[nagdu] Teaching Relieving was RE: trouble with relieving

[Danielle Sykora]

I also received my dog from GDF. For the first few days, the
instructors picked up after our dogs. They would tell us when our dogs
were relieving which helped me associate my dogs actions with when he
was relieving. The most helpful explanation of a dogs body position
actually came from another student.

My dog has relieved in harness a couple times. I believe it is
partially due to his reluctance to relieve in unfamiliar areas and
partially due to me not being able to definitively read his signals.
Pulling harder into the harness or repeatedly looking toward the curb
could mean he has to relieve but it can also signify another type of
distraction. His signals in harness are also different from those when
he is out of harness.

Theoretically, relieving on concrete should not promote relieving on
route. The dog should respond to signals from the handler I.E. verbal
clues, removing the harness, and/or being in a specific relief area.

My dog almost always relieves on concrete although he would probably
prefer grass. I find it much easier to pick up after him on concrete
and he is less likely to get distracted by sniffing. I think the more
surfaces the dog accepts relieving on, the better.

Danielle and Thai

On 12/11/14, Debby Phillips via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi Deanna, I'm not a GDB grad, I'm a Seeing Eye grad, but the
> first few days we don't pick up either.  The reason for that ii
> because in the beginning the dogs do not like being touched when
> they are relieving.  They don't know us from the man in the moon.
> And they aren't used to being in a relieving area.  But trust me,
> by the time we left to go home with our dogs, we all knew how to
> pick up after them, and to know whether they were doing a number
> 1 or 2.  (Grin).  That's why the trainers pick up at first.  It's
> not for us, it's for the dogs.    Peace,    Debby and Neena
>
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