[NAGDU] Clicker training curbs and traffic

[Tami Jarvis]

Yiska,

Sorry, I don't know of any tutorials. Here's how I use clicker training 
to teach my owner-trained dogs to stop at curbs. I'm starting at a 
different place than someone with a working guide.

 From the first walk around the block, I teach the pup to stop at curbs 
using clicker (or verbal marker) and treats. This is also the beginning 
of teaching curb-to-curb travel and basic directional commands. For the 
most part, I give the pup a lot of freedom to sniff and explore as we go 
along, with some minimal expectations in addition to stopping at the 
curb. Eventually, the pup begins to stop without reminding, even when it 
is out ahead of me, so then I start using clicker-training to work on 
positioning a bit more, gradually teaching the dog to stop in guide 
position at the curb and wait for the forward command, since we're 
crossing streets by then. I tend to click without the treat for a 
straight crossing, since the reward is going on for more exploration and 
sniffing. We're still quite a ways from harness training at this point, 
just gradually putting in the building blocks as we go.

Once we're crossing streets, I make a bit of a deal about listening for 
cars, talking to the pup to get its attention and so forth. I think the 
pup begins to pay attention to what I'm paying attention to before we go 
on because standing at the curb is boring, so the pup wants to help move 
things along. I've also started phasing out treats at the curb by this 
point, giving them intermittently to reinforce positioning as well as 
the stop. Both of my dogs have more or less phased themselves out of the 
treats, since what they really want to do is to go and explore. So that 
makes it easy for me. With a more food-oriented dog, I would have to pay 
attention to the phase out process, I guess. Anyway, the pup is now 
trained to stop at curbs in position, or close to it, to travel 
curb-to-curb and to watch for something. It just seems like in the 
process of crossing a gzillion streets over  however many weeks and 
months, the pup figures it is cars we are watching for and starts giving 
me indications about cars and to figure out that moving cars are dangerous.

By the time I get around to getting a guide harness and taking the dog 
out in it the first time, he knows pretty much what to do, so I click 
and treat to reinforce his good decisions and begin refining. So I'll be 
giving treats at those curbs again, until the dog lets me know he's more 
interested in watching to see if it's safe to cross so we can go on to 
the adventure of the next block.

Anyway, that's pretty much what has worked with both of my poodles. By 
the time they're really learning to watch for traffic, they're pretty 
much past thinking about treats at curbs. Loki was funny. He would 
sometimes turn his head for a treat just for reassurance or something at 
the beginning of harness training. Other times, I would offer a treat, 
and he would decline it. But even when as he was taking a treat when he 
wanted one, he would be watching, so I didn't worry about it much.

hth,

Tami





On 01/18/2018 03:05 PM, Yiska via NAGDU wrote:
> Hello there,
> 
> I had a question for those who owner train their guide dogs. Is there a way
> you clicker train curbs and still get the dog to pay attention to traffic?
> I would think they wouldbelooking back for treats. Is there a guide dog
> clicker training facebook page? All I am finding is beginner clicker
> training tutorials thanks.
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