“Traffic” – Day 6
November 20, 2008 by Mike Hingson · 1 Comment
Tuesday , November 18, 2008, 7:54 PM
Today was one of the most extremely informative, if not most fun, times during the training and formation of a guide dog team. Today we did traffic checks.
One of the most important jobs a guide dog must perform is watching for traffic whether it is moving, standing still waiting for a light to change, or whether an individual car might be blocking our path. Any pedestrian should always be alert to the traffic around them. For those of us who choose to use a guide dog the dog can help us a great deal to address the issues regarding traffic. Here are a few scenarios.
1. Suppose you are walking down a sidewalk and suddenly encounter a car sitting in a driveway with the engine running. How do you determine what to do next?
2. As you’re walking down a sidewalk you come to a driveway or small side street. As you begin to cross suddenly a car races around a corner in front of you or shoots in front of you from the driveway or side street. Do you have time to react? What do you do?
3. You are crossing an intersection or driveway and hear a car coming toward you from one side or the other. You are walking appropriately, but the car doesn’t slow down. The driver is timing his or her street crossing to go just behind you. (Make no mistake drivers do that.) Again, do you have time to react? What do you do?
4. Now, how do you handle any of the above scenarios if the vehicle happens to be a quiet or hybrid car?
These are only a few of the situations that any pedestrian will encounter while walking anywhere around cars. Blind people whether they use dogs or canes have to answer these questions just like anyone else. We use our hearing and strive to be at least as aware as other pedestrians of what is around us.
The hybrid question is a very serious one for those of us who happen to be blind. It is our belief that hybrid vehicles should make a sound that will allow them to be monitored by blind pedestrians, cyclists, and others who may not be looking directly at a hybrid vehicle when it is near them.
No matter what the circumstances both dog and cane users are able to walk on our streets and sidewalks successfully and competently. Although I travel well with either a cane or a guide dog I prefer the guide dog especially when it comes to traffic issues. “Traffic checks” are the processes used by guide dog instructors to teach dogs how to handle any traffic scenario they might encounter including hybrid cars. Schools such as Guide Dogs for the Blind that have been using traffic checks extensively for years have found that hybrid cars, although a challenge, are not really harder for the dogs than standard vehicles. I’m sure instructors would agree that a little more vigilance is in order and so they work to make sure that their guide dog charges watch as best they can. It is still a team effort when dealing with traffic checks. The guide dog user must let the dog do its job, but it is still important for the user to be aware of what is going on around them. Read on and you’ll see how Africa and I handled a variety of different traffic scenarios today.
Guess what, Todd arrived at 9 a.m. sharp. It was off to San Rafael for our date with Adam Wasco and the GDB hybrid car. At 9:45 we were at the Guide Dogs lounge and ready to go. We turned right out of the lounge on 4th St heading toward F Street with E street behind us. We had walked no more than a few feet when we encountered a car sitting in the driveway blocking our path. Of course, it was that crazy driver Adam Wasco. Africa stopped a few feet away from the car just as she was supposed to do. I hopped her up to the car so that I could see in fact that it was a vehicle blocking our way. She got lots of praise for stopping a few feet before we reached the car. The reason for stopping early is that we would not know the intent of the driver if in fact a driver was in the car at all. If she went right up to the car before stopping and the vehicle began to move we might be clipped or worse.
After determining that the car was stationary and not planning to move in the next few moments I commanded Africa to go forward and we went around the car and on our merry way. After reaching F Street and crossing it, now headed toward G. We had walked no more than a few feet when suddenly out of a driveway shot a car right in front of us. Africa stopped and moved back quickly pulling me with her. This again is exactly as what she is supposed to do. Lots of praise and food rewards were the order of the day. It is important not only to tell Africa that she was doing a good job but to heighten her sense of desire to be especially vigilant concerning traffic. There’s nothing like a good food reward to help make this possible. Madman Wasco shot out of the driveway and turned right and went on his hopefully not so merry way. Where is a cop when you need one?
We reached G where we prepared to cross. Just as we started across, you guessed it, here came our ever vigilant Adam to race across in front of us forcing Africa and me to move back. We finally made it across G and went down toward H.
For the rest of the route which took us up to H, over to 5th, and then back down to and across F Street Adam performed every kind of scenario imaginable to cause Africa to react appropriately to keep us safe from his vehicle. Finally we turned right on F and headed back down to 4th St. where we turned left and returned to the lounge. What was most noticeable about Africa’s behavior was that she did a good job of looking around her for cars. On many occasions, she saw Adam his vehicle long before I heard it and began to react. Since Africa’s job is to react to conditions around her it is my responsibility to let her do her job and follow her if she feels that we are in danger or that there is a problem. The result during this walk was that we stayed well away from danger. Africa kept us safe.
