“Training Day” – Day 3
November 17, 2008 by Mike Hingson · 1 Comment
November 14, 2008. 4:30 P.M.
Lookout San Francisco, here comes Africa. Before we began our training earlier this week Todd asked me to give him a list of areas of work I wanted to cover during training. I indicated that I wanted to do as much big-city work as possible since I knew a lot of my travels take me to larger metropolitan areas. Although I am gaining quite a bit of confidence in Africa already I think it is important to work different areas and different scenarios in order for Africa and me to become used to each other in many different environments. Also, training is the time to learn new techniques as well is brush up on the old ones. Finally, training is a great time to hone my reaction skills since movements with a new dog are always sharper and more crisp. My job is to keep those crisp reactions on both our parts as long as possible.
Clicker training and food rewards are not new at GDB. However, I know that I have not been in the habit of using them to their best advantage. During this time with Todd I intend to make every effort to strengthen the habit of using these powerful tools appropriately.
Todd arrived as usual at 9 a.m. sharp. After spending a few minutes discussing the previous days events including how we all fared last evening it was off to the City. Todd decided that we would do a “pretty easy” route this morning. We drove into the city, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, and drove to an area near Chestnut and Fillmore streets. Todd explained that we were going to do a little bit of bus work by walking to the northeast corner of Chestnut and Fillmore where we would catch a bus at a bus stop often frequented by GDB trainers and students.
By the way, a wrinkle I introduced into this morning’s trip was that I carried with me at talking GPS system, the Trekker Breeze. The Breeze is a very easy to use system intended to be used during orientation and training as well as by people who do not want a complicated GPS product and who only plan on walking simple routes. Through The Michael Hingson Group I have been talking with GDB about exploring ways to use the Breeze during in class training. My plan was to identify a “landmark” with the Breeze during our walk today, move several blocks away from the landmark and then asked the Breeze to plan a route back to the landmark.
We arrived in San Francisco a little after 10. On the way to our parking place Todd drove by the bus stop at Chestnut and Fillmore so I could identify it as my landmark for the Breeze. After parking I asked the Breeze to create a route to the bus stop. I then followed that route. The Breeze created a route which was easy to follow and which provided good instructions every step of the way. Africa was great as usual. The sidewalk was pretty empty and so it wasn’t long before we reached the bus stop.
A bus soon arrived which we boarded. Soon we proceeded on our way. We traveled about six blocks and then disembarked for the walk back to the bus stop and eventually the van.
Again, I asked the Breeze to create a route back to the bus stop. The walk was uneventful. I was pleased with what I learned about using the Breeze during training. This was just the first experiment. We have a long way to go before deciding that GPS could be a part of in-class use. We did encounter a few dogs and pedestrian obstacles on the way back to the bus stop, but Africa handled them with aplomb and grace. Can you tell I’m already getting prejudiced toward Africa?
After reaching the bus stop we walked around the area a bit more. We made our traditional morning stop at a local coffee shop, this time Starbucks, where I had my usual cup of tea and Todd had his usual cup of coffee. Africa had no complaints as she was making out pretty well in the food reward department.
A little after Noon we returned to the van where we decided to go to Fisherman’s Wharf for lunch and another workout through crowds of people. Several times during our three days of training Todd mentioned a place in San Francisco that served New England clam chowder in a sourdough loaf bowl. Well, with that as a hint it seemed reasonable while in the city to find this restaurant and enjoy the food. Actually, Boudin is a sourdough bread making company which also serves sandwiches and soups in sourdough bread bowls. It is one of the most famous sourdough bread manufacturers in the City.
We parked several blocks away from the restaurant and worked a route to it. After lunch, which incidentally was wonderful, we walked around Fisherman’s Wharf to give Africa lots of opportunity to work in and through crowds of people. There were lots of dogs around to distract her. However, she did well.
By 2:30 p.m. we were ready to call it a day and travel back to Novato. In all it was a great day. Todd and I were both pleased with the performance of the team. I think Africa is settling in nicely and we are beginning to bond just as we should.
