[NAGDU] Dog Distractions

Cindy Ray cindyray at gmail.com
Tue Feb 28 15:09:16 UTC 2017


One thing that I was told by the instructor who came to visit me regarding
Fisher's dog distractions was that I needed to expect him to wear the GL all
the time. He didn't like it, but he worked fine without it. He was much more
easily controlled even at the times when he got overly excited. The problem
with that was that I could never view it as part of his garb. It always felt
as if I was punishing him even though the instructor said not to view it
that way. He was right and I knew this intellectually, but I just couldn't
always do it. I wish I had because maybe I wouldn't have retired him so
soon.
Cindy Lou Ray
cindyray at gmail.com


-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jordan Gallacher
via NAGDU
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2017 9:04 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Jordan Gallacher <jordanandbelto at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Dog Distractions

He was definitely being a jerk on the phone last week that is for sure.  My
experience with the gentle leader on Belto so far has been a mixed bag.  It
works great in situations where there might be food on the floor or in other
restaraunts that he is taking to much interest in to going after food, but
for dog distraction issues, it does not work one bit.  I have had him escape
even with that on and he also still has the same issues with being
distracted by other dogs.
Jordan

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione
via NAGDU
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2017 8:54 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Tracy Carcione
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Dog Distractions

Hi Jordan.
If he's good sometimes, maybe there's hope.  Though escaping is definitely
not good.
Have you tried the Gentle Leader?  It didn't work well with my last dog, but
it calms my current dog down  immediately and gets his mind back on the job.
You would use it routinely until you felt the dog was reliably good, then
gradually start working without it on but in your pocket.  I don't love the
GL, but it does seem helpful in some situations.

Can you go direct to a supervisor at your school, and skip the field rep? 
The person sounds like a jerk, frankly.
Good luck.
Tracy

> The thing I worry about the most is what would happen if we had 
> another dog show up on the sidewalk we were headed toward while 
> crossing a street.  I need to figure out a game plan for that scenario 
> since the problem is already bad enough at times that if I did not 
> have someone else such as my girlfriend with me who can get two extra 
> hands on the leash and get him out of the situation, we would have a 
> problem.
> Not to confuse the situation that I described in my very first e-mail 
> of this subject, but today was the exact opposite of what often 
> happens.  All it took this morning while on my way to breakfast was 
> one correction, and Belto snapped right back to what he was supposed 
> to be
doing.
> Jordan
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Danielle 
> Ledet via NAGDU
> Sent: Monday, February 27, 2017 9:26 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Cc: Danielle Ledet
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Dog Distractions
>
> You could also try stopping and doing obedience once you know another 
> dog is present. I think it was my fagie boy who got excited around 
> other dogs and I would have him do a few doggie pushups. This is a 
> series of sit and down, sit and down. Only had to do it every so 
> often.
>
>
> On 2/27/17, Dan Weiner via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> My god, if this is the case, you need to make a very hard 
>> decision...I hate this, but it happened to me twice, I had to say to 
>> myself "If the situation doesn't improve can I live with it or not"
>> if the answer is "No,
> I can't"
>> then you might really start thinking of retirement. It's so 
>> heart-wrenching I know, but I had to do it and the next dog after 
>> that was brilliant, so sometimes it can be for the best.
>> Sorry you are going through this situation, and if it were me, 
>> (remember not telling you to do it, just saying what' I'd do) I'd be 
>> shopping around for another program.
>>
>> Best wishes to you.
>>
>> Dan
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jordan 
>> Gallacher via NAGDU
>> Sent: Monday, February 27, 2017 3:01 PM
>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
>> Cc: Jordan Gallacher
>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Dog Distractions
>>
>> Belto behaves the same way around my aunts dogs unfortunately.  Belto 
>> has managed to escape from me three times already when he comes near 
>> other dogs, and my field rep's response to that is oh well, that is 
>> your problem.  It gets worse.  He also has said to me you do not have 
>> a clue what you are doing.  Belto happens to be my third dog, and he 
>> is the only dog that I have ever had a major problem like this.  Both 
>> of my previous dogs I could fix most of the problems I had without 
>> needing help from the school.  September only became an issue after 
>> she was attacked, and when I finally got the school I received her 
>> from to get their act together and they took her in for evaluation, 
>> they saw all the same problems I was seeing.  I have a letter ready 
>> to go out to the school where I received Belto from, and if I have 
>> to, I will send it.
>> Jordan
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Alysha via 
>> NAGDU
>> Sent: Monday, February 27, 2017 1:44 PM
>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
>> Cc: Alysha
>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Dog Distractions
>>
>> 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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>
>
> --
> How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, 
> compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and 
> tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will 
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