[nagdu] Standing Heel position

Wed Nov 25 05:15:13 UTC 2015

Hi, Raven,

What I did was first teach my guide to target my hand with her nose; then I
taught her to target my hand with her chin, then with her forehead, then
with each ear, then each shoulder, then with each hip. Once she had the idea
of targeting my hand with one or two body parts, the rest came very easily.
(I use click & treat, and she knows the process and is an eager learner.)
I'm not luring with the treat in my hand; I'm just using my hand as a target
for her to touch with the specific body part; then when she does, I click
and treat. You can also have her put each knee or foot in your hand, but
since Panda is a horse, I prefer to keep her feet on the ground. I do have a
cue for her to pick up each of her feet for cleaning, though.

Where I put my hand cues her as to which body part I want at first, and then
I attach the word as part of the cue, such as "Nose touch" or "Shoulder
touch". With each new body part I start by placing my hand just at the ends
of her hair away from the body part, so that I can feel when she moves even
the slightest bit into my hand. Then I gradually increase the distance she
needs to move to bring the body part into my hand. Eventually, I can hold my
hand down at her nose level, say "Nose touch," and she will come from across
the room or across the yard to touch my hand with her nose. The hip and
shoulder touches are great for maneuvering her around while grooming her or
for positioning her when I'm standing or sitting. This is where I would use
the "Hip touch" to get her to snug her hip in close to my left leg if she
had swung out away from me while standing in line or in an open area. I just
reach down with my left hand to about hip height and say "Hip touch", and
she will swing her body around to bring the right hip to my hand (and my
left side.)

She has also been highly reinforced for coming into a nice tight heel
position, with her shoulder or ribs touching my left leg, so she does that
pretty automatically now.

Body part targeting is both a fun game and a useful skill for both dogs and
horses to know. So I hope you and your dog have fun with it and it helps him
come into a nice tight heel position. Let me know if my explanation was not
clear in some way.

Have a happy Thanksgiving.

Ann

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Raven Tolliver
via nagdu
Sent: Monday, November 23, 2015 5:33 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Raven Tolliver
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Standing Heel position

Ann,
I've never thought of or heard of the variation of targeting you've
described.

With this kind of targeting, would I get my dog to bring his hip closer by
causing him to turn out left toward food reinforcement?
Essentially, he moves his rear in toward me in order to get a treat I offer
at his left ear.
Hope that made sense.
--
Raven
Founder of 1AM Editing & Research
www.1am-editing.com

You are valuable because of your potential, not because of what you have or
what you do.

Naturally-reared guide dogs
https://groups.google.com/d/forum/nrguidedogs

On 11/23/15, Ann Edie via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi, Raven,
>
> You could teach your dog(s) to target your hand (or knee) with various 
> parts of their bodies, such as their chin, ear, shoulder, or hip. 
> Obviously, for the behavior you are presently concerned about, 
> targeting the dog's right hip to your left leg or to your left hand 
> placed along or behind your left leg would achieve the desired 
> position. This way the dog will come to you instead of your having to 
> move the dog into position manually. And after he/she gets used to 
> targeting his/her hip to your leg, the behavior should become part of 
> the "heel" behavior.
>
> I expect you can work out the steps to train the body part targeting 
> behavior without further description. But if you want more details or 
> suggestions for a lesson plan, just let me know.
>
> Best,
> Ann
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Raven 
> Tolliver via nagdu
> Sent: Monday, November 23, 2015 4:34 PM
> To: nagdu
> Cc: Raven Tolliver
> Subject: [nagdu] Standing Heel position
>
> I struggle with this in my dog and with the finishing puppies at work.
> How do you teach a dog to stand in heel position so that their 
> rear-end is not hanging out further than the rest of their body?
>
> My dog has done this for a long time, probably since I've had him, and 
> I always find myself scooting his butt in close so that his rear's not 
> out in an isle. It doesn't happen so much as when he has his booties 
> on. He'll bring his front half close, but leave his tail-end hanging 
> out in people's way in stores, malls, etc. With the boots on, he does 
> all sorts of funny positioning things, but this one gets to me the most.
> I don't know how to show him not to do that without taking my hand and 
> pushing his butt in close.
> Thanks.
> --
> Raven
> Founder of 1AM Editing & Research
> www.1am-editing.com
>
> You are valuable because of your potential, not because of what you 
> have or what you do.
>
> Naturally-reared guide dogs
> https://groups.google.com/d/forum/nrguidedogs
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/annedie%40nycap.rr.
> com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/ravend729%40gmail.c
> om
>

_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/annedie%40nycap.rr.com