacted the school about the issue, I get a
different answer, and since my instructor I had in class is also my field
rep, I am not getting anywhere when it comes to solving Belto's behavior
around other dogs.  Anyone have any suggestions on what I can try to calm
this problem a bit?  I have tried the gentle leader, but that does not seem
to be solving the problem other than being able to tell what he is doing
sooner.

Thanks,

Jordan and Belto 

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