(VICT) Re: training to walk straight when there is no sidewalk
- From: "Ann Edie" <annedie@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <vi-clicker-trainers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:07:09 -0400
Hi, Mona,
It's great to hear that you are having so much fun with clicker training
another mini guide horse.
There are several ways to teach Penny to walk along a street where there are
no sidewalks. I'm presuming that you want to walk down the left side of the
street, facing traffic, because that is what is recommended and in some
places required by law. (Just as vehicles, including bikes, have to travel
on the right side of the roadway, pedestrians are supposed to walk on the
left, so that they are able to see oncoming traffic on their own side of the
street.) (Of course, the fact that we cannot see the cars coming even if we
are facing them does somewhat mitigate the logic of this rule, at least in
the case of a blind person. But I don't think the makers of laws would care
to consider that point.)
In any case, you can use your foot, either in front of, or behind your
guide, or a cane, to monitor your position with respect to the side of the
road while walking along with Penny. I would start out just by heeling her
on your left side and using your cane in your right hand to keep yourself in
position, just on the paved surface of the road, or on the gravel shoulder,
if such exists. You can choose whether you want Penny to walk on the
pavement or on the gravel/lawns.
You would start out in good position, walk just a step or two at first, and
if everyone is still in good position, click and treat, and then start up
again, going another step or two before c/t-ing. Gradually increase the
number of steps you go before c/t-ing until you can go along the edge of the
road, even where the road itself curves. You would gradually give Penny
more of the responsibility for maintaining your position along the side of
the road, rather than doing that yourself. Eventually, you might even veer
slightly away from the edge of the road in your body language to see if she
has gotten the point and will correct your veer and bring you back to the
edge of the road.
If you have already introduced Penny to guiding in harness, then you can
repeat the procedure above with her in harness and guiding, but with you
still using a cane or foot to check from time to time to make sure that she
is keeping you along the edge of the road.
Another useful behavior that you might want to teach her is to step sideways
toward the left . You can practice this on a sidewalk or driveway at first,
and then later on a sidewalkless road. I use a lift on the lead rope as the
cue to step sideways. You lift the lead rope and wait for a response from
her. If she makes any move in the general direction of left or away from
your left side, release the lead rope downward and c/t. Gradually build
until a lift of the lead results in a nice step sideways. When it is
well-established, you can add a verbal cue, such as "Edge" or "Over left."
Then, when you're walking along a sidewalkless road or driveway, you can ask
her to step over left any time you want to make sure she is staying along
the edge of the roadway. Of course, she should stop at the edge of the road
and press back against you if there is an obstacle on your left or if you
have trained her that you don't want to walk on the lawns or whatever is
alongside the road.
Eventually, also, you will have to teach her how to respond to obstacles
along the edge of the road, everything from storm drains to mailboxes to
parked cars to overhanging tree branches and piles of autumn leaves, and
eventually--yes, winter will be here again before we know it!--to piles of
snow and slippery patches of ice.
You will have to decide whether you want her to stop before each of these
obstacles and wait for you to give her a signal to go out and around them
when there is no oncoming traffic, or whether you want her to keep going and
go out and around the obstacles unless she sees a car coming and decides
it's not safe to proceed. If you do feel her going out and around some
obstacle, you can give the cue for stepping left back over to the edge of
the road, and check to make sure that she is returning to that position as
soon as practical. I always c/t when Panda brings me back to the edge of
the road after going out and around an obstacle, both to reinforce an
important safety feature, and just to acknowledge her good obstacle
avoidance work.
A couple more things that you will want to keep in mind for future reference
are: 1) Do you want her to stop for driveways along the sidewalkless roads
or, in some other way, to indicate where driveways or pathways are? Panda
usually goes up into the mouth of the driveway and walks along on it, then
comes back to the street when she gets to the other side of the driveway.
This shift to the left and then back to the right allows me to count
driveways if I need to for orientation purposes, without the interruption of
our progress of a full stop at each driveway.
2.) Do you want your guide to follow the curb around onto a perpendicular
roadway when she comes to an intersection, or to stop at the corner without
going around the corner? I do want my guide to stop at intersections, both
for orientation and for safety reasons. I prefer to have her follow the
corner around. As we're approaching an intersection, if I know there is one
coming up, I can ask her to "find left" and when she does go around the
curve to the left, I can then tell her to turn right and she will halt where
we are in a good position to cross the intersecting street, if that is what
I want to do. This allows me to cross the side street after listening for
traffic and determining if it is safe to cross, at a place where the street
is at its normal width, rather than right at the intersection, where it is
flaired out and much wider. This position for crossing side streets also
prevents us from veering into traffic on the street we are walking along.
Hope that is helpful. And do tell us more about Penny! Where did you meet
her? And how did you decide to take on another mini? What does she look
like? How tall is she at this point? How tall do you think she will mature
to be? What color is she? Have you housetrained her yet? Do you have any
plans for her once she is fully trained? I know several people who would
love to have a guide horse, if she gets to that point and is of small enough
stature. Are you going to go into the guide horse training and placement
business?
Sorry for all the questions. I'm just excited about your new project.
Best,
Ann
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mona Ramouni" <mramouni@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <vi-clicker-trainers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2011 1:30 PM
Subject: (VICT) training to walk straight when there is no sidewalk
> Hi everyone,
> I haven't posted in a long time because I've been busy. Three months
> ago, I acquired a yearling mini filly. I fell in love with her and
> just couldn't resist. I am now training her to become a guide, as much
> for the experience as anything else. Pennystock knows how to walk
> straight when we're on the sidewalk, and now I want to progress to
> walking where there are no sidewalks, as this happens quite often in
> the neighborhoods where we will want to walk. I'm sure someone on this
> list knows how to do this, and I'd appreciate some help. Penny is
> progressing so fast that I'd like her to keep going, but I'm stumped
> on this one.
> Thanks so much in advance for all the advice. I'm having so much fun,
> even though I feel like I'm usually not sure what I'm doing. Cali is
> doing a lot of the training for me, though she still isn't happy about
> the interloper who gets to go on walks with us. Hence, Cali gets walks
> alone. Otherwise, she refuses to work! Talk about a jealous mare!
> Take care, and enjoy these last few days of summer. I know I am! The
> next few days are predicted to be beautiful (read no rain, mud, and
> very little humidity), so I'm taking full advantage!
> Mona
>
> --
> Mona
>
>
>
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