[nagdu] Things I wanted to discuss, but just didn't have time to

[Julie J.]

Tracking is the same thing as shorelining or following a line of travel on 
the edge of something, like a curb, hall or change in terrain like grass to 
cement.

Does Mitsy have an easier time following a line of travel on the right vs. 
the left?

I think the main reason that guide dogs work on the left is because most 
people are right handed.   It has been the practice to work dogs of all 
sorts on the left, show dogs, obedience competitions, hunting dogs etc. 
When I was competing in dog sports this is how it was explained to me 
anyhow.

Julie


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tamara Smith-Kinney" <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 08, 2009 11:32 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Things I wanted to discuss, but just didn't have time 
to


> Hmm...
>
> This is interesting.  Being left-handed, I figured if everyone else works
> their dog on the left, leaving their dominant right hand free, I would 
> train
> my dog to work on the right, leaving my dominant left hand free.  Then
> someone recently told me she had heard the reason guide dogs worked on the
> left was so the handler would not have to drop the harness handle to shake
> hands.  Oh!  I wonder if that's it or if people work the dog on the left 
> for
> the same reasons they shake hands with the right...  That just works best
> for a predominantly right-handed population.  /smile/
>
> Is tracking, the way you guys mean it, something to do with follow?  Or 
> with
> patterning?  I haven't heard the word used in that context before.  Mitzi
> knows follow, but I've realized lately she prefers to pattern, and will
> sometimes be patterning when I think she's following...  Or is it the 
> other
> way around?  /smile/
>
> Living beyond the reliable sidewalk zone, I often wish I had trained her 
> to
> work on my left, since when we're on the side of the road facing traffic,
> she's the one closest to it.  Scares me all to pieces.  She does know to
> stay to the side of the road and not wander across the white line (when
> there's so much as that between us and traffic).  I don't necessarily 
> trust
> the oncoming drivers to do so well.  Then again, there's a long stretch
> where we have to walk with traffic coming up behind us as we walk in the
> pedestrian lane, which puts me on the traffic side with a whole lot of
> tension between my shoulder blades.  It would probably be worse if she 
> were
> on that side going that way....  I'm used to it now and don't get all
> weirded out just walking up to the store, but every now and then I still
> think about what we're doing and give myself the hopeless willies!
>
> Tami Smith-Kinney
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Ron Davidson
> Sent: Sunday, March 08, 2009 10:31 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Things I wanted to discuss, but just didn't have time
> to
>
> I never heard of a guide working on the right but I guess it is necessary 
> it
>
> the person don't have a good working left arm. Just like they train them 
> to
> work with wheel chairs. But I do feel the tracking on the left is taught 
> not
>
> a natural thing where in the ordinary dogs life do you see them tracking 
> or
> following specifically on the left.
>
>
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