CONTROL AND DISCIPLINE I am discussing the role of control, discipline, and praise in the relationship between you and your dog. In class, you will begin doing obedience exercises on a daily basis. This will give you the opportunity to exercise both discipline and praise in order to develop the harmonious balance necessary to form a good working partnership. Obedience is not a game, nor is it an odious task. Sloppy work on your dog’s part can often be linked to infrequent or poor performance of obedience exercises. It is important to continue obedience exercises to maintain safe and effective guide work and good social behavior. I’m now going to read an article called “Why and How you Should Reward or Correct Your Dog.” This article is will be in your going home packet. It is absolutely normal for a working dog to make mistakes. These mistakes will be either simple work errors, or, the result of the dog’s response to its natural instincts. It is important to understand the difference between these mistakes and to respond to each appropriately. In the case of a work mistake, you have the opportunity to teach your dog through the education process of correction, demonstration, repetition, and praise. It is important to note that punishment and anger do not play a role in this teaching process. Anger and punishment will often result in confusion on your dog’s part. Patience is essential, as a mistake is just a mistake. In nature the dog’s world is governed by instincts. During training we attempt to educate your dog to control these instincts, but it is virtually impossible to eliminate them. Some instincts are helpful in relation to guide work. Examples of the helpful instincts are the homing instinct, where your dog is quite good at retracing its steps and finding known destinations. Another is the pack instinct, which instills the desire to please the master, who in this case is you. Most instincts, however, are detrimental to good guide work, and you must work diligently to control them. Your dog’s desire to chase, scavenge, sniff, protect, and socialize, are examples of unacceptable behavior. Mistakes relating to these instincts generally require a much firmer response than that used when responding to work errors. It is important to use the appropriate level of correction for the distraction. You can think of the levels of correction as rungs on a ladder. The bottom rungs would be various levels of verbal reprimand. The next few rungs would be standard left handed leash corrections of varying strengths. If you must go higher on the ladder to get a response from your dog, you would use a two handed correction. Only when all else fails should you go to the top of the ladder and use the high collar correction, your emergency brake. As your relationship develops, you will learn through experience what level of correction is typically required for your dog. You will not necessarily have to begin at the bottom of the ladder each time. It is important to remember the distinction between work errors, and mistakes caused by instinctive responses. Generally, the lower rungs of the ladder are all that are necessary to correct for work errors. To regain your dog’s attention from an instinctive distraction, you may need to go higher on the ladder. The appropriate level of correction, is the lowest rung required to regain and maintain your dog’s attention. In all cases, it is essential to balance praise and correction. As the level of correction increases, the praise given once the dog regains focus must increase proportionately. Balance is crucial to your relationship. One important reason behind using proper technique in correcting your dog, is that the public generally does not understand the work of the dog guide. This leads to misconceptions regarding corrections and discipline. The dog is an important part of the American household, and discipline of the average pet is often lacking. Therefore, even the lightest correction can be perceived as excessive. In spite of this, it is important to administer corrections when necessary. However, you can minimize the attention drawn to you by being quick, quiet, and to the point. A verbal reprimand does not have to be loud to be effective. Tone is much more important. Your left arm motion can be quick and efficient, avoiding excessive movements. A low firm tone of voice, and quick efficient correction, will be most effective in getting you back on your way. It is very important to praise your dog upon his return to work. This allows the public to see the positive side of your relationship as well. Even with the best techniques, the public will often misunderstand. If someone questions your handling, a short polite response will help them understand the need for discipline in your relationship. Losing your temper will only make the situation more difficult for you, and will increase the misunderstanding of dog guides by the general public. Unfortunately, the public tends to generalize, and your interactions with them will form their opinions about dog guide users everywhere. DSR/tt WHY AND HOW YOU SHOULD REWARD OR CORRECT YOUR DOG The teaching methods used to educate your dog to act as your guide, as you know, are based on a system of reward for merit. By this we mean that when a dog accurately carries out a command it receives verbal praise followed on appropriate occasions, by an affectionate pat or caress. This is the dog’s “pay” for work well done and is a constant reminder of your continuing appreciation and affection. Without this well-timed expression of appreciation the dog will not guide effectively. It is the key to The Seeing Eye’s technique of instruction. The other major component of dog handling is discipline. If one imagines a scale with correction on one side and praise on the other, then the scale must always be tipped toward the positive. However, discipline by correction or reprimand is necessary at times. Your role as the handler is to use reprimand judiciously in combination with praise. Your goal is to develop a dog who no longer requires any correction. This is a long term, idealistic goal, but not an unrealistic one. The best way to achieve this goal is by being a “pro-active” handler. if you are aware of what is going on around you and tuned into your dog’s behavior, you may be able to “prevent” a distraction before it occurs. By using the command “Leave it” at the time when your dog is presented with the option of distracting on something or remaining focused on its work, you may be able to dissuade your dog from the distraction before it begins. “Leave it” is said in a neutral tone of voice and at a normal volume level. It lets your dog know that you are aware of the choice he or she is facing and you are ready and able to react with a correction if it is required. If your dog does respond to your “Leave it” by