[NAGDU] Showing emotion and performance

Wed May 9 00:23:36 UTC 2018

I do show emotion, and am not shy about praising publicly.  But it is directed right to her and not loud.  Others might hear me, or see me touch her, or even on occasion at the end of some good work, drop to one knee or bend down and give her a quick hug.  But what they hear is in context of saying, good work, or thank you for your help and a good job.  The point here is context.  Our general working disposition whether moving, standing or sitting shows clear that we are on task.  We are very close.  I have no objection to reaching down to give her a squeeze or a few head, neck or other place squishes with a hand, or a quick kneel to get head to head to communicate when she is doing well.  But it is clear to everyone around us that no matter what I may feel, or her for that matter, we are a working team in action.  I think that it is easy to find myself projecting, wondering how our presence affects others.  I think this is human nature, and because with a working dog we can stick out to othersm it’s only right to want to self regulate our presentation properly.  In reality, though, I think those worries are in my own head, as long as we are working professionally.  When we are, it should be obvious.  If it isn’t obvious, and we are in fact working professionally together, then that’s a problem with some else’s perception.  We can’t fix that.  

For example, I had a lunch meeting at a restaurant today.  Sitting at our table, on an outside patio where pet dogs also happen to be allowed in our town,  we were approached by a couple.  Well actually… not them…but approached by their dog who was unattended at the end of their five foot leash.  There was open space to my right.  We were not completely settled, and Metukah was standing basically at heel position behind my right knee in formation next to me, not yet down.  This dog approached and came in to sniff her face.  She looked at it, and remained quiet and still.  As one of the couple began talking to her in that usual high pitched, oh hi baby aren’t you just adorable voice, the other one read her working do not distract patch out loud, and began repeating it and talking to her partner about it without pulling the dog back, like it was something from Mars and she couldn’t quite figure out what it meant or whether it was ok or not for it to be so.   It was clear that this is the mental process in people - they generally don’t have a context in their mind for dogs working.  So Metukah and I did what we’ve trained to do.  I gently pulled back on her leash to give her a little head turn inward.  She rotated slightly in toward my leg and backed into me, then went down to my side.  All the while, I didn’t break focus in my business conversation, reached down and gave her a “good girl” pat, and continued.  She remained there, and the others broke off into their own thing. Then she put herself down. 

Toward the end of lunch, Metukah got up, put her head against my thigh and nuzzled.  The deal is, we work together, I love her and she loves me.  I grabbed her head with my outside hand and gave here some one handed pets and head squishes, little ones, and thanked her for being so good in the meeting.  I even allowed her to stand there next to me instead of going back down, because how she stands is quiet and contained.  She’s quite thin by build (a sighthound), and she needed the break from hard ground.  But - she stayed presentably working, and that’s ok with me.  I really don’t mind if she “breaks” periodically; I think that’s just respect for her.  She gets up periodically, stretches, stands a few moments, then finds a better down position and goes to sleep when I’m engaged. 

What comes back in return is an amazing regard.  Someone will walk up and try to directly engage her, even reach down to pet her.  Sometimes I don’t catch  them coming until they’ve already pierced the membrane, so to speak, and they are on her.  Usually she remains motionless, and locks her eyes in a gaze at me.  Often they just break off, saying, wow, she watches you like a hawk, she will only pay attention to you.  Man, she really loves you.  I’ll just say, it’s mutual, and that’s her training.  

Friends, I may be on the less conservative side of ideas for behavior.  But I am very, very clear, that capable, attentive assistance and good performance is why I have a dog.  As long as that is happening, it should be obvious to anyone else out there who has normal perception.  Why worry too much?  I did worry for the first few years.  All it did was wear me out and make me feel paranoid.  But hey, anyone who doesn’t get it that our dog is a professional, isn’t going to understand anyway.  It’s only consistency of performance that matters.  And love is a good thing.  

