[NAGDU] Taking Guides to Marches, Protests, etc.,

[Heather Bird]

One thing I have working in my favor is that my dog is from TSE and we
mostly use the word Pfui, pronounced like the French word for yes, with an F
sound at the beginning, fwee, not foo wee, so “no” does not automatically
equal “You are being a bad dog.” Dogs often get upset by chanting, even
positive chanting, because it is loud, and intense, even if the word “no”
isn’t involved. Also, dogs can pick up on emotions and protests are often
charged with emotion, both negative and positive emotions. What I did with
Ilsa was use the clicker to make a positive association. I used a few things
I knew would be similar to what she would hear. I played crowds chanting “We
will, we will rock you.” And “Black lives matter.” And “N F B, N F B.”
complete with stomping or table thumping. Every time a chant would start I
would click and treat. I would play the recording or let the other people
chant, and I would say “Atta girl, good girl, big noise, atta good girl.”
While it was going on. She was alert and slightly alarmed the first few
times, now she just wags and sits up alertly looking for a possible treat. I
do intermittently and totally randomly reward after the initial
desensitization has been achieved, in order to maintain it. We had to pass
through a group of protesters down town and they were chanting and shouting
and banging on their thighs and clapping. Ilsa just wagged like a goof ball
and kept going. I did a mouth mark of a click I have gotten very good at and
once we got past them I clicked again and gave her a piece of cheese I had
in my bag. This will work with a lot of dogs, in theory, any dog sound
enough to be graduated as a guide should be able to deal with this stimuli,
as long as no one is throwing things or trying to assault you or your dog.
But realistically not all guides are the same and not all training programs,
and even really solid dogs from really great schools can develop fears as
they age, so I would suggest that everyone do this desensitization training
in some way shape or form, but be cognizant of how your dog is reacting and
proceed accordingly. It’s better to plan and then never need it, then to
discover in the middle of a legislative seminar, or a convention, or a
sporting event, that your dog has just been traumatized. You can make
yourself a bit bipolar and you will feel super weird during the training,
but it is worth it “Jeremy, if I ever hear something like that come out of
your mouth again, you will lose the iPad for a week. Atta girl Ilsa, Ilsa is
a good girl, no one’s mad at Ilssa, because she’s a good girl.” “NFB, NFB,
Good Girl Ilsa, NFB, NFB, big noise, good girl, NFB, NFB.” (To the beat of
the crowd chanting “We will, we will rock you.” “Good girl, Good girl,
Ilsa.” “We say, hell no, (insert name of politician) has got to go. Great
job. That’s a good Ilsa.” In the immediate, it can be a little bit
crazy-making, but the rewards are very obvious when you have a pretty much
bomb proof dog, happily doing their job when you encounter or participate in
a large, loud group activity which would be disconcerting to an unprepared
dog. I used the same method to get Ilsa used to fireworks, because they can
legally set them off in our area around the few weeks before and after the
fourth of July and they sometimes do so even in the day time. I would click
inside the house every time one went off far away, and treat, then we would
sit outside and listen, click and treat, then we would get fairly close to
an active display, more click and treat. One afternoon, a little while
before sunset, someone set off some fireworks in a parking lot we were
passing. I seriously jumped, both feet off of the sidewalk several inches,
almost peed my freaken pants, (have two babies the natural way and your
won’t judge) and what did Ilsa do? She jumped then turned and looked at me,
sat down, tail swishing and nosed my hip where my bait pouch is when I am
working with the clicker. So I retrieved my heart from my throat, took a
deep breath and gave her a treat. As we continued our route they set them
off again, a half a dozen more times, one while we were crossing a busy
street. Ilsa just continued to the up curb, and once out of the street, she
paused and turned to me enquiring about the possibility of another treat.
Had I not done this training, she might have been ruined that night, or at
the very least, we might have been stranded sitting on someone’s front lawn
with a shaking dog waiting for someone to drive and come and rescue us. Had
I not prepared her and had the fireworks started in the middle of that
crossing, we likely would have been hit by a car if she had frozen or had
bolted. So, I absolutely support bringing guides to various types of
protests and marches, just prepare ahead of time and know what to expect and
help your dog know what to expect. Walking in a march, parade, etc. is a
whole separate issue with regards how you want them to guide you, especially
if you are walking in the street, and how to best go about it will depend on
your dog, your school and how often you intend to participate in such
events, so that is probably a subject for a whole different post, right
there.

 

Heather Bird

"They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't
a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I
wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a
Protestant.

Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up." -
Martin Niemöller

In our diverse society we must never fail to speak up in the face of Human
Rights violations lest we be the next targets of such violations.