I must stop and make one comment here about dogs versus canes. Could a cane traveler do the same things that I was able to do with Africa? The answer is yes. I am not sure that in some of the situations we faced, I, as a cane traveler would have been able to react quite as quickly or at least as far in advance as I was able to do with Africa. It is all a matter of me being aware as much as possible of what is happening around me. The problem is heightened, as I said earlier, by the concept of hybrid cars. If I can’t hear them I can’t react to them.
I don’t want to leave the subject of traffic checks without acknowledging Adam Wasco for his part in our training. Adam is a great guy with a wonderful sense of humor which brings out the best in us all. He is fun to kid since he gives is good as he gets. He is a longtime veteran of the Training Department at Guide Dogs for the Blind. He knows his job and does it well. He is one of the best trainers I know second only, of course, to Todd. The fact that he is able to drive a vehicle so well and in such a safe manner that he is able to perform the traffic checks we required is a testimony to his skill. I very much appreciate his efforts in helping me and all those who receive guidedogs from Guide Dogs for the Blind.
After we returned to the lounge and sent Adam off on his evil way, Todd and I decided to further Africa’s training by teaching her to target traffic light poles in general and the buttons on these poles in specific. It is very helpful if a guide dog can point out the location of the button to change the traffic signal so that the user doesn’t have to spend a long time hunting for the pole. This is best accomplished with the use of the clicker.
We left the lounge and went to the corner of C and 5th St. which is frequently used during guide dog class training to accomplish the training we had in mind. The process is very similar to that which we used in teaching Africa to find the elevator. First, I would click and reward Africa every time she found my hand which was resting on the pole right below the button. Over a short time we moved back longer distances and I rewarded Africa every time she found the pole first with a click than with food. Again, within about five minutes she was targeting the button on the pole like a pro. We will have to do this more than once, I’m sure. However, we laid the foundation and I’m sure Africa will pick up the new technique in no time.
We returned to the lounge and headed off to Novato for a wonderful Chinese lunch and a short walk around downtown before heading back home. We accomplished a lot today both with traffic checks and with the new light pole training. It was a busy day for Africa and I’m sure a somewhat stressful one although she handled it well. Africa and I spent the rest of the day playing ball, being silly and in general bonding. She’s doing well around the house both with Roselle and Sherlock, the strange cat. Africa and my wife, Karen, seem also to be bonding well. Africa has no fear of the wheelchair and I think if given the chance would love to take a ride on Karen’s lap. That isn’t going to happen, however.
Tomorrow we get to take an independent route where Todd will not be walking right behind us. This will be Africa’s first time of walking without Todd there as her security blanket. She is very used to Todd and I think relies on having him around. It’s time to start breaking that tether. Come back tomorrow to see what happens.
“The Streets of San Francisco” – Day 5
November 20, 2008 by Mike Hingson · Leave a Comment
Monday, November 17, 2008, 7:58 AM
Today was another gorgeous day around the bay at San Francisco. I haven’t mentioned the weather we have experienced during our training. In a word, the weather has been great! California has been experiencing drought conditions for some time. I hope that we will move beyond them this winter. However, for late November and needing to be outside training with a guide dog I must admit I can’t complain about the warm sunny time we are experiencing. The temperature has been in the 70s and 80s during the day. We’ve had little cloud cover but rather lots of sun. Southern California has been facing many severe wildfires which we hope will soon be under control and out. All of us in California fear the severity of fires during the dry conditions we are experiencing. I hope we get no more fires this year. All I ask is three more days of sunny weather and then let the clouds open and the rain poured down.
Todd informed me this morning that he expected that we would be done with our training by this Thursday evening. As I said earlier in-home training permits a lot of flexibility. Todd feels that by Thursday we will have covered everything we could possibly study and that unless something unexpected happens there is nothing else that he can do for us during the formal training process. Of course, Todd is always available to answer questions. Guide Dogs for the Blind also has an excellent Graduate Services Department directed by Brian Francis. In the first entry of this journal I mention Marc Gillard who is a member of the Admissions and Graduate Services section of Guide Dogs for the Blind. Marc works for Brian. Brian’s Department is always available to help graduates throughout the United States with any issues they may be having. I think it is great that GDB has such a good support network.
Once again Todd arrived on the dotted 9 a.m. Our plans for the day was to go back into San Francisco and work around Union Square, a major shopping, dining, and hotel area in the city. After that we would return to Marin County and do some work on streets with no sidewalks.