Best regards,
Peter

On May 7, 2018, at 5:00 AM, nagdu-request at nfbnet.org wrote:

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>   1. Re: Emotions associated with handling was Re: School logos
>      (Tracy Carcione)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 6 May 2018 09:54:27 -0400
> From: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,	the National Association of Guide Dog
> 	Users'" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Emotions associated with handling was Re: School
> 	logos
> Message-ID: <005301d3e541$bff907c0$3feb1740$@access.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="utf-8"
> 
> I give Krokus plenty of praise, and usually a pat or two when we're at a street crossing, and more when we've reached our destination, if it was a trip where he had to work hard.
> I remember once, working my dog during a weekend harp festival, where he was getting plenty of of "good job!".  Someone said to me that she wished someone would tell her she was doing a good job so often.  We all like to be appreciated.
> Tracy
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sandra Johnson via NAGDU
> Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2018 5:18 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Cc: Sandra Johnson
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Emotions associated with handling was Re: School logos
> 
> Cindy:
> 
> You bring up a good point.  I am guilty of being extremely affectionate with
> my dog when we are working.  I sometimes forget how that might look to the
> public.  I work female golden retrievers so the public sees them as cuddly 
> bundles of love anyway.  I have often heard people say how wonderful it is 
> that my dog is
> taking me where I need to go.  They do not realize that it is me who has to
> know where I am going and the one who is giving her the commands.  The logo
> of any guide dog school or agency should portray us in a positive light.
> Too many guide dog schools and agencies for the blind make us seem like we
> were completely hopeless and helpless until they came along and saved us
> from a life of darkness and despair.  I agree with Tracy, maybe this is a
> good topic to bring up at convention.  We should try to get the schools and
> other agencies to be sure that in the media we are shown to be positive,
> capable, independent and productive members of society.
> 
> Now for a question for discussion, if it is okay with Cindy our hard working 
> moderator.  Do you show your dog lots of affection while working or are you 
> more serious and low key?  Nither way is wrong I would just like to hear 
> from others what you do and why.  I personally am very glad that now we have 
> softer dogs so we do not have to do as much correction which gave the public 
> a very negative impression of guide dog handlers.
> 
> Sandra and Eva
> 
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Cindy Ray via NAGDU
> Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2018 4:20 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Cc: Cindy Ray
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Emotions associated with handling was Re: School logos
> 
> I don't think Tracy was minimizing the emotions of the other so much, but
> you have to realize that when a logo like that is out there in the public
> eye, that is immediately what they think, too. They think, "How wonderful
> that this person now has "eyes" and that must alleviate the loneiness and
> cut back on the dark.
> That isn't the same as minimizing someone's emotions, though I can see where
> someone might feel that way if he/she is going through a lonely dark time.
> Still, that does perk up the pity sense in people. Of course it also sells
> and gets donations. But I think TSE and Pilot's logos as described are more
> realistic. I would hope that no one here has taken offense to what Tracy has
> said, but I've seen people fawn over their dogs in some meetings; you see
> logos like this; some of us do overdo that sort of thing publicly. I think
> we do have to remember, as does the schools, what they really want to
> convey.
> Hope that made some sense. I would agree though that we don't want to turn
> this into a red hot topic.
> 
> Cindy Lou Ray
> cindyray at gmail.com
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Miranda via NAGDU
> Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2018 11:58 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Miranda <knownoflove at gmail.com>; Tracy Carcione <carcione at access.net>
> Subject: [NAGDU] Emotions associated with handling was Re: School logos
> 
> Hi Tracy and all,
> While I completely agree with you that the job of a dog guide is a very
> serious one, and all parties involved should recognize and support this
> assertion, I do think we need to be careful in labeling others? emotions as
> ?crap?. While I am not one who has experienced loneliness and darkness as a
> cane traveler, I imagine there are those who may have experienced darkness,
> loneliness, isolation, and the like prior to receiving a guide. By labeling
> these emotions, we may be minimizing another?s experience.
> I only say this as food for thought, and not to start any heated debates.
> 
> Best wishes, Miranda
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Apr 29, 2018, at 11:03 AM, Tracy Carcione via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>> 
>> GDB's change to a logo of someone hugging their dog was a small part
>> of my decision to switch from GDB to TSE.  OK, so it's a logo, but I
>> felt it was symbolic of some attitudes I didn't care for.  I heard at
>> the time that the GEB logo was similar.
>> 
>> As I recall, GDB's reason for changing their logo was that they wanted
>> to show the partnership between human and dog, but IMO there is a big
>> difference between a working partnership and a pet partnership, and
>> hugging your dog doesn't show that.
>> 
>> I know schools, and users, have had trouble with public perceptions
>> about corrections, and I have no problem with moves to use fewer or
>> better corrections, so long as the dog works well.  But I think it's
>> essential the schools emphasize that it's a working dog, doing as
>> serious a job as a police dog, and get away from the "companion in my
>> lonely darkness" crap.
>> 
>> Could we perhaps bring it up at the convention, or something?  Or
>> brainstorm some PR we'd rather see, that emphasizes the working
>> partnership, then share it with the schools?
>> 
>> Tracy
>> 
>> 
>> 
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