staying focused, it is essential, once you are past the distraction, that you praise your dog for making the right choice. There are three instances where you might use “Leave it”. It might be in response to your detection of an audible cue from your environment, like the sound of children playing or a dog barking. It could also be used because of your familiarity with your environment ~ as you approach a sidewalk café or a yard where you know there are dogs. It is also appropriate to use “Leave it” in response to your dog’s indication of a familiar destination, which, today, you would like to pass. You might also use your awareness of your dog as your cue to say “Leave it”. If you feel your dog beginning to cue in on something, with an adjustment of body language or an over-interested look, then “Leave it” might be a method of early intervention. However, it is imperative that “Leave it” never be used instead of an appropriate correction. If your dog is already distracted – pulling hard or sniffing, then you are beyond “Leave it” and your response must be some kind of reprimand. If, after appropriately using “Leave it”, your dog chooses to distract, you must also follow with a reprimand. Your choice of reprimand will depend on the situation, your dog’s individual nature, and your strength as a handler. As a handler you wear many hats. One is that of a teacher in a continuing education course. Another is that of an “instinct cop.” The two roles are quite different. When a dog makes a mistake as it works it should be shown the error of its ways, and given the opportunity to learn from its mistake. There should be four steps in the education process: correction, demonstration, repetition, and the all important praise. 1) Correction: When a dog makes a mistake, such as bumping you into a pole or not stopping for a curb, you must step into your role as teacher. Give the dog a correction, either verbally or with the leash, that is appropriate to the mistake and your dog. You will know if the correction is sufficient if the dog does not repeat the error. 2) Demonstration: Show the dog where it made its mistake. Slap the pole and say “pfui,” because you want to avoid the pole on your next approach. If your dog “ran” a down curb, bring it back, put it at sit, tap the curb with your foot and praise your dog . You don’t want it to avoid the curb! 3) Repetition: Take a few steps back, perhaps two dog lengths. Have your dog come around and re-work the approach. If your dog succeeds.... 4) Praise lavishly. At other times, however, some dogs, like some humans, will allow themselves to be temporarily distracted by things which seem interesting to them but are undesirable from the standpoint of good guide work. This is when you will need to become an “instinct cop.” This is a fundamentally different role from that of teacher, because instincts are strong natural tendencies in your dog, which you must suppress and control but cannot eliminate. During training, the dogs are taught to ignore these distractions, but dogs at large, stray cats, and teasing squirrels arouse the interest and instincts of play or self defense. You as handler, in your role as “instinct cop,” must be alert to recognize any tendency to distraction and curb it the moment it appears. You can do this by the verbal reprimand, “pfui,” or some other appropriate term, which conveys, by tone of voice, that the handler is displeased with such actions. If the distraction is unusually interesting, it may be necessary to accompany the verbal reprimand with a more effective means of regaining the dog’s attention. In such instances, following the reprimand with a jerk on the leash will draw the dog’s attention away from the distracting influence and bring it back to the work at hand. The strength of the leash correction depends upon the type of distraction, as well as your own strength, and the nature of your individual dog. In the presence of an aggressive or threatening dog, you may need several corrections to get your dog to hear you and respond to commands despite its natural instincts of fear or self-defense. Getting away from the aggressor is your best defense though, and when you have succeeded, give your dog lots of reassuring praise. Properly given, corrections are in no way harmful to the dog except, perhaps, to his pride, and they are unobtrusive, almost unnoticeable to others. In the beginning, however, you may administer the corrections awkwardly. This might give the general public the impression that you are subjecting your dog to unmerited harshness or even that you are inflicting pain on the dog. You accentuate the impression if the reproof is accompanied by an unduly loud verbal reprimand or excessive arm and body motion. This over-loud voice attracts the attention of passersby; the arm motion is construed as beating; while body and leg motion are construed as kicking. To avoid this false impression, take care that the corrections are administered as taught at The Seeing Eye. Then the public will accept them for what they are - a word of reproof and a reminder to the dog that it must cease the particular action in which it is engaged if it wishes to earn your praise. In addition to dogs, cats and squirrels, there is another important factor which can cause the dog to become distracted and thus merit a rebuke. That factor is public interference. If the dog is distracted by kindly-intentioned people, it means that the dog must receive reproof which would have been unnecessary, if bystanders had not interfered. When you return to your home communities, you may find such situations arising, not because people wish to disturb the harmony between you and your dog, but because they do not fully understand the work of the dog guide. You, as a dog guide traveler, should realize that the interest of these people is sincere; that it is their genuine interest that causes the many questions that will be asked of you. You must realize that pet dogs are an important factor in the life of the American people and, therefore, people become incensed if they see a correction given which, to them, appears unduly harsh. If we recognize these facts and give a courteous explanation to those who approach us on the subject, it will lead to a proper understanding of dog guide work on the part of your community . Once people understand that it takes time and patience to perfect the coordination between dog and partner and that interference can result in a serious accident by distracting the dog, the problem of public interference will gradually disappear. When that happens, you will achieve the fullest measure of independence and happiness which a dog guide can bring, and your dog will derive the greatest joy from its work with you. Give your public the same understanding that you must give your dog; you, too, will then be understood. /ncn 12/2004