[nagdu] A Mia misconception

[Beckman, Noah G.]

Good evening everyone,
                I am noticing a consistent tendency in Mia's guide work that I would like to eliminate.  It seems as though her perception of her guiding window (the space both above her and to her right that she needs to keep clear of obstacles) is quite a bit wider than necessary.  In other words, I think she feels she needs to guide me as though my right arm is raised and pointing straight out to my right.  Although her efforts to make doubly sure my right shoulder doesn't collide with anything might seem touching, it has several negative symptoms.  As we walk down a sidewalk, she will tend to favor either the middle or the far left side.  If there is a building line, curb into the street, row of parking meters, etc. to my right, this tendency becomes especially pronounced.  As I attend a large university, the volume of people on the sidewalk at any one time can reach levels comparable to New York City.  This means that her love of the left often results in oncoming people either having to step off of the sidewalk or cut over to my right in order to avoid us.  Or, if we approach a group of people that is standing on the sidewalk such that there is still a little bit of room for us to pass, she will sometimes freeze or walk at a snail's pace.  The same is true for slightly narrow, but definitely navigable gaps between furniture or other objects.  When I ask her to hup right, she will (usually) but not all of the way to the boarder of the sidewalk.  Also, she will drift back to the left immediately.
                I've tried putting the leash in my right hand and tugging slightly to the right.  I've tried scolding her and, in extreme or repeated offenses, correcting her when she pulls me to the left.  I've tried putting on a praise party on those few instances where she keeps me to the right without repeated encouragement.  None of these efforts has noticeably mitigated the issue.  I am not exactly sure how or why this started; I only became acutely aware of it in late August around the time other students started moving back to campus.
                Other than this problem, I hardly have grounds for complaint when it comes to any aspect of Mia or her work.  I simply want to be able to walk along and have thoughts or conversations with others that are not continually interrupted by me having to remind my dog that we need to stick to the right.  Your thoughts and suggestions about how to correct this issue would be much appreciated.

Thank you,

-Noah