(VICT) Re: Geaux Laveau
- From: "Lisa Salinger" <lisasali@xxxxxxx>
- To: <vi-clicker-trainers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:55:53 -0400
How cool! Thanks for sharing this!
Lisa Salinger
and Joie, Guide/SD
lisasali@xxxxxxx
http://lisasali.livejournal.com/
----- Original Message -----
From: "The Pawpower Pack" <pawpower@xxxxxxx>
To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@freelists.org>
Sent: Friday, September 26, 2008 3:00 PM
Subject: (VICT) Geaux Laveau
> My husband, who is also blind and a guide dog handler-- took a walk with
> me to the local shopping center near my office. It is set up such that it
> is perpendicular to the Win Dixie with a huge parking lot between them.
> We pass the Win Dixie and need to pass the driveway where cars pull in and
> out of the parking lot. Laveau alerted that a car was in the drive by
> stopping and putting herself across my legs. She only does this behavior
> if there is a running car in my path and although I did not *teach* this
> using shaping; I am capturing the offered behavior and working it into our
> communication as a guide team.
> Bob told me that I could go and although Laveau was still across my legs;
> I assumed that she just did not realize that she could stop doing that
> once the car had left. I told her to go forward across the driveway and
> to the sidewalk that would take us to the shopping center. Once we
> started out into the driveway; I realized that Laveau had been right and
> the car was still there. Apparently the driver told Bob to go on ahead,
> and he didn't know how far she was pulled into the driveway. Her front
> end was pointed out into the street and Laveau could not have taken me
> around that way without getting us killed. She took me behind the car
> very quickly and yanked me into the parking lot between the Win Dixie and
> the shopping center.
>
> I could not get on the sidewalk to go around toward the shopping center
> because the car was too close to it and the sidewalk in that area is very
> narrow with a blended curb all along the side. My only choice was to go
> through the parking lot. It is a very large parking lot. We had never
> worked on very large parking lots before all alone because I have had more
> pressing things to worry about.
>
> In a parking lot the dog has total control and responsibility for our
> safety. I can neither see nor hear traffic, shopping buggies, people etc.
> Until we get to our destination; the dog is 100% responsible for our
> safety.
>
> I had no choice though. I was standing in the parking lot and the car was
> not going to move. My husband was behind me and the only way open to me
> was forward. I gave her the cue and off we went. Weaving and dodging and
> pulling this way and that. Finally she really began to pull and she
> started wagging furiously as she guided me up the wheelchair ramp to the
> shopping center.
>
> We made it still in one piece. Once we got there it occurred to me that I
> could have let Bob and his much more experienced guide Rudy go ahead but
> I'm glad we did this together.
>
> She did such fabulous work out there today. We went into Petco and
> another dog started barking at her. She just looked at the dog as if to
> say: "I'm sorry you're so poorly behaved; let me show you how a
> professional does it."
>
> All of the employees at that Petco have watched Laveau's training and
> everyone came out to tell us how great she looked and what a great job she
> was doing.
>
> She lay quietly by my chair as I had something to eat at an outdoor cafe
> and she tried to take me to my favorite coffee shop but moved right along
> when I told her *not today*.
>
> We still have a long way to go, especially where her house manners are
> concerned but as far as working behaviors; I couldn't be more pleased.
>
> Now if we could just make progress on the working retrieve.....
> Oh well, Rome wasn't built in a day, right?
>
>
>
>
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