[NAGDU] GDF

[NAGDU President]

Yiska,

	Let me first state that my most previous guide dog was trained by
the Guide Dog Foundation. Let me also state that "Positive reinforcement"
refers to giving something that causes a behavior to increase. "Negative
reinforcement" refers to withdrawing something to make a behavior increaseTo
say this another way, a behavior is reinforced when it increases. The words
"positive" and "negative" do not refer to the quality of the reinforce but
the direction of the reinforce. The term "punishment" also does not
necessarily refer to something that is negative but refers to  whether a
behavior increases - is reinforced - or decreases - is punished.

	Leash corrections do not instill fear in the dog when used properly.
They simply bring the dog's attention back to the person at the end of the
leash so as to regain the dog's focus. Of course, there are some who use
leash corrections to instill fear but this is not the purpose of the
correction.

	GDF uses the mantra, 3/4 praise; 1/4 correction". It is far better
to reinforce a wanted behavior than to punish an unwanted  one 

Fraternally yours,
Marion


Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc. (NAGDU)
National Federation of the Blind
(813) 626-2789
President at NAGDU.ORG


The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise
expectations because low expectations create barriers between blind  people
and our dreams. You can live the life you want! Blindness is not what holds
you back.


-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Yiska via NAGDU
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2018 10:44 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Yiska
Subject: [NAGDU] GDF

Hello
I had questions about GDF's training methods. Do they use any negative
reinforcement? Do they use only positive without leash corrections? I want
something positive based not fear based. Thanks for your time.
Yiska
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