After returning home Todd and I made plans for our Saturday trip. Yes, Saturday is a training day as well. We agreed to meet about nine o’clock Saturday morning to walk around downtown Novato and do a little bit of shopping in the local Costco. After shopping and returning home we would switch to our personal van and travel with my wife Karen to one of our favorite wineries in the Carneros region just outside Napa. Saturday is beginning to sound like a pretty full day, but I think will survive it. Come back tomorrow to learn how Africa survived a day in Wine Country.
“Sherlock Holmes” – Day 2
November 15, 2008 by Mike Hingson · Leave a Comment
Thursday, November 13, 2008, 9:17 PM
It’s time to report on our second day of training. I first need to go back to last evening to describe a brief encounter between Africa and Sherlock the cat. While preparing to retire for the evening I showed Africa her bed which was on the floor next to my side of Karen’s and my bed. I have a tie-down chain which I attached to Africa’s collar to keep her from wandering off in the middle of the night.
Soon after tying down Africa,Sherlock jumped up on the bed and walked over to my side to look down from his “lofty position” to see the new family member. I’m not sure what Africa did but she must have moved in some way that made Sherlock realize she was tied down and couldn’t get to him. All I know is that Africa sat up to look at Sherlock. Sherlock, who is declawed, decided to repeatedly bop Africa on the nose. We have seen Sherlock play this game with dogs on tie-down before. Karen put a stop to it as I was out of the room at the time. Sherlock never seems to know when to leave well enough alone. I’ll be interested to see what happens tonight. If he keeps up this game Africa, when she is allowed to run free might just decide to chase him a bit. As fun as that would be to watch it isn’t a good idea to allow it to begin in the first place. I have no doubt that Sherlock will be of little help in Africa’s training even at home.
This morning we began our work at a little after 9 a.m. when Todd arrived at our house. The plan Todd outlined was to go into San Rafael and work downtown including visiting office buildings to do some work on stairs and elevators. With new students this kind of work isn’t done until late in the second week or the beginning of the third week. Todd made the decision to do this work so early because Africa and I worked extremely well together yesterday.
We drove to the Guide Dogs for the Blind downtown lounge where we parked and prepared to walk the route. We first walked to a nearby post office where I needed to mail a package. Coincidently, the post office had a nice entry way which included stairs.
After mailing the package we walked east on 4th St to a favorite GDB practice site, the Albert building. This building, which has been a mainstay for instructors and students alike as long as I have been training with guide dogs in San Rafael, is good for us because it is pretty quiet and it contains both an elevator and stairs. The elevator is old, bouncy, and today was out of order. What a bummer! It is always fun to see the dogs’ reactions when we take them on this particular elevator because of its jerky motion. I will miss the experience.
Plan B. was to continue east on 4th St, do a double crossing at A Street in order to get on the north side of fourth and then to continue on fourth to the Bank of America building. As a point of interest, this building is just before Barney’s burgers where we ate lunch yesterday. When we reach the building we climbed the entryway stairs and went into the building. The lobby included a nice lovely working elevator.
At this point Todd and I decided to begin teaching Africa to locate elevator buttons on command. This process involved using a clicker to tell Africa when she was doing what we expected. A clicker is a small handheld device which when pressed makes a clicking sound. Guidedogs was the first school to introduce the clicker now some 10 years ago. Every dog today who graduates from GDB is clicker trained.
Using the clicker is incredibly effective as long as it is done right. The trick is to click the clicker the instant the dog completes the proper behavior. Immediately after clicking a food reward is offered to heighten the sense of a “great job well done”.
We began our training process by having Africa touch my hand which was placed on the wall right below the elevator button. Every time she touched my hand I clicked the clicker and gave her a food reward. After a few successful efforts we moved Africa back away from the wall two or 3 feet and then continued the process, this time expecting her to walk up and touched my hand which was still placed on the wall right below the elevator button.
Again after a few successful times of doing this we backed across the lobby which put us about 10 feet away from the elevator button. I commanded Africa to go forward and as soon as she walked to the right spot so that I could reach out and touch the elevator button I clicked and she received a food reward. The second time we worked from across the lobby we introduced the word “elevator” which I spoke immediately after I commanded her to go forward. It wasn’t long before she understood that when I said “elevator” I expected her to take me to the button to call the machine.
