Category: Animal House
Hi evry one:
Sorry for posting another topic about my guide dog woes, but I'm just cureous. How many of you have felt like your guide dog isn't enjoying his/her work on certain routs? Voyager does okay on evry rout except for the rout to my college. He still does it, but very slowly. I've tried to be incouraging, and firm. My school said to try and make it fun for him, which I've tried to do, but he doesn't seem to want to go any faster. I've noticed that when I elavate my hand and hold the harness up in the air slightly, he goes a little faster. He also goes faster on the way back home. If any of you have any thoghts or ideas as to what I could do, I'd love to here them. He's a great guide, and I don't want to jepardize that with me getting frustrated with him to often. As guide dogs have told me over and over again, he can pick up on my feelings and emotions. I sometimes feel like I get frustrated with him way to much. I love him so much, and he does so much for me. All I ever want to do is make him happy and help him to enjoy his career.
Is there anything different about your route to college, as compared to other routes you travel? For example, a busier street, or rough sidewalk, etc? I'm just wondering why it is that particular route he has problems with. maybe if you could find the reason, you might be able to better help him. Is there any particular part of the route he seems to have trouble with, or is it the whole thing? and maybe it's not anything about the route itself, but knowing that he has to lay around a lot while you're in classes, and he's bored. Maybe on other routes, he knows he might get to be more active once you get to your destination, but not at college. I'm just making suggestions here, so forgive me if I'm way off.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, about him not wanting to ly around. I think he is bord, and I'm looking in to getting help learning how to walk to my college, to give him something more to look forward to. I think he's just gotten so used to doing the same rout over and over again, that it's not fun or interesting anymore. Thanks very much for the suggestions.
I'm confused, you're "looking in to getting help learning how to walk to
my college, to give him something more to look forward to."? But you said "Voyager does okay on evry rout except for the rout to my college." What route? If you are not walking to college, then there is no route. Do you mean that you take the bus or a cab or have someone drive you to college? Because if the "route" only consists of walking to a vehicle and then from that vehicle to your class buildings then there is no rout to speak of and I can easily see why he would be bored. My shepherd loved working on campus at SUNY Potsdam, when we lived in the dorms and walked everywhere, but when I attended classes in my home town at MCC and didn't live on campus, causing me to take the bus to campus and get dropped off right in front of the main accademic building she was bored out of her mind. If you are not already actually walking to classes then you really need to do that. If you are walking to classes and your dog is not walking quickly it could be apprehention or bordom. If it is apprehention; look for things in your day of classes or on the route it's self that could be stressers for your dog. If you think he is bored then try taking a different route once in a while, do obedience right before you leave on the route and have a short on leash play session after he completes the route. Never, never raise up your harness handle in order to urge him to walk faster. It is called suit casing and it could ruen his pase, his confidence and his work. They are taught to pull into the harness and if you make the harness slack or push them with it they will lose their confidence in their ability to lead and to be the one in control, pulling you, if you are pushing them. Pull back into the harness handle and give the "forward" command. If they don't move; maintain the tention in the harness handle, holding gently but firmly back and issue the command again with a hand signal. If that doesn't get them to move; keep the tention, make sure you are in proper position, that is, stepped up even with their shoulder and try a light leash cue. Even when you issue the leash cue with a gentle and brief forward tug on the leash in front of their nose with your right hand, do not stop the firm backwards pressure in the harness handle with your left hand. When they do start to move be ready and step right off with them, praise the hell out of them and keep talking to them to let them know they've done well untill you are moving at a good clip and at least a half a block along from where you issued the forward command. Similarly, if they are walking too slowly, do not raise the handle or stop pulling strait back; instead urge them with your voice, sounding excited, upbeat and positively encouraging. Try the "hup up" command. You can give a signal similar to the forward signal with your right hand a sort of a flicking or shoeing motion, give a gentle leash cue, click your tung to them like you would to get a horse moving or simply stop moving. That's right, stop moving. If your dog is not pulling you then stop moving. Make them pull you. They should never drag you, but they should very definitly be pulling you. Once they speed up give them lots of praise and speed up with them, but always, always keep pulling back into that harness handle, and pick up your feet. If you shuffle or drag your feet then you and your dog can not walk safely at a brisk pase. However, if they speed up, just so long as they are not running, and you pick up your feet, walk with them and pay attention you can really modor down the street at a fast clip. Perhaps it is a problem with your positioning, body language or harness use. I encountered that problem frequently when I had my first dog. BTW, Voyager is an awsum name for a guide dog. You can tell him I said so and please give him a hug from me.
