Kathie and I have had a big weekend. In case that sounds too exciting, I should say that it really means we have been working hard on in-house behavior. She has had several brief periods off leash, during which we have played hard until she has become tired. Once she has become tired (and much more calm), I have begun doing some things around the house and have encouraged her to follow me, sit/down while I am otherwise occupied, etc. I caught her once investigating the cat box while I was making coffee. That was my notice that she requires my attention or else should be crated while I am occupied at this stage. She knows the area is off limits and will avoid it while on leash; but her testing has already begun. Just like a child, for Kathie off limits means fun.
Yesterday we went to church and out to lunch with a friend. Church is a big place with lots to see and do and learn! We went early so that I could teach Kathie some target locations that we would need during the time when it is crowded. I forgot one important one: the front door. She learns very quickly; and we were finished targeting in about five minutes.
In the homecoming video that The Seeing Eye has on YouTube, the trainer describes a process of orientation, coaching, and solo for learning a route. We use a similar process for target learning, beginning with praise for touching the target in the first place, then going back a few steps, working up to it, then approaching it from further back in the route. When I taught Kathie her targets in the church, I made sure that she could approach from two different points in the lobby and hit the target. Normally, the target is intended for use when I get as close as I can. In the case of the lobby, it is a place where I can become disoriented because of the crowd. I wanted Kathie to be able to hit the target even if I was not in the correct location.
We had an interesting test. I accidentally gave her the left turn sign too early for one of the targets. She continued to pull ahead, and the person who was watching me said, amused, “You’re wrong!” I decided to see what Kathie was doing, and how proud I was when she went right to the target door! That is one smart dog!
After working on targets, we went into the sanctuary and listened to the organist practice. I knew that Kathie had been to church; but I did not know what type of church it was or what type of music she has heard played live. She lay down and relaxed like she loved the music. During the actual service she was very quiet and calm.
After church, I told her, “Outside.” That is when I discovered my mistake in not teaching the front door target. She found an outside door, all right. It was the nearest one and led to a side entrance. It was not the door I was looking for. But she did exactly what I told her to do.
Today we are back to off-leash training in the house. She is doing very well and is even avoiding the temptation to chase the cats. We are beginning to see signs of home. She has figured out that it is great fun to roll on the floor in the back room where I sit and do my writing and editing; and she has figured out that she can run in circles through the house. She is learning where the best place is to nap while Kevin and I have coffee in the mornings, though she hasn’t learned that napping while we have coffee is the right idea yet.
Often, as my dog lies quietly at my feet, people who pass by me comment that they wish their dogs would behave that well and then say that their dogs don’t have the training she has. I said in a comment on Facebook this morning regarding these types of encounters that half of my dog’s training comes from The Seeing Eye and the other half comes at home. That is not really a fair statement. The Seeing Eye puts in a whole lot of very hard work. Her raiser put in a whole year of her life. The point of my statement was to illustrate that I don’t just go get a fully trained dog and bring it home and life is a breeze. Kathie comes with training for guidework, and she has been introduced to some social situations. She has her life ahead of her, and I get to do the hard work of teaching her to work in the circumstances that are her norm now.
One of my instructors in the past said before we went home, “You are your dog’s trainer now.” It is a statement that is never far from my thoughts. Whatever I allow and encourage my dog to do, she will do four or five times over. Whatever I ask her to hold herself back from doing, she will stop doing. I may have to ask her 50 times before she is willing to give t up–sort of like a boss convincing a person that giving up chocolate is really required for this job they love very much. It takes great patience and commitment on both of our parts.
To every person who says to me, “I wish my dog behaved like that,” I would like to say, “Your dog could behave like that.” It is meant as an inspirational statement, not a criticism of how any one person handles pet ownership. Many people do not have the patience or commitment to train a dog to behave well; and some dogs require a lot more supervision and training than others. If you want to try it, certainly don’t stop at wishing.
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