The process of training took no more than five minutes. Of course, we will reinforce this behavior over the next few days. In addition, we’ll use the clicker to teach Africa to locate other items such as the control buttons for traffic lights at crosswalks. Because the clicker sound indicates a specific point in time, in the case today it was that Africa found the elevator button for me, it is very powerful because it tells Africa the exact moment she performs a new task. Once she performs the task consistently I can discontinue the use of the clicker and go back to simple praise and the occasional food reward until or unless we need to reinforce what I want her to do.
We rode up in the elevator to the third floor and then walked down the stairs after which we left the building. We walked back up 4th Street now going west to B Street and then turn north to go to 5th. After crossing 5th we turned west and traveled on to the City Hall building. We entered the City Hall by walking upstairs and entering the building through its main 5th St entrance. Again we use the stairs this time to go up to the second floor and then located the elevator using Africa’s newly learned command, “elevator”. We then returned to the first floor and exited the building. I was impressed at how quickly Africa caught onto a new command and integrated it into her routine. She did a great job!
We then returned to the downtown lounge which meant walking west on 5th St to E St. and then traveling south on E to 4th St. We then traveled west on fourth to the lounge which, as you may recall, is between E and F.
We then traveled back to GDB where we stayed only a few minutes and then we drove across the street to the Northgate Mall. We decided to have lunch at the mall but first we walked through Macy’s department store with its narrow aisles and great opportunities to practice close clearance work. After lunch at Applebee’s restaurant we decided to do some escalator work. Again, normally this isn’t done until the third week of training for new students. Escalator work has changed since I received Meryl last year. Now Guide Dogs provides and encourages the use of booties to protect the dogs’ paws from harm when stepping on or off moving escalators and sidewalks. Personally I have never had a problem taking a guide dog on an escalator but I heartily endorse anything which will help keep guides safer during travel.
As expected, Africa isn’t a great fan of the booties but she tolerated them with little complaint. She has worn them before but even so it is not her favorite thing to do. We walked to Mervyn’s department store where we took escalators to the third floor and then rode them back down to the first floor. We then walked to Macy’s department store where we again took escalators up two floors and back down again before returning to the van for the ride home.
In all we had another good day. There were a few times when Africa cut our clearance with obstacles a little close. Each time a simple correction resolve the problem and we went on our way. In total we walked between 2 1/2 and 3 miles today. I asked Todd if we were doing as much walking on a given day as he did when he was training Africa. He said that we were doing at least as much. I ask this because I wanted to make sure that Africa was getting as much exercise now as she was during training. Since her workouts now are at least as intensive as they were during training I am giving her the same amount of food each meal as she received while in the kennels.
Tomorrow it’s off to our first workout in San Francisco where we will ride buses and visit a few more crowded buildings. I am very pleased with the results Africa and I are getting so far. She is very smart. Clearly she takes after her mother, but far be it from me to be prejudiced.
During this journal entry I mentioned clicker training. Clickers are proving to be revolutionary in guide dog training as well as in other kinds of dog instruction. You can learn more about the subject as well as how to use clickers with your own dog or cat by visiting http://www.clickertraining.com/
Tune in tomorrow night for the next installment.
“Miss Congeniality” – Day 1
November 15, 2008 by Mike Hingson · Leave a Comment
11/12/2008, 4:28 PM
Todd and Africa showed up at 9:00AM. We picked up right where we left off on October 27. Africa spent several minutes running around the house finding all of Roselle’s and Fantasia’s toys. She even discovered our cat Sherlock. That meeting went a lot better than I had expected. Sherlock’s philosophy is why stay when you can hide. He didn’t run away from Africa which is really a good sign. Also, Africa did not try to chase him. Some positive avoidance can be a good thing in the beginning of a dog-cat relationship.
