(VICT) Re: questions from a friend about her guide dog
- From: "Ann Edie" <annedie@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <vi-clicker-trainers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2008 04:44:00 -0500
Hi, Everyone,
An 80-pound dog does not have to be a too-strong puller. My first guide
dog, Bailey, was an 80-pound chocolate lab. He had a moderate pace and not
too strong a pull, and he worked wonderfully for me for 9 years. He was
traditionally trained, but we added clicker training to his repertoire in
the second half of his life, and it greatly enhanced his life and his joy in
his work and our relationship.
Traditional training techniques do contribute to the dog's pulling harder
and wanting to get to the end of the walk as fast as possible to aleviate
the stress of never knowing when you will get corrected for some mistake or
other. Thus, correcting the dog under these circumstances only increases
the dog's stress and anxiety, and makes him pull harder and go faster, so
that he may even make work errors, such as running curbs or not stopping for
cracks in the sidewalk or ice on the path.
Clicker training techniques can make the process of getting from one place
to another much more pleasant and less stressful for both the dog and the
handler, and thus reduce the need to pull and rush. When the dog is relaxed
and enjoying the process of guiding, because he is being rewarded for the
things he does correctly, his mind is much more able to notice and respond
to the things in the environment that he needs to adjust for to keep the
handler safe.
By the way, my miniature horse guide, Panda, weighs 120 pounds and is 29
inches tall, yet she is easier to handle and has a more adjustable pace and
pull than most dogs less than half her weight. Panda was trained, and she
is handled, entirely using the clicker and positive-reinforcement
techniques. She is completely happy with the process of traveling from one
place to another, and she loves to show me how she can handle obstacles,
puzzles, and anything else we might encounter while on our way.
All that being said, It does take time and a period of stepping back and
rebuilding behaviors to transition from traditional handling techniques to
more positive techniques. And this is, in my experience, difficult to do
"on the fly", or while depending on the dog to take 100-percent of his
responsibilitty as the guide for the blind handler. I think it would be
particularly difficult for a person with no experience with clicker training
to learn the method and at the same time rehabilitate a guide that has
developed unwanted behaviors while still depending on that dog to do 100 %
of the guide job.
My advice to Mona's friend would be to try to avoid the "corrections", and
just concentrate on catching the dog at the instant he is pulling at the
strength the handler is comfortable with and giving lots of praise and
treats at those instants. At first, this might mean stopping, making a fuss
over, and treating the dog after the very first step he takes when starting
out, before he has worked up a head of steam, and doing this repeatedly,
many times, first going away from home where he may tend to pull less, and
only once the correct pull is established on the outbound trip, trying the
same thing on the trip toward home.
Hope this helps.
Ann
----- Original Message -----
From: "Karyn and Thane" <bcpaws4me@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Vi-clicker" <vi-clicker-trainers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 6:12 PM
Subject: (VICT) Re: questions from a friend about her guide dog
> Yikes 80 pounds- that would be almost two of Thane or Met. Nope I think in
> that situation I would probably want a better match too.
> My guys have been a perfect size for me to handle. I can not imagine leash
> training a larger dog than I have. I know her dogs are trained by a
> program.
> It sounds like that guy may be better suited to a really tall active
> person.
> It must be hard though- saying goodbye when a mis-match happens. I know
> inevitably one day I will attempt to train a dog and have it not work out
> for one reason or another. Thus far I have been lucky that way.
>
> Karyn and Thane
>
>
>
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