(VICT) Traffic Training and the Decision to Train a Guide

  • From: "Ann Edie" <annedie@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <vi-clicker-trainers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 12:40:49 -0400

Hi, Jill, Jo,  and Everyone,

I agree that it is a major undertaking to train one's own guide animal, and 
it is certainly a great responsibility to train a guide dog for another 
person.  However, sometimes I think that we give a bit too much credit to 
the guide dog training programs and their trainers when it comes to the 
uniqueness of guide dog work and the "special" nature of the knowledge the 
official guide dog trainers have.

To me, guide dogs learn a set of tasks, just as other types of service dogs 
learn a set of tasks.  There is nothing magical about the behaviors or the 
way they are trained.  The important things are:  1) to know what the tasks 
are that you want the animal to perform; 2) the knowledge of how to break 
those tasks down into small steps that the animal can grasp; and 3) 
confidence in your teaching method to accomplish the training.

I believe that many of us who have had long experience as guide dog 
handlers, and who have had an interest in training and experience in 
training other types of work, can successfully train our own guide animals.

Have you ever noticed that the guide dog training programs never guarantee 
your safety when travelling with your program-trained dog?  This is 
sensible, because no one can guarantee another person's safety, no matter 
how well-trained the guide animal is.  So the person handling the guide 
animal must always take responsibility for their own safety.  The 
well-trained guide animal can give us useful information about things in the 
environment which we might otherwise not be aware of, and the guide animal 
can perform specific tasks for us which make travel safer and more 
efficient.  But it is still a team effort, and we must be the partner who is 
responsible for ensuring that our guide is focused on the task, feeling up 
to par, and that he possesses all the skills needed for the situation he is 
in.

I think that where people get into trouble is when they attempt to train 
their own guides without sufficient knowledge of what a guide animal 
actually does.  Some people think that the animal mysteriously "just knows" 
that he is supposed to "take care of us", and that he knows instinctively 
how to do that.  They do not analyze the tasks that the animal must do, and 
they do not teach those skills by formulating and following a systematic 
plan.

At any rate, I believe that if we know what we want to teach, and if we 
follow an organized and sufficiently chunked down lesson plan, and if we 
have a good guide candidate to work with, and if we use a proven training 
method--Clicker Training, of course, that we have at least as good a chance 
of producing a wonderful guide as do the established guide dog training 
programs.

Since both you and Jo have mentioned traffic training as one of the biggest 
hurdles in making the decision to train a guide, I thought I might append to 
this message a post I wrote to this list some time ago about Panda's traffic 
training.  It is not meant as a lesson plan, and of course, I give no 
guarantee of anyone's safety if a similar method is used to teach traffic 
work to any other animal.  I offer it as something to consider and to help 
you chunk down the behaviors that need to be taught as partts of traffic 
training.

I hope it is helpful to you and to anyone else who may be thinking about 
training a guide animal.

Best,
Ann
------------

Hi, Everyone,

To me, "traffic work" refers to the guide's skill in taking me around or
otherwise out of the path of moving obstacles, especially vehicles, but also
people on foot, on bicycles, on the segway, on skates or skateboards, etc.
The "traffic check" refers specifically to rapid stops or evasive action
taken by the guide to keep us safe in the event of an unexpected approach of
a moving vehicle, person, or animal.

To my way of thinking, the "check" in
the term "traffic check" means "stop" rather than "notice", and refers to
the fact that the guide has to "check" our forward motion and change course
rapidly to avoid danger.

So looking out for traffic happens all the time when my guide looks ahead
and judges the trajectories of all the moving objects and beings in the
vicinity and chooses a path which will give both me and her clearance around
those objects.  She also uses her wide field of vision and her hearing to
monitor traffic behind and to the sides.

I believe that this skill is built
gradually upon the foundation of stationary obstacle work as the guide gains
experience with guiding the blind handler through many environments.  In my
case, I clicked and reinforced Panda for any tendency to move over to one
side of the sidewalk to leave room for oncoming joggers, dog walkers, sports
teams out for a run, bicyclists, shoppers at the mall, students in the halls
at school, etc.  She is naturally also very cognizant of such traffic coming
up to overtake us from behind, and she will similarly pull over to allow
them room to pass, if necessary.

