[nagdu] Sniffing

Wed Aug 18 17:52:00 UTC 2010

Okay, I give.  What's a canny collar?

I use a Halti or GL for communication with the poodle nose, and occasionally
will use a leash twitch now for a reminder to Mitzi to pay attention, but in
training she was dedicated to ignoring the thing and would sniff more
sometimes just to prove her point.  /smile/  Then, of course, there are all
the antics to let me -- and anyone else around who will think she's cute --
what misery and suffering it causes her.  She saves the melodrama for
special occasions, generally when she's bored and there's an audience.  You
would think it was made of barbed wire or something.  Of course, I still
find myself falling for the act and checking to make sure it hasn't grown
sharp burrs or something while I wasn't looking.  Good grief!

What has ended up working with sniffing is to use "Leave it! Forward!" with
a leash twitch on the Halti or a harness bump if she's being really snotty.
Then click and praise, with a controlled sniff at the place of my choosing
as a reward.  Also, lots and lots of patience for what seemed like a long,
long time.  She's just now growing out of rebel sniffing, or so it seems.
Another thing she saves up for special occasions just to remind she is still
a Mitzi poodle.  /smile/  And, of course, she still gets a thrill out of
finding ways to get in a good scavenge, which is what really gives me fits.
The joy seems to be in the art of tricking me into letting her get a grab at
something tasty, but who knows what it is?  Also, the reward of getting to
chow down the goody before I can take it away from her makes the whole thing
pretty self-rewarding for her.  Grr!  I seem to be winning that one,
finally, but that just makes it more challenging for her, so more fun.  I
keep coming up with new ways to prevent it, and she keeps coming up with new
ways to get away with it.  Then, while I'm recovering from the latest
skirmish and have my dog sitting properly and looking all professional and
well-trained and innocent as a lamb and I'm catching my mental breath and
getting around to wondering what it was and if I'm going to have vet bills
because of it (so far, so good), that's about the time somebody pauses in
walking by to admire her and how good she is...  And then starts going on
about how they've read that poodles are the smartest dogs ever, except for
maybe border collies, and...  I stare haggardly and remember to force a
smile.  Oh, yeah.  She's stinkin' brilliant, really, and it's great for her
job, she's a really great guide and I love the way she uses all those curly
brains in her work...  It's just when she uses them to get into trouble that
I have a problem keeping up.  /grin/  "Next time," I will tell her
cheerfully, "I'm getting a stupid dog!"  Maybe that way I can do the
outsmarting once in awhile.

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Tina Thomas
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 9:24 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Sniffing

Hi Tracey- The gentle leader  doesn't work on Dixie either. It just causes
her to be more distracted. However, I found that the canny collar works
because it allows me to feel what her head is doing and also I can correct
her if necessary using the collar. 
Tina and Dixie 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Tracy Carcione
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 4:36 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Sniffing

I hear many people say this, but it was not my experience.  Ben is one of
the great sniffers of our time.  I tried the gentle leader, but he still
sniffed, and I couldn't pull his head out of a bush with the gentle
leader.  It also tended to slow him down, which gave him more time to
think about sniffing.
I'm glad it works for some, but it didn't work for me.
The things that keep Ben from sniffing are challenging work that takes all
his attention, or the pinch collar.

One of the trainers who came out to help me called it "multi-tasking."  If
the work doesn't take all his attention, he figures he can get a little
sniffing in.
If Benny was a programmer like me, he'd be the guy who comes in, looks at
his email, checks out the news, looks at his stocks, has a little gossip
with the neighbors, and oh yeah, gets some work done.  But when that
killer project comes along that really needs his high-powered mind, he's
all business and gets it done fast and right.
Tracy

> Hello Suzy- Have you tried using a gentle leader or a canny collar? Both
> of
> these tools help to keep the dogs  focused.
> Tina
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Suzy Wilson
> Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 4:49 PM
> To: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GUIDE DOG USERS
> Subject: [nagdu] Sniffing
>
>
> Hi everybody,
> As a first time guide dog user, I wanted to ask the group, does anybody
> have
> problems with their dog staying focused on the job?  I know it's normal
> instinct for dogs to sniff, but sometimes Dodie is obessessed about
> sniffing, it gets in the way of her focus and concentration and I wind up
> being walked into a trash can or some object on the way to our
> destination.
> I might be expecting too much psychologically of her but sometimes it
> seems
> like she doesn't take her job of keeping me safe very seriously or doesn't
> understand how important it is because she's too busy sniffing! What can I
> do to help her stop sniffing and stay focused on where she's leading me?
> -Suzy & Dodie
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