[nagdu] length of training

[Wayne Merritt]

Interesting. It's always fascinating to me to hear/get the perspective
of a former/current trainer, since you really see what the dog goes
through and changes into on a daily basis and in their formative
training time.

Look forward to reading more from you in the future,
Wayne

On 4/9/10, doug weil <doug.weil at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Hi Julie,
> I'll jump in on this one as I have worked for several guide dog
> organizations and know alot of instructors from all the schools. I'm a
> semi-retired GD Instructor and have no affiliations with any school right
> now. I've been lurking on this list for several years and do learn alot from
> all that post their ideas/problems/concerns. I like hearing what you all
> have to say and it gives me more insight into training guide dogs.
>
> As far as length of training time, I think Tracy hit it on the head with 4-5
> months. Most reputable, good schools should have dogs ready in about 4
> months. Back in the day when I started, we had 2 trainers per team and had
> 25 to 30 dogs to get ready in 4 months. Each trainer had about 12-15 dogs
> and you could train 7 per day. That means each dog got out about 2 or 3
> times per week for training. As training progressed and you lost dogs; they
> got out more often. At the end of training the average # of workouts was
> about 25-30 and the dogs had all the basic skills needed to pass final
> blindfold testing. Now adays, I know most schools have more trainers &
> resources. I know GDB has 4 trainers and a supervisor per string and each
> trainer has 3 or 4 dogs to train, meaning they get out everyday and some
> twice a day. That really can cut training time by months but you have a
> lot more hours in the dog. The average # of training sessions per dog is now
> about 80+
>  vs. 25 back in the day. The result being shorter training time but far more
> sessions and hopefully much better working dogs going into class.
>
> When I trained independently and only had 1 dog to train, I worked him
> everyday and twice a day most days. At the end of 6 weeks he was finished
> including traffic. He was an exception to the rule as he was very responsive
> to training and willing to do whatever you asked. So, alot of it depends on
> the type of dog
> along with experience of progressing without pressuring the dog.
>
> I know of a school that had dogs in for training average about a year before
> they went out. Far to long as dogs can get kennel sour. Most schools I know
> run about 4-5 months training time which is good for the dog to get placed
> sooner with his blind partner and allow the dog to develop its relationship
> with the partner rather than with the trainer. Hope this helps answer your
> question. I'll try and contribute more in the future. Have a great day!
>
> Doug Weil
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Julie J <julielj at windstream.net>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Fri, April 9, 2010 5:07:29 AM
> Subject: [nagdu] length of training
>
> Hello all!
> Maria Orovcíková  posted on the list a bit ago about research she is doing
> for her Masters degree in Slovakia? I think.  I have been in contact with
> her and we have run into a small problem.  In her country the length of
> training time is measured in months.  When asked the trainers explain that
> they train the dogs however much time they have each day or week.
>
> She is using the GDUI survey for info on the American programs.  GDUI has
> the length of training time in hours.  Maria needs to put everything into
> months for comparison.
>
> So I'm wondering if people know in weeks or months how long the guide dogs
> from the various American programs are in formal guide training?  I know
> that typically it is 4 months, but when you look at the GDUI survey the
> hours vary from a low of 15 to a high of 120 or more.  That doesn't seem to
> convert easily to 4 months.
>
> Thoughts?
> I'll pass along whatever anyone has to share to Maria.
>
> Thanks much!
> Julie
>
>
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