In some cases, Panda has decided that the
safest thing to do is to pull over to the side of the path and stop to let
the traffic pass before going on.  She will do this when we are walking on a
sidewalkless narrow road and a car approaches us from in front in our lane.
If possible she will pull into the mouth of a driveway, and she may or may
not pause to let the car go by before continuing on our way, depending on
the size and speed of the vehicle.  I have merely noticed and reinforced
these behaviors to make them part of Panda's repertoire.

Formal "traffic checks" were taught in a more organized and systematic
manner, with the help of Panda's sighted trainer and at least one driver of
an unfamiliar vehicle.

We began off the road in a driveway, with Panda's
sighted trainer handling Panda.  The car was allowed to advance very slowly
toward Panda as she stood with her trainer on the driveway.  As soon as
Panda noticed the vehicle, the trainer clicked and rewarded her.

The reason
we used the sighted trainer for this part of the training was that the
sighted trainer could pinpoint more accurately just when Panda noticed and
reacted to the proximity of the vehicle.  The timing of the click was very
important at this point, and since little or no movement on Panda's part was
involved, it might have been difficult for me to catch that moment of
recognition.

After a few repetitions, the trainer reinforced any beginning
of evasive action on Panda's part, such as backing up or moving out of the
path of the car.  Once this beginning evasive behavior was established, I
took over the handling of Panda and we went out on quiet residential streets
to work.

First we reviewed the noticing and taking evasive action when cars
approach from directly in front of us.  Then we went on to having the car
turn into a driveway in front of us and pull out of a driveway in front of
us.

We progressed to having the car approach from the side, as a car going
through a red light at a street crossing might, and also having the car turn
a corner in front of us, such as on a right turn on red.

Later we had the
car approach from the rear and turn in front of us or very close behind us,
necessitating either a stop and back up or a quick move forward on Panda's
part.

At first, during these sessions, Panda's trainer walked behind Panda
and me to advise me of when to go forward and where to expect the car to
appear.  Later the trainer simply indicated which direction we should take
or which street we should cross, and when the driver was in position to
begin.

Eventually, both the trainer and the other assistant driver drove
cars and approached us from all angles and directions as we travelled a
route.

The purpose of all of this practice with traffic checks is twofold.
First, it trains the guide to avoid moving obstacles.  Second, it accustoms
the handler to trust the guide and to move with the guide to avoid the
vehicles.

This is how we trained traffic work and traffic checks.  It may be possible
for an owner trainer to use naturally occurring traffic to train these
behaviors completely independently.  However, I think I prefer the more
systematic and planned team approach for this important element of guide
work.

Note that at no point in this training program is it necessary to make the
guide fear the oncoming vehicle.  We do not have to convince the animal that
the vehicle can hurt her in order to train her to avoid it.

The training
was accomplished solely by rewarding and shaping the behavior we wanted.  No
bopping with rolled up magazines by the driver of the vehicle through the
open car window or spraying with water or other aversives were used.  The
training can be accomplished entirely using positive reinforcement.  This
preserves the guide's confidence and comfort in her work, and avoids the
introduction of stress into the work.

Best regards to All,
Ann

---------Original Message ----- 
From: "Jill Gross" <jgross@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <vi-clicker-trainers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 2:59 AM
Subject: (VICT) Re: New member and I clicker


> Enjoy the book, Jo, it is very good. I might like to talk with you more at
> some point. I am becoming convinced that I may need to train my own guide
> in order to get what I want. I am confident about my ability to do most of
> the training on my own, but traffic work is a bit of a concern.
>
> I will be starting some private lessons with Pam Dennison next week. She
> will be helping me to get my saluki puppy ready for the show ring. I
> intend to talk to her about this also.
>
> Jill Gross
>
>
> On Mon, 9 Apr 2007, Jo Clayson wrote:
>
>> Jill,
>> My copy of Click to Calm is in print.  I can see okay, though cataracts
>> interfere some, but not enough I would need a dog guide.  My dog assists 
>> me
>> when I have seizures and with my multiple chemical sensitivity and I am
>> helping another person in training her own guide dog.
>>
>> Jo
> 



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