[NAGDU] pace and pull
Jean Menzies
jemenzies at shaw.ca
Sat May 25 15:54:51 UTC 2019
Thanks, Susan.
Thanks for the reminder to stay well back, as it is so easy to walk up on a
slower dog. I'm also hoping that as he gains confidence, his pace in more
congested areas will pick up a bit. Aw, and remembering that the dogs with
issues at first can turn out to be the best. Thanks.
Jean
-----Original Message-----
From: Susan Jones via NAGDU
Sent: Friday, May 24, 2019 5:21 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Cc: Susan Jones
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] pace and pull
Jean,
I received a dog that was very slow at one time. One thing I did was walk
doubles with someone who had a really fast dog. That helped some, but she
was always very slow.
Turned out, she was one of my very best dogs!
One thing you might try when she slows down due to congestion is back
yourself up an inch or two, and be very diligent about following her lead.
Allow her to get the sense that she is leading you, albeit slowly.
I hope this is helpful.
Susan
-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jean Menzies via
NAGDU
Sent: Friday, May 24, 2019 7:21 PM
To: NAGDU
Cc: Jean Menzies
Subject: [NAGDU] pace and pull
Hello all.
I have been home with a new guide for three months now. This dog has some
wonderful traits, but so far we have had to have a home visit to work on
inconsistency. I won’t go into those details, except to say that I am now
taking him back to kindergarden and using food reward and praise at every
curb and whenever he responds positively to what I ask. After things appear
solid, I will be slowly decreasing food reward and hoping that consistency
stays.
I mention that only to say that I am working on that first and foremost.
However, once that is fixed, and I hope it will be fixable, then I need to
work on pull at slower speeds.
My normal pace when things are clear is fast. I like a nice solid pull, and
this dog does well at both pace and pull at faster speeds. When streets are
busier, though, with pedestrians, shop doors possibly opening, etc., his
pace is much slower. I accept that the slower pace is appropriate for those
situations, but the problem I have is that when he walks slow, there is
absolutely no pull in harness. I feel like a ship without a sail, and it
takes a great deal of concentration to feel his movements and even sometimes
trust that he is working. The lack of pull at such slow pace makes me feel
vulnerable.
For those who have trained their own dogs or worked with this kind of issue
before, how can I increase his pull at slower speeds? I understand pull can
be taut to some degree. Note that he also has some body sensativity, and
when I add a slight back pressure either on purpose or accidentally at slow
paces, he might just stop or maybe side-step left. He has no problem with
pull at faster speeds or when he decides to pull.
Ultimately, if the bigger inconsistency problem resolves and I am able to
back off on food rewards, I then need to work on pull at slower paces if I
can. Does anyone have ideas on how to do this? One thing at a time, but I’m
wanting to have a bit of a plan going forward.
Jean and Boomer
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