After going over all the equipment that was issued in order to work with Africa including her harness and leash, some booties we will use during escalator work, her gentle leader sometimes referred to as a Haultie or head collar, some new toys immediately discovered and snatched by Roselle, and a clicker which I will discuss more later in my training, we left for our first walk. Typically in class this would be a very short get acquainted kind of walk. However I was doing in-home training and I had 44 years of guide dog experience to rely on so we decided to extend the usual 10 to 15 minute walk.
Todd, Africa, and I drove up to Novato where we spent the next hour and a half walking around downtown. We found a few good unusual travel areas including an offset sidewalk and a street with an island in the middle of the crossing where we had to stop and wait for a second traffic light. Another interesting thing about the island and the curbs on both sides of the street was that all of the curbs were flat. Africa did a great job of stopping even at the flat curbs. These curbs are so constructed such that the street and sidewalks meet without any step down or ramp from the sidewalk to the street. Guide dog training has advanced so far that these incredible dogs know about these flat curbs and stop for them just as they do for any other curb. I was appropriately impressed.
Along the way we stopped at Dr. Insomnia’s coffee shop for a spot of tea for me and a cup of coffee for Todd. On the way into the shop we passed an outside table where three dogs were lounging. Again, Africa did a great job of ignoring these dogs. She took one look and then as soon as I said “hop-up” she refocused and headed straight for the door into the shop.
The only real challenge we faced during this first walk was that there were a few places along the way where some bushes is stuck out on my right side and which Africa failed to pass without me brushing against them. When she is guiding perfectly I should not hit these bushes. Instead Africa should’ve moved a bit more to the left so that I would avoid them. After a few corrections she recognized her mistakes and worked flawlessly the rest of the way.
After out nearly 2-mile walk we got back in Todd’s van and decided to continue the day in downtown San Rafael. We drove to the Guide Dogs lounge on 4th St in San Rafael where we parked the car and decided to walk on 4th St down toward A Street where there were several restaurants we could explore for lunch. We finally decided on Barney’s burgers which was passed A Street still on fourth going toward Lincoln. Todd and I decided to sit outside both because the day was nice and because I was curious to see how Africa would do with all the distractions of sitting at an outside table. As I have come to expect she did a great job.
After our turkey burgers Todd and I walked back to the lounge where we boarded the van for the trip home. In all it was a great first day. I couldn’t have asked for a better workout. I was very impressed with the level of Africa’s performance especially not for knowing me other than for one brief walk two weeks before.
Africa and I spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know each other better in a relaxed home environment. She discovered Fantasia’s squeaky ball and proceeded to run around the house with it. Thus far she and Roselle have not played much together but I am sure that will come. It will get even more interesting once Fantasia returns home. I expect we should see some real competition for the squeaky ball.
Already I think the potential for a really strong match exists between Africa and me. She has more of the personality that I seek in a guide dog then did my previous dog. Meryl was much too serious and didn’t handle stress well. It was because of her inability to deal with stress that I had to retire her. I learned yesterday that she has gone back to live with her puppy raisers in Nevada. Good for Meryl! She deserves a more sedate life. She has earned it.
I have spent quite a lot of time on the first two entries in this journal because I want to make sure that I document the processes I encountered along the road to receiving Africa. A lot went into preparing both of us for this day. All the preparation is what will make it possible for us to form a good solid bond. It is my belief that it takes up to a year to form our bond and for each of us, human and guide dog alike, to become so comfortable with each other that we get to that state where we can intuit the other’s feelings and state of mind. Creating a bond with a guide dog is just like building any worthwhile strong team except in the case of the human-dog team building process I am working with a creature who thinks and communicates in a completely different manner than does any human. As I am fond of saying in my speeches I have learned more about teambuilding and team relationships from working now with seven dogs than I have ever learned from all of the management theory courses I have taken and all of the Ken Blanchard and other management experts’ books combined.
10:00 PM. It is now late in the evening and time to go to bed and prepare for tomorrow. What a great first day this has been with Africa. I will report on developments tomorrow after we returned home from our travels.