Some fantasticly excellent advice in that last message! All good for sure... ONe thing I have found with my boy is that if he gets a little distracted he might move a bit slower and a hand signal and a rather happy "hup up" in that high excited voice seems to get him back on track. Sometimes there are reasons why a dog may not enjoy a route and sometimes they are very hard to figure out. Perhaps it might be worth having someone walk with you to see if there is something the dog is apprehensive about. If you do this don't let the dogg follow but make the dog work the rout and have the person follow. If it's only one route he may just be bored and you might hvae to just go at his speed. however if this is behaivior that developes in other routs you will want to keep and eye on it and try to find out what on these routs would cause this. as was said in the previous message don't lift the harness but make sure the dog is pulling you not you pulling the dog.
To posters four and five, first of all, thanks for the advice. Second of all, I thought a combanation of walking and transportation was concidered a rout. I have to admit, that for the first year and a half, my following position was wrong, but then a trainer came out and helped me fix it. As for the pulling in to the handle, things are getting better, but Voyager is still bord going to the college. I'm pretty sure this is because of the bus ride. I'm working on making things better for the both of us, and I'll keep you updated. Voyager says hi.
I gotta admit, I'm learning a lot. I'm hoping to get a guide dog soon, and reading these topics in this board has helped me out a bit. O, and hello Voyager. :D
Music master91, have u applied to a school yet? I'm hopefully going to GDB in August for this class for minors. This post has helped me a lot as well.
No, not yet. My mom is gonna help me out with filling out the aplication mainly the eye things that I'm not sure of.
Cool. How old r you? I applied last year when I was 16, and didn't get in because they said I needed to do more independent traveling, but I had my second home interview, (which is really easy by the way), last week, and should know if I got in in a couple of weeks. Feel free to PM me any questions you may have about the application process or home interview. And good luck!
Jenna
Thanks. I am 16 right now, will be 17 in June.
bored dogs :)
hey , mine loves goign to school, he is insane abut it. in bebegining he didnt like it much, but now he loves it. .)
what i started doin, was giving him reward e.g. when he came to school, that i'd be agreeing wit hsomene he really liked, taht we'd meet in the main hall, and i'dlet im say hi to them before we headed off for class :)
on our way to schol there is a pole he just loves to search, in the beginning, he wouldnt ,but al of a usdden he loves htat one :) itsreally cute :)
H e is actually worse on the way home than the way to schol :) but if he first understands we're going home, heis unstopable ;)
greetings from tino and voiceofjoy tino = my dog)
I just completed training with my first Guide Dog, a Female Golden Retriever named Sunny! I received her from The Guide Dog Foundation For The Blind, located in Smithtown, New York. I absolutely love her! Working with a Guide Dog is very different than working with a cane, but I will never go back to my cane unless I have to for whatever reason.
I would love to talk with any Guide Dog Handlers, or people interested in getting a Guide Dog. Feel free to contact me at any time. All of my information is in my profile.
Kolby
Hey jenna, my mom just called me downstairs to ask me for one of my friends phone numbers and addresses. When I asked y, she said she was filling out the guiding eyes application. Well, guess we'll see how everything goes from here. I'll keep ya all updated.
hello all :)
i've been tinking the same thing about mine. he seemed so much more .. ehm... unhappy for a while? it made me unhappy too ;(
but now, some days ago, we changed to another harnes, now he is bevhavign sooo much beter .. i really beleive this harnes is better for him. Mine has really started to look sooo proud .. lifted head, ears in the "i'm very confident and happy2-position, wagging his tail .. and even (something he didnt do before) coming at me when i'm about to go out and not take him with me lol . .he sat by the door and waited :) "hey, dont look for yuour cane, take me!" :)
we have also learned some new roads, and he surely enjoyed that .. and so do i .. i realize i manage it too, so both of us has gotten a boost of confidence :)
greetings from voiceofjoy and the 4 legged one :)