[NAGDU] Horrible Left Tendency

[sunshine]

Yes, as you said, most dogs have a tendency to be on the left. Personally, I prefer that. I had a dog that wanted to be on the right of the sidewalk and street and neither are particularly good because often I stepped off the curb and twisted my ankle. With country work, remaining on the right sight is definitely unsafe.


When walking with a sighted person, they should be on our right and behind us, not beside us. My first dog scraped against buildings. Since Bill is 7 years old now, it probably would be difficult to work on breaking a long-standing habbit. It's good that you speak with staff at your school as they are the experts. I have been advised that if a problem isn't corrected quickly and the same problem exists when a dog is older, there might not be fixes. That was from a trainer's perspective.

Sunshine


Sent from my iPhone XR

> On Aug 27, 2019, at 10:25 AM, Amanda Cape via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> I am just curious as to where you received your dogs from Julie.
> Thanks,
> 
> Amanda
> 
>> On Aug 27, 2019, at 10:59 AM, Julie McGinnity via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi all,
>> 
>> This has probably been discussed before, so I apologize for repeated
>> topics.  But how have you handled a ridiculously pronounced left
>> tendency your dog continues to display?  My dog, Bill, is 7 years old,
>> and he has gotten super stubborn lately about sticking to the left
>> side of everything.  I mean that he will hug walls, keep me on the
>> left sides of sidewalks to the point where I am hesitating to walk so
>> close to the edge or to the buildings we're nearly brushing up
>> against, and he pretty much refuses to redirect towards to the right.
>> 
>> I know dogs are trained on the left.  I know they prefer the left.  I
>> have mentioned this to my school, and they don't seem to think it's a
>> big deal.  But it's creating problems for me as I try to walk with
>> others.
>> 
>> I have used his leash to show him where I want him to walk.  I've
>> corrected for hitting walls and corners with his harness.  I've also
>> just stopped when he actively shoots to the left as we walk.  When I
>> let go of the harness, he literally walks to the left.  I have an
>> offset handle, and it's possible I lean to the right, and he is
>> reacting to oppose my motion, but I dislike being pulled to the left.
>> It makes me feel uncomfortable.  He still takes me around obstacles to
>> the right, so maybe there is hope.
>> 
>> Any ideas?  I don't use food rewards much, but if it's the best
>> solution for fixing this, I can break them out again.  Working with my
>> first dog was a battle much of the time for this and other reasons.  I
>> absolutely love working this dog.  He is responsive and well-behaved
>> and teachable, but this challenge is only creating a dividing line
>> between us.  Thank you in advance.
>> 
>> -- 
>> Julie A. McGinnity
>> MM Vocal Performance, 2015; President, National Federation of the
>> Blind Performing Arts Division; First Vice President, National
>> Federation of the Blind of Missouri
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> NAGDU mailing list
>> NAGDU at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NAGDU:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/cape.amanda%40gmail.com
> 
> _______________________________________________
> NAGDU mailing list
> NAGDU at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NAGDU:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/halogirl817%40gmail.com