[NAGDU] Softer Dogs?

[Raul A. Gallegos]

I'm on my 2nd dog. The first one was from early 90s and both are from 
Guiding Eyes in New York. This school has also changed the training 
style as described by others in this thread. I must say though, that I 
don't feel one way or the other about corrections VS treat and positive 
reinforcement. Meaning, I have not yet decided. What I can say is that 
the first dog I had in the 90s, there were a lot of corrections. He also 
pulled extremely hard in places like air ports and high traffic areas. I 
had a very hard time walking in groups because he always wanted to be 
first. Heeling was a bit difficult. All in all, I think my experiences 
such as those described were much of the reason I did not get another 
dog for a long time. With the new dog even though he's from the same 
school, training has been much more pleasant. The trainer I worked with 
said that if I do keep up the positive reinforcement and treat output, I 
would have to find the dog's soft spot. meaning, that the way they are 
trained, it might take 1 out of 10 times for a treat to be needed or it 
might take 7 out of 10 times to get a certain desire. As for 
corrections, this dog has had very few. One large correction happened 
while we were still in training and one afterward. However, what I can't 
deny, is that walking in high traffic areas filled with many other 
people, restaurants, airports, ETC has been very pleasant. Whether it's 
because I'm a different person since the 90s, this dog is much better, 
or the differences in training, I can't say. All I can say is that 
whatever the combination is, something is working.

I'm not trying to sound wishy-washy about corrections VS positive 
reinforcement, just sharing my experiences. My new dog has worked out 
fine for me so far in this first month even if there are times when I 
don't take treats with me when traveling. So, I think he and I have come 
to an understanding that treats will not always be given to get done 
what I want.

--
Raul A. Gallegos
Assistive Technology Trainer - RGA Tech Solutions
Voice and Text: 832.554.7285
Office: 832.639.4477
Personal Email: raul at raulgallegos.com
Work Email: training at rgats.com
Twitter: @rga7285 and @RGATrainer

“Any teacher that can be replaced with a computer, deserves to be.” - 
David Thornburg

On 3/21/2017 4:39 PM, Jordan Gallacher via NAGDU wrote:
> Kind of hard to know though when you never have to give a correction during
> training.  Belto and Brewer both needed hard and often two handed
> corrections, this was especially true with Brewer.
> Jordan