The first Saturday of class can be considered the divide between basic and advanced guide techniques. Instructors and clients continue to re-enforce the basic techniques throughout the rest of class, but the foundation is now laid. The Saturday sessions are somewhat more relaxed, with teams checking boxes on basic skills that they have not yet encountered.
In my case, this included two items. First, we closed the gap on obstacles. Second, we started to learn more about the personality of my dog.
In Day 4’s obstacle discussion, I described moving and vertical obstructions. I also introduced the concept that curbs are considered obstacles. While I mentioned that another form of obstacle (horizontal) exists, I didn’t talk to much about handling them or the impact they have on travel. The reality is that they are extremely difficult to work, particularly for me.
When walking, how often do you look above your head to see what is passing? I don’t mean the sky, I mean the tree branch that overhangs? I would bet that if it’s over a foot above, you don’t pay it much attention (aesthetics aside). Now, think about a dog who travels with its head at about twenty-four inches from the ground. Pair that perspective up with a creature that walks on its hind legs. Let’s put our tree branch at average human head height of sixty-seven inches. You might start to see the perspective problem.
I am not average height. In fact, I have to worry about anything under seventy-six inches, more than four feet above my dog’s head. Yet they are expected to identify risks that I might encounter. It should be no surprise at this point that I have never had good experiences with dogs working “overhead” or “horizontal” obstacles. What typically happens is I encounter the obstruction, bleed, and then teach my dog that this is something to avoid. It’s generally not a happy time.
In previous experience, the result is that the dog starts finding a point in space, and then pauses. It is not so much that the dog is seeing the obstacle, but they have learned that at this certain point they should be extremely careful. Being careful is exactly what we want, but we need to translate that into a continuous effort. The dog needs to not just know that this one horizontal exists, but change its perspective to the head height of the handler. I can’t say whether this new dog will be any different, but I can say that he was almost perfect on the overhead obstacle course. Here’s to spilling less blood over the next ten years.
Friends and Benefits
If you’ve read this deep into my experience, you are either really interested in the guide dog lifestyle, or you truly have nothing to do. You have read pages upon pages about building a working relationship with a dog, and how the team operates while the dog is in harness. I have tried to cover the work aspect of the team relationship in detail, as it is an obvious emphasis during class. At this point, the dog and the handler have a budding coworker-like relationship. They have proven that they can work together successfully using a core set of skills. Yet we don’t know each other yet.
Think about your own relationships. How many people that you work with have ever become true friends? Do you intentionally seek them out in off-work time? Do you know them well enough to say that you understand their beliefs and motivations? In my entire professional career, I think I could say this about less than two handfuls of coworkers.
A dog, of course, is not going to have political or religious viewpoints. The dog will realize that he often sees two people together, but probably can’t comprehend that they have an emotional bond. The dog builds his own relationships, but probably thinks very little about the fact that others have those bonds as well. His relationships, though probably less complex than those between humans, is still definable.
For the guide dog, the relationship starts with work. As handlers, we build trust, confidence, and pleasure in the relationship through a process of rewarding and discouraging behaviors. Each dog is as different in their work as your own coworkers. This means that all guide dogs can be expected to know a certain skill (i.e., the “right” command), but each may implement that skill in a different way. One may be more forceful in turning the team to the right. Another may be more tentative. Yet another may refuse to turn right if the resultant line of travel would get its paws wet in a puddle. It is this particular point, by the way, that makes training with a successor dog so difficult. The new dog will perform the commands that the previous dog did, but undoubtedly in a different way.
The personal part of the team relationship is hardly begun during the two weeks of class. The dog may, like your coworkers, choose to spend its personal time always within reach of the handler. When the harness is off, the dog still likes to be in the handler’s presence. Others (I’m looking at you, dogs number 1 and 2) may choose another person with whom to spend its personal time. Some dogs even display some level of introversion. These dogs, when out of harness, will quietly take themselves off to a quiet corner where they can relax.
Changes in the GDB philosophy will undoubtedly result in more dogs intentionally seeking off-work time with their handlers. After all, these dogs have learned that their primary motivational goal (food) is provided by the handler. It’s likely that the dog will attempt to build a non-working relationship with the handler simply because it is still seeking that reward it receives when the harness is on. This is not to say that one's dog won’t appreciate some time off, but the idea is that they will always return to the handler as their default.
GDB intentionally holds back access to dog free time to help this personal relationship take root. Will a dog recall to a new handler if allowed to roam off leash? Maybe, but more likely they will allow distractions to override the command. Instructors in my current class refer to the concept of building a bank with the dog. This means that the dog, through identification that the handler provides the primary goal (food!), is an anchor that the dog wants to use. They may, if presented with the opportunity to roam free, wander and explore. However, they will (with a properly started bank account) return to the handler both upon command and at will.
Both GDB campuses include a fully fenced safe off-leash area. Students are introduced to, and allowed to use this area late in the first week of class. The area allows a dog to run and play in a controlled environment. The area is available to one team at a time. The idea is not to build a relationship with the other dogs in class.
After a week of class, dogs are usually very cautious about the off-leash area. They will usually stay very calm for a few minutes after being introduced to the area. And then, as if the switch has been flipped, they realize that they are completely off-duty. Usually with an explosion of movement, the dog will finally release the stress of the week. It is at this point that the handler starts to learn just who their dog is in normal life.
At the end of the day, a dog needs its doggie time. It is not a robot. It experiences emotional, mental, and physical stress just like humans. Dogs need to decompress just like us. Cementing the personal relationship begins when both parties can relax.
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