[NAGDU] "Well-trained"

Sharon S koala at areujoking.com
Sat Jul 17 04:57:36 UTC 2021


Hi, all my dogs have been from Seeing Eye Dogs Australia. My dog didn't mind
going to places a different way. Actually one day she made a different turn
which I didn't realise straight away. Once I realised I figured I would let
her go and see what happened. We were in a big open area with nothing for me
to follow but I knew we would come out at one of the main roads in the end
so wasn't really worried. I figured if we got to a road and neither of us
knew where we were I could call someone to try and help us. This was before
I had a GPS so I had to trust the dog. Before I knew it we came out at a
road and she led me up to the crossing and it was the crossing we normally
used right near our destination. She did the same trick next time we were
going to the same place so knowing she did a great job last time I let her
go. However, this time when we came out on the road she just stopped not
knowing where she was. At the time there was some construction going on at
the corner of the street we needed to get to. Standing at this new place I
could hear the construction going on to our left so I told the dog to go
that way. We had ended up coming out a bit further down the road but once I
headed the dog in the right direction we were fine. She went along with my
directions until we found ourselves at the crossing and then she was
confident again and off she went. The funny thing is she never tried that
route again. We went back to the old way and she happily went that way for
the rest of her working life.

To this day I have no idea why she decided to go the other way. There might
have been something blocking our way the first day so she decided going the
different way was safer. I have no idea and at the time I had nobody to ask.
A few years later we had some clients who had better sight then me and
walked the same way to the office so if my dog had done something strange on
the way I was able to ask them if they saw a reason for it.

The only problem I had with my first dog was, as well as being great at
finding places after the first time going there she insisted on having the
same seat each time. This was a problem some times because there were other
people sitting in them so she would just stand there and stare at them
wanting them to move. I remember one doctor's appointment. We went there for
the second time and all the seats in the waiting room were empty except for
the one we sat in last time. So she went up to that lady and stared at her,
I told the dog to find another seat but she wouldn't move. In the end I had
to get someone else to help me find a seat. I've lost count of how many laps
I nearly sat in because people didn't move or make a sound so I thought the
seat was empty. I ended up feeling for the seat first and finding it either
empty or I would find a knee. Again when I realised the seat was taken I
would ask the dog to find another seat but she wouldn't move. It would
normally take another passenger to point me in the right direction on the
bus.

When I was catching the same bus each day the other passengers were good at
making sure our seat was clear. I remember one day getting on the bus and
hearing someone explaining that it was the seat the dog liked. I figured
they were explaining why they wanted someone else to move. On that bus I
never had the issue of having to find another seat.

Bye for now.
>From Shaz.
Canberra, Australia.

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Richard via NAGDU
Sent: Saturday, 17 July 2021 12:10 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: richardfiorello716 at gmail.com
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] "Well-trained"

Hi;
I have to ask, what school were your dogs from?  Only one of my five dogs
seemed to be destination oriented.  For example when I went into our local
rather large right aid all I had to do is start in the general direction of
the pharmacy and I could count on finding the counter.  My current dog is a
good guide but he basically goes where you tell him to go which I guess is
what should happen.  With Mr. destination I was taking a route that we
traveled frequently and I decided we'd go a different way.  Well his feet
were in concrete.  He was certain I was going the wrong way and didn't want
to have any of it.  Its interesting how they are all different.
Richard


-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Sharon S via NAGDU
Sent: Friday, July 16, 2021 2:57 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Sharon S <koala at areujoking.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] "Well-trained"

Hi, I was rather spoiled with my first dog. She was great on destination
work and only had to go to a place once and then she knew it.

I remember one day I was going to meet my dad at his work which we had been
to before but this time we were coming from a different direction. I was
meant to call dad when I was getting close to the bus stop and he would come
and meet us. Of course this was a day when I forgot my phone at home. I
wasn't sure what to do, dad was expecting me at a certain time so I figured
he would make his way to the bus stop around that time. So, I waited for a
bit with no sign of dad, then I went into the nearest building looking for
someone who could call him for me but there was no desk at the entrance so
that wasn't any use. I knew myself ruffly where I needed to go so we set
off. I really wasn't sure if we were going to make it but at least we would
get closer to his office. Before I knew it we were at a road to cross and I
knew we had to cross one to get there. So we crossed the road and my dog
then headed to a set of steps. We went up these stairs and into a building,
which turned out to be the front entrance to my dad's office. I was very
pleased with my dog that day but I don't think any of my dogs since would
have been able to do it.

I have had two labs and two golden retrievers and they all have been
different. These are the breeds our local schools work with. They have tried
other breeds over the years but they keep going back to the labs and
retrievers.

When applying or each dog I have never requested a particular breed or sex.
So I have now had two girls and two boys.

I only had training at the school for my first dog the rest have been done
from home. What I liked about the home training was they let me continue on
with my normal activities and just used them as part of the training.

Bye for now.
>From Shaz.
Canberra, Australia.

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione via NAGDU
Sent: Saturday, 26 June 2021 2:04 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Tracy Carcione <carcione at access.net>
Subject: [NAGDU] "Well-trained"

I think "well-trained" is affected by expectations.  

To me, "well-trained" means a dog can work with a totally blind person,
without sighted assistance, in a wide variety of situations and in areas the
handler is not familiar with.  If it can do that, it is trained well enough
to work with anyone.

I get the impression sometimes that some trainers expect that the handler
can see a bit, or will have sighted help available, or will not be going to
unfamiliar areas without a sighted person along.  Any or all of these things
may be true for some people, but by no means for all.  They certainly aren't
true for me.

One is an expectation that blind people lead limited, circumscribed lives,
and the other is that we go out and do what we want to do, when we want to
do it. JMO.

Tracy

 

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