My New Guide Dog “Africa” – Her Daily Training Journal
November 15, 2008 by Mike Hingson · 1 Comment
Wednesday, November 12, 2008, 7:11 AM
The day has finally come. This is the day I receive Africa, my new guide dog. Africa is the seventh guide I have had the pleasure of working. All seven guide dogs were trained at Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael California. I received my first guide dog on June 28, 1964 when I was but 14 years of age. That day is still as fresh in my mind as if it happened only this year.
My fifth guide dog, “Roselle”, is by far the most famous one of them all as she was with me when I worked and escaped from the 78th floor of Tower One of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. You can learn more of Roselle’s life elsewhere on my web site.
In March of 2007 Roselle retired and I was joined by my sixth guide dog, Meryl. Unfortunately, Meryl only worked for about a year and a half before the stressful job of guiding became too much for her and she had to retire. Guiding is not an easy job. Only about 50% of the Labrador Retrievers who enter the program a guide dogs for the blind actually succeed and go home with blind people as part of a person-guide dog team. Some guides go home only to discover that guiding isn’t their thing. Meryl retired officially on September 18, 2008.
As an aside, I should explain that the reason the success rate for labs is only about 50% comes not from the fact that the other 50% are not as bright or is good. Dogs are just like people. Each one has its own personality. Some dogs work well as guides while others do not. Some people are very successful and seem to adapt well to some jobs but not to others. We learned a long time ago not to say that the dogs that do not make it as guides are failures, but rather they are “career change”. Some of the career changed dogs leave GDB in order to perform other jobs such as cancer detection and to do work with the military in drug and explosives investigation. Some career change guide dog puppies have gone on to work with persons with diabetes. These “Dogs for Diabetics” are taught how to warn their handlers of drastic changes in their blood sugar levels and thus prevent the onset of hypoglycemic or insulin reactions.
Back to Africa. Immediately upon Meryl’s retirement the search began for a successor guide dog for me. The process of matching a blind person with a guide dog is a very complex one. It is important to find a dog that can match its blind handler’s pace, walking patterns, temperament, as well as having a personality which will fit into its handler’s daily way of life. There is a good reason why Guide Dogs for the Blind calls the decision to use a guide dog a “lifestyle choice”. Part of the process which every team goes through is the forming and building of the relationship which will dictate how human and dog will interact with each other during their time together.
For me when preparing for Africa it helps that I have had six previous guidedogs all from the same school. Even though Guide Dogs for the Blind has amassed quite a bit of information about my needs and desires concerning a guide dog match I still went through a home interview and a brief walk with the local GDB field rep, Marc Gillard. We did the interview at the same time he came to fetch Meryl back in September.
The next event was an e-mail from Charles Nathan, the Guide Dogs Director of Training in San Rafael. Charles e-mailed me around the 20th of October to tell me that he believed that a match had been found for me. He wanted me to take a test walk with the dog to seeif I felt we might have a match. Charles informed me that the dog’s name was Africa and that she was a small yellow Labrador. As soon as I saw the name I realized that there was another reason why GDB may in fact have found a good match. Africa is one of the puppies from the second litter of our GDB breeder, Fantasia. Fantasia has lived with us for a little more than two years. One of our close family friends, Linda Lewis, had suggested the name Africa when we learned that Fantasia’s second litter would all have names beginning with the letter A. I knew that if Africa was anything like her mom we had the potential for a great match. Fantasia’s personality was more suited to what I desired and felt would be best for my lifestyle. If Africa’s personality and demeanor were anything like her mother she was certainly worth a look.
On October 27 Todd Jurek brought Africa to our home for our test walk. We spent three hours traveling around our neighborhood as well as through downtown Novato. We also went to a restaurant, and spent some time at the local Peet’s coffee just so I could observe Africa in a variety of settings. Afterward I told Todd that I thought Africa was a good match and that we should go ahead. Todd was Roselle’s trainer and as I learned that day he trained Africa as well. I didn’t have Todd as an instructor when I was matched with Roselle. I asked that if at all possible I would like to work with him to do my training with Africa. I learned later that week that we could start training the week of November 10 and that Todd indeed would be my instructor. It doesn’t get better than that.
Day One- Introduction To Africa
November 13, 2008 by Mike Hingson · 1 Comment
We brought Africa home today…