[nagdu] bad handlers

[Robert Hooper]

And, just to add a bit: I never, under any circumstances, let anyone pet my dog in harness. However, this is not due to some belief that those who do allow such are "wrong". Rather, Bailey is a bit more social than I would like him to be--he was puppy-raised in the same house as a lab and must have picked up some bad habits (just kidding everyone, don't kill me). Anyway, he is a bit more social than I would expect a shepherd to be. So, in order to curb or dampen his social tendencies, I am training him to view everyone as an obstacle that needs to be traversed. Part of that process is the dreaded "pet refusal". I also restrict peoples' access to him out of harness--I allow them to say hello to him. I will make sure that Bailey is sitting and I will invite the person to give him a friendly pat or stroke--nothing overly dramatic or affectionate. I have seen a lot of improvement--Bailey is less likely to investigate people sitting on the ground outside of classrooms, for example. I guess my point is--each handler should develop a policy that is best suited for the success of their team--if a dog is easily distracted by people or the prospect of being stroked, then maybe said handler should look into measures to curb that behavior. If a handler's dog has no problems with distractions and isn't too "people crazy", then maybe the handler will feel better about people interacting with their dog and will relax their policy. I have a policy that fits my needs and that of my relationship with my dog--other handlers should do the same.
Sincerely,
Robert Hooper
Hooper.90 at buckeyemail.osu.edu
The Ohio State University
0653 Buckeye-Cuyahoga CT
653 Cuyahoga Court
Columbus, Ohio 43210
(740) 856-8195


-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Cindy Ray
Sent: Friday, March 16, 2012 11:28 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] bad handlers

Rox, I would have to agree with you. I pretty much don't let people pet my dog in harness, but I judge the situation and make decisions on it; then I put him at sit and make sure he's not doing anything untoward. Mostly it is just easier not to allow it. I believe we ought to be careful about judging handlers in sweeping statements and calling them "bad handlers." I would think I would prefer to hear someone say something along the lines of "I never allow someone to pet my dog because I was trained that way and I just feel that for me it is better." I don't say much about what I do with my dog here because I don't want to be judged, and I think we all do pretty much what makes us comfortable. If our dogs are working well for us and we are traveling from Point A to Point B safely, and if those dogs aren't causing trouble out in public, then I think at the end of the day that's all that matters.

Cindy


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