ODDS AND ENDS


   1. Leaving the Dogs Alone
    Up until now the dogs have been with you, for the most part, all the time so that they could bond to you and be monitored by you.  In the future, as many of you know, there will be times when you might choose not to take your dog somewhere- for their comfort or your lack of need (e.g. fireworks, rock concert, loud movie, dancing).  You might have a problem if you keep the dog with you 24/7, and then say “see ya” for a few hours.  So, we like you to practice leaving the dogs alone in a gradual way while you are here so that if you have any problems with this process, we can help you achieve success while you are here.  Then, when you go home, you will have a program that works for you.  This is a process you will repeat at home, but NOT right away; it would be something that you start after getting settled at home for at least 2 weeks, and preferably closer to 3.  Remember, you are the only one your dog knows when you go home, so you don’t want to leave him until he is settled into his new situation.  Anytime you start something new, it is best to look for a way to make the dog successful.  In my mind, the best time to start this would be at night when the dog is used to you climbing into bed for the night.  Instead, you’ll step outside your door, along the hall wall and hang out for a minute or two.  If your dog is quiet, you return and praise him and you have completed your first successful leaving alone!  Some things to remember:
        a) Make sure tie down is on the dead ring of the collar or over the chain so         that the collar cannot tighten
        b) Dog proof the area around the dog’s place (under bed, in headboard of bed, on chair nearby, etc)
        c)  Play the radio softly for company
        d) Leave the door open so that you can hear any unwanted noise or activity

If you go out in the hall and the dog whines, barks or sounds as if he is making a bed out of your bedspread, you can march in, with some authority to your “look” (remember, body language is important to dogs), but, remembering that this is something new to the dog, there is no need to be too tough on them.  You can scold with a “hush” or “quiet” (and later a “pfui”), tell them to rest and walk out again.  You do not want to stay after they whine, etc; because you will teach them that that behavior brings you back.  You can try to stay out again for the original amount of time, but if there is a recurrence and you have to go back in, you may want to shorten the time out of the room and try to get a successful one of shorter length and then try to move on from there.  From now on, you should practice this every day, two or three times a day, until you leave.  Each time you can lengthen the time a little.  If things are going well, you could take laundry down, etc, but don’t wander too far for too long without checking back to make sure all is well.  It is important to be more gradual in the very beginning to build success.


   2. Giving the Dogs Freedom in the Room
   At this point you should have achieved some decent success with “Go to your Place” and calling your dog to come to you (tips: clap hands, get down lower, draw dog to you with hand clap rather than reach out looking for him, praise and hold on when they come in close).  You should have a pretty good verbal response on these two commands before giving the dog freedom in the room.  Obviously, you want to look at the best time to have some successful free time in the room- i.e. after a successful parktime; probably not first thing in the am. when they are more pumped up.  You should use the bell so that you can determine their location and responsiveness to commands and you want to introduce freedom in small doses initially.  If there is a knock on the door, your first words should NOT be “Come In”!  You have two choices, send the dog to its place or call it to you and put it on the leash at sit while you open the door.  Your goal should be to be able to achieve either of these on verbal command.  If you send your dog to its place, it should be able to remain there until you go to get it off its place.  If you choose to answer the door with the dog on leash, they should be able to sit and REST while someone comes in to see you.  This is important, not just as a “first impression” thing, but for safety as well.  While you are here in class you have the perfect situation to practice this behavior because it will take some time, typically time that you are not willing or able to give it once home.  It is hard to shut the door in the face of the UPS guy in order to practice your dog’s door behavior!  But here, you can have your dog on leash, at sit and rest, and open the door.  If the dog moves, you shut the door and have them sit and rest and start again.  They want the visitor to come in, so they will learn to wait while you open and greet your visitor.  Since everyone here could stand to practice this, you can all help each other while you are here and can shut the door in someone’s face without consequence!

   3. Free-Choice Water
   With freedom in the room comes access to the bathroom and the water bowl.  When you first go home, you will be starting out with restricted water as you have been doing in class, but once the dog is settled at home, parking reliably, enjoying some freedom at appropriate times, you will probably look to progress to having free choice water available.  At this time in class, we feel you could give the dog the chance to experience this situation and, in doing so, you get to see a bit of how your own dog deals with the availability of water.  I always recommend it is good to start with a small, measured amount so that you can figure out how it might affect your dog’s need to park, etc.  So, my suggestion would be that you continue to offer the dog the normal amount of water prior to park times, as you have been.  When your dog finishes drinking at park time, dump the remainder and put back 1 or 1 ½ cups of water in the bowl and put it down under the sink.  It is IMPERATIVE that the toilet lid is down so that your dog doesn’t have access to a bottomless water bowl instead!  This smaller amount is easier to monitor and you get a chance to see what tendencies your dog might have.  Do they finish every drop no matter how much?  If they drink extra, do they need an extra parktime? (You are the only one who knows your dog has had extra water!)  If your dog has had some emptying issues, you may want to enter this carefully and with some kind of plan of action (talk to your instructor), but sometimes the dogs drink less when they have a small amount of water available when they really want it, as opposed to feeling the need to tank because they are only getting water offered at certain times.  They may actually do better once they realize that water is not being withheld.


