[NAGDU] Horrible Left Tendency

Dan Weiner dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net
Wed Aug 28 19:50:25 UTC 2019 

well because of my hearing I think I have a bit of a right tendency more 
than a bit so my dogs need to compensate to the left, each of us is 
different and it is rather fascinating to see what we each need and deal 
with.



On 8/28/2019 12:42 PM, Julie Johnson via NAGDU wrote:
> 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=1916046> 
>
> -----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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>
>

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