[NAGDU] food rewards and guide work

Mon Sep 20 15:58:41 UTC 2021

Exactly, on all counts. 

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Susan Jones via NAGDU
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2021 9:42 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users' <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: sblanjones11 at sbcglobal.net
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] food rewards and guide work

AKA The Way to a dog's heart is through his stomach?

If they don't much care for food rewards, (some dogs are not really that motivated by food) a good scratch behind the ears or under the chin might also work as a reward.  You just have to learn your dog, and figure out what's special to him or her.
And sometimes, when they're having tummy issues, a food reward is not a very good idea.  So it's good to have a backup plan or two.

Susan
sblanjones11 at sbcglobal.net

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Sherry Gomes via NAGDU
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2021 11:06 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Sherry Gomes <sherry.gomes at outlook.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] food rewards and guide work

I am a food rewards convert. My current dog, Shani, is from GEB, but all my previous dogs were from GDB, and I got my first one in 1975. That was the days of never ever give a food reward. In about 2002, when I was in training with a successor dog, GDB had started using food rewards in a minimal sort of way. The class supervisor had been a trainer of mine in the past, and I confronted him and asked how they could tell us to give food after years of saying never. His response to me was that if I thought the trainers had never used food to train or help a dog grasp a concept, I could think again. Apparently, they *always* had used food. So, I agreed to try it, and I am a confirmed convert. Look at it this way. A dog's primary desire and motivation is food. If I am the giver of the food, I win my dog's heart because I am providing what it most wants. Here are some ways I've used food with my guides.

One time, I lived in a place, close enough to walk to my job, but with what was for me, a terrifying major street crossing. Two extremely busy roads with an island in the middle that was nothing more than a pole stuck in the middle, and I was walking to work right in Northern California rush hour. . The dog I had at that time had been trained with food rewards but not clicker. A trainer and I taught her to show me that pole and then how to cross the turn lane to the sidewalk. Every time I started on my way to work, I felt I was taking my life in my hands. And every time my dog got me across to the sidewalk, she got kibble and tons of praise and hugs. Food doesn't replace physical and verbal praise.

That same dog had terrible offleash recall. One time, I was at the airport with friends, seeing another friend off. On our way out, near the outside doors, the fire alarm went off, frightening my dog. She took off, out the door, which had opened and could have run right out in to the traffic. Fortunately, I had a pocket with kibble and holding a handful, I called her. She came to me for that kibble.

I also have other physical disabilities, and I don't do the discovery sort of mobility or travel. I need to teach my dog specific routes and have her go there every time and come home every time. If I get lost and wander around, I will be in a lot of pain and maybe have trouble walking around for a few days afterward. I also need my dog to watch out for tiny cracks in the sidewalks, rough terrain, changes in elevation, like sidewalks sloping up or down or driveways. Using food reward my dog has learned how to find the doors of places I go regularly, where to stop when the sidewalk changes, and most important, to go home and not wander. She does all this joyfully. I don't give her food for everything every time. Except for one street crossing which is very wide and busy. I can't get across the street before the light changes, and she gets a reward every time she gets me to the wheel chair ramp on the opposite side. And she gets a treat every time she stops at the gate to our yard. And she gets praise for all this as well and lots of praise without food as we travel along our routes. I also give her a kibble or a baby carrot when she comes in from the yard. After having several dogs with terrible recall, I award this girl for coming when I call her. It might save her life someday.

I don't do clicker, because I'm not good at handling the clicker and the food and the leash and all that. But food, yes, I'm a convert. Of course, this food comes out of her daily allotment by the way. My previous dog didn't like food rewards, didn't like eating at all, weird dog. And she also didn't bond or learn as quickly as all my dogs who have been trained and happy with food rewards. I would never want to go back to the days of absolutely no food rewards and or to the days of training that relies on corrections. Using food, you can redirect a dog from distractions, help them correct a clearance issue, comfort them when they are stressed or afraid. And as I said, it's always always accompanied with praise. It's just that the food, being the dog's number one motivator and desire, helps everything happen faster and with more bonding in some cases.

All this is not meant to say that for those who still don't care for it, that they are wrong. Everyone has different opinions on this topic, but I wanted to share my thoughts, since I come from the background of never using food to a full on food convert and believer.

Sherry
Find out about my book Haven by checking out my web site:
www.sherrygomes.com
Or on Facebook
http://facebook.com/sherrygomesauthor
And join my group, Haven Happenings at:
http://facebook.com/groups/havenhappenings

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Al Sten-Clanton via NAGDU
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2021 8:10 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Al Sten-Clanton <albert.e.sten_clanton at verizon.net>
Subject: [NAGDU] food rewards and guidework

Greetings, wag wag, and the like!

First, Mike Hingson, you made a great presentation yesterday on mutual trust between our dogs and ourselves.

Second, if I heard correctly, Mike suggested that there are times when you can use a food reward during guidework.  If I'm wrong, please correct me.  If I'm right, can anybody tell me what situations might be good for that?  I was leery of clicker training when I first heard of Seeing Eye doing it because of the food involved, but, other than teaching my dog to take me to a particular place or thing, I did not use the clicker, and I did not use food at any time as a work reward.  Since class in 2018, I've used food as a reward only during the bit of clicker training I've done--for example, in trying to get him to put his nose on the knob of the front door.

I was leery of clicker training because, as you might expect, I wondered how long that training would stick after the food ran out.  Praise is at least something I always have, with no danger of putting it in my pocket for the trip.  I've also seen that, with the doorknob I used the clicker for, he will eventually respond to the magic phrase associated with the clicker, but without the food and the clicker I almost always have to use it two or three times.

What do people think?  Am I missing something?

Best!

Al

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