[NAGDU] Horrible Left Tendency

cindyray at gmail.com cindyray at gmail.com
Wed Aug 28 17:02:03 UTC 2019


Julie,  I never thought of the hard right turns. That is a good idea. Would
it be practical on a very busy sidewalk such as we used to encounter in
downtown Morristown or in New York?
Cindy Lou Ray
cindyray at gmail.com


-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Julie Johnson via NAGDU
Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2019 11:42 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Julie Johnson <julielj at neb.rr.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Horrible Left Tendency

I teach to work the right edge of a massively wide pedestrian area mostly 
the same as I teach sidewalkless travel.   If I think the dog is too far to 
the left, I will stop, make a 90 degree right turn, proceed forward until we
reach the edge of the path or the building or whatever.  I then praise, give
a treat or even tap the edge of the sidewalk and gush about how great it is.

We then do a 90 degree left turn and resume.   After a few times of doing 
this, I will start using the term over right to mean to walk along the right

edge.   So when I feel the dog is too far to the left, I stop, give the over

right command with a hand gesture in the general direction and encourage the
dog to move to that right edge.  If they don't get it, I'll go back to the
hard turns to enforce the idea.

You can absolutely teach an older dog new things.  It may take longer, not
because they are dimmer than a younger dog, but because you have to undo the
previous habit and replace with a new approach and that just takes longer.

If the sidewalk is the typical residential 3 or 4 foot wide kind, I let the
dog pick where ever they want to walk.  If we are downtown where the
sidewalks go from the building fronts all the way to the curb, sometimes 20
feet, I insist that my dog keep right of center.  I also do a lot of walking
on a hike and bike path.  There we must absolutely keep right of center to
maintain a reasonably safe flow of traffic with bikes, runners, Moms with
strollers and a lot of pedestrian traffic.  If I was on the left, another
pedestrian was on the right and a bicyclist needed to go by, someone is
going to get hurt.  It's also the social norm to be on the right in these
situations and I prefer to follow the social expectations.

I hope you can get this sorted out.  Good luck!

the other Julie
On The Go with Guide-and-Service-Dogs.com
http://www.guide-and-service-dogs.com
also find my products in the Blind Mice Mega Mall
<https://www.blindmicemegamall.com/bmm/shop/Directory_Departments?storeid=19
16046>
-----Original Message-----
From: Julie McGinnity via NAGDU
Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2019 7:40 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Julie McGinnity
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Horrible Left Tendency

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the suggestions.

First, I have complete confidence in the safety of my dog.  I know this
because I know he is not pulling me out into traffic.  I also have tried
dropping the harness handle and just starting over on the right.  Sometimes
when I've dropped the harness handle, Bill refused to move because there was
an obstacle in our way.  He won't allow me to run into things.

I had a dog once whose left tendency got worse because she was done working.
This isn't the same.  I feel uncomfortable with him moving to the left, but
I don't feel as though he will run me into things or allow me to be
surrounded by traffic.  Do I think he's pushing boundaries though?  Yes.

I could let it go and just deal with it.  But I don't want to do this for
two reasons.  1. There is a reason for this, and there is, more importantly,
a reason it has gotten worse.  I can't tell if it's boredom, testing me, a
combination of those two, or something else I haven't thought of.  And I
want to figure out what's going on and try to help him through it if I can.
2. I believe he can be trained out of it.  He might be 7, but he still loves
to work.  He likes to go new places and learn new things.  Yes, his
stubbornness has gotten worse with age, but our bond has also strengthened.
I believe that given the right method, we can reduce this problem.

I will likely try to give him a positive reminder of why it's cool to be on
the right side.  None of the corrective work seems to do the trick with him.
He just wants to fight against those methods and go right back to walking on
the left side. Thanks.

Julie


On 8/27/19, Cindy Ray via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Thanks for clarifying.
> Cindy Lou
> cindyray at gmail.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Jordan Gallacher 
> via NAGDU
> Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 8:31 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Jordan Gallacher <jordangandoliver at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Horrible Left Tendency
>
> Among others such as being aggressive around other dogs, he would 
> either pull or we would do a slow drift to the left into the parallel
street.
> Jordan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Cindy Ray via 
> NAGDU
> Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 8:25 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: cindyray at gmail.com
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Horrible Left Tendency
>
> Jordan, what was the problem with Belto?
> Cindy Lou Ray
> cindyray at gmail.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Jordan Gallacher 
> via NAGDU
> Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 6:07 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Jordan Gallacher <jordangandoliver at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Horrible Left Tendency
>
> Which was one of the problems with Belto, and Leader Dogs told me that 
> was perfectly fine for him to be doing.
> Jordan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Dan Weiner via 
> NAGDU
> Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 5:30 PM
> To: Sherri via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Dan Weiner <dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net>
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Horrible Left Tendency
>
> but here's a problem folks, if you have a left tender you are saying 
> you should pull the dog to the right or step to the right, how do you 
> know there isn't  something on the right side that you will trip over 
> or a clearance issue? unless you use your cane of course to check. the 
> only time I would find it an absolute emergency and not to be 
> tolerated would be during a street crossing and if the left side were 
> the parallel traffic, now that would be a serious issue indeed.
>
>
>
>
> On 8/27/2019 4:02 PM, Sherri via NAGDU wrote:
>> Wow, I wish I had known that suggestion.  I had an extremely 
>> left-walking dog.  Someone told me it's because they are taught to 
>> walk on the left side of the street, so they incorporate that into 
>> their walking behavior.  I was never successful getting her to walk 
>> much
> on the right side of anything.
>>
>> Sherri
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of sunshine 
>> via NAGDU
>> Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 1:01 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users 
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: sunshine <halogirl817 at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Horrible Left Tendency
>>
>> Michael, I was advised to do likewise. With one dog that didn't work 
>> at
> all.
>> She resisted all the more. Then there was a dog that I could correct 
>> using the method, but she'd bounce back to scraping the buildings.
>> There was not an explanation for same. They're trained to walk in the
> middle, though.
>>
>> Sunshine
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone XR
>>
>>> On Aug 27, 2019, at 10:55 AM, Mike Hingson via NAGDU 
>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>>> Julie,
>>>
>>> I have experienced the same thing. I never have gotten a good 
>>> explanation for this tendency. One suggestion a trainer did offer is 
>>> that when your dog veers to the left, push your harness handle even 
>>> further to the left. This is a bit uncomfortable for the dog and 
>>> they move to the right to correct. I found that this suggestion did 
>>> work some.
>>>
>>>
>>> Best Regards,
>>>
>>>
>>> Michael Hingson
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: NAGDU On Behalf Of Julie McGinnity via NAGDU
>>> Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 7:59 AM
>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users 
>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Cc: Julie McGinnity <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
>>> Subject: [NAGDU] Horrible Left Tendency
>>>
>>> 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
>>>
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--
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

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