   Since we have been talking about the dogs having more freedom, it is appropriate at this point to just go over a few other things that are very important.  As your dog has more access to the door, I think it is important to remind you all that these dogs do their traffic work and understand their responsibility in those areas ONLY because they are in harness and actively guiding you.  If they are running loose, they are just as likely, and perhaps even more likely, because they are so accustomed to being with you, to run across a street and get hit by a car.  You must safeguard them against this situation, but if your dog should get loose, remember the tips for calling your dog and, despite the worry of the situation, you want to remember that if you sound like you are going to beat them up when they get to you, they will probably not come, so sound positive, get low and clap your hands.  Practice this so that you know that you have a good response!  Now I am going to read a letter that some of you may have heard before, but I think this says it better than anything else… This was a letter written by one of our graduates back in the early 70’s.  It was written to then Vice President, George Werntz…     Dear George letter


   You also need to know that dogs can travel a great distance and “traffic in the vicinity” could mean miles away!  I have made copies of this letter in case anyone would like to take one home to help those around you understand why you are so strict about this stuff.  In fact, it is often those closest to us who put the most pressure on us….”Oh, I’ll watch them for you…” and if you say no, they feel as if you don’t trust them!  The fact that they can see will not offer your dog any additional safety.


   (At this point, I often mention that Walt lost a dog when he thought there was nothing around, so he didn’t put her on a leash, but walked out with her to a fenced area…a deer popped up and she was gone.  Walt, being tall, athletic, loud voice-I’m sure giving chase for all he was worth, could not stop his very loyal shepherd from chasing that deer.  She ran until I’m sure she could run no more and because the chase is a reflex reaction, did not take with her all those wonderful senses and talents for finding home- she left those back at the point the chase began and unfortunately was hit by a train and killed.)


   4.  Fenced Yards:
   -They are not foolproof- I lost two dogs out of my fenced yard many years ago-they went under it because the ground was soft and the neighbor’s yard was lower than mine.  They traveled about 5 miles before both being killed by cars.
   -Gates are often left open-check gates first and park the dog before letting them off leash.  Don’t assume your dog will park if thrown out in the yard
   -There are many bad habits that can develop if dogs are left alone out in the yard (i.e. barking, chasing, fence behaviors, etc.)  They would rather be out there with you anyway.
   -Avoid dog parks- The average person does not know their dog’s intentions and you don’t want to risk your dog being attacked in that situation.
   -Fenced yards are nice, but not essential.  If you are giving your dog lots of work exercise and playtime, you should not feel guilty.  Your dog gets to go everywhere with you!



   5. Collars:
   The collars that are on the dogs are the ones that go home with you.  We no longer can get the old ones with the plate made up, so we have put a tag on the collar that says The Seeing Eye/ Morristown, NJ.  It is essential, however, that your dog have an I.D. tag on that has your contact information.  It is your personal choice as to whether you put your dog’s name or your address (for security reasons), but you should have a phone number that allows someone who has found your dog to contact you more quickly.  We can figure it out from a phone call, but tattoos are sometimes hard to read and figuring out which black lab from Chicago is which is challenging.  Your instructor may have a chance to take you to Walmart or PetSmart where they have machines that for $5-$6 you can get a tag instantly.  These often come with very cheap split ring tags, so, unless you want something else, I often open the “S” hook that holds the SE tag and turn it so the ID tag and SE tag are back to back and then re-tighten the “S” hook.  When you get your micro-chip, it comes with a small soft plastic tag with a very sturdy split ring.  I usually attach that one separately so that, if by chance the “S” hook got caught on something and opened, you won’t have all your tags on one hook and possibly lost.  You can certainly re-arrange these tags anyway you would like, but they are important, just in case!


   (For anyone who does not understand how to put on the training collars properly, I hold a little class or refresher, if anyone needs it.  I use the left wrist to help people understand the right and wrong effects.  I use the “P” and “Q” for those who know what “P”s and “Q”s look like.  If you are PEEPING at your dog, eyeball to eyeball, use a “P”.  If your are queued up the same direction as your dog, hold a “Q” in front of their face and pull it back over their head.  I encourage them to practice daily in their rooms for the remainder of class and get someone to check so that they really recognize and can fix it easily.  If they don’t pracice they won’t remember!)


   6.  Retrains (Those who have had dogs before) Should Listen to the Going Home tape