With our plan in place Todd, Africa, and I got into the GDB van and headed off to San Francisco. We arrived in Union Square just a bit after 10 a.m. Before we started on our route I helped Africa on with her booties. We expected to do some escalator work this morning and as I explained earlier the booties protect her paws from the escalator treads. I don’t think that Africa is a great fan of these booties by the way she walks in them, but she tolerates them pretty well. The booties would also be good protection during extremely hot weather and on snow-covered streets.
Our first destination on this route was the park in Union Square. When we arrived workers were installing the lights on San Francisco’s Christmas tree. In addition, the outdoor ice skating rink was in full operation. Go figure…ice skating in 80° weather in November. I’m sure no one expected this kind of weather which is why the rink was open.
While in the park Africa and I practiced a few obedience exercises. These exercises are one of the first things students learn at GDB. The idea behind them is to have a routine of commands which allow us to put the dogs through some basic paces every morning as kind of a warm up and a method to help them focus. Obedience consists of having the dogs perform a series of “sit” and down maneuvers. We then have the dogs stay while we walk away a few feet to the end of the extended leash. After waiting at the end of the leash to make sure that the dog remains where we told it to sit, the handler returns to the side of the dog and provides lots of praise. After doing the “stay” we begin another “stay” but this time rather than returning to the dog we called the dog to us with either the “heel” command or the “come” command. “Heel” in this case requires the dog to move to our left side and sit. “Come” tells the dog merely to come and stand in front of us.
Doing obedience in the park gave both Todd and me an opportunity to see how Africa worked with lots of distractions around. I should explain that these obedience exercises are a great way to regain a dog’s focus was being distracted any time. Many times during the day while I’ve been walking and my guide dog became too distracted by other things going on around him or her I use this obedience work to get the dog back on track. It works really well.
After obedience, which Africa performed very well, (what else), we left the park and walked over to Macy’s department store. We walked through the crowded aisles in this four-story building, as well as traveled up and down two floors on the escalators. As soon as I could hear the escalators near me I told Africa to ‘find the escalator”. True, she may find the down escalator when I want the up escalator, but it’s my job to determine the right one to use, not her. The point is that she gets me to the escalators for me to then make the right determination. Also, it should be noted that I need to be near the escalators for her to expect to find them. “Near” means we have to be close enough for me to hear the escalators and for her to see them. It is not practical for me to simply walk in the door at Macy’s and suddenly say “find the escalator” which may be at the other end of the store. I’ve seen some blind people who think this, but they’re not correct. Of course, I’ve encountered some sighted people who think that the dog does everything and never listens to discover that I’m giving the dog commands. Africa and I are a team. We each have a job to do. The best teams consist of members who understand each other’s jobs and who respect the abilities and skills of all the team members.
With Macy’s behind us we started off for the van and the return to Marin. Along the way we decided to make a stop at another crowded store, the Nike store. I didn’t even know one existed in San Francisco much less had I ever been there. It goes to show what I know.
We entered the store to the blare of loud Christmas music. This time, the escalator was right near the entrance and so I used the command “find the escalator” to tell Africa where I wanted her to go. We went up a long escalator to the second floor and then took another one to the third floor. After walking around a bit and not buying anything we return to the escalators, descended to the first floor and left that noisy cacophony of sound. It was a good experience for the team even though Nike didn’t make a dime off from it.
On our way to the van as we traveled through the park we stop for our traditional tea and coffee at a small outdoor coffee shop. Hey, what else is there to do on a bright sunny day in San Francisco? Less you miss the point of stopping for coffee and tea every day I should explain that it is a good way for the dog to unwind after doing very complicated and stressful routes. Make no mistake; this job is very stressful to a dog. I talked about this in an earlier post. Although I do not like to stress out my dogs it is important to keep up their work and practice. Going to places like the Nike store and walking a successful route through it and then conveying my pleasure to the dog is a great way to keep up her level of confidence.
We returned to an area near GDB in Marin to work a sidewalkless route. This kind of route is just what the name says. We had to walk in the street because there are no sidewalks alongside them. Also, there are usually many cars parked along the streets so it would give Africa a good opportunity to practice going up to cars, letting me find them, and then working around the car in order to get back on route. Part of the reason of doing a sidewalkless route is to make sure that the dog stays right near the edge of the street rather than walking out in the middle of it. Personally, I don’t need to do many sidewalkless routes, but they sure are good practice for the few times I am required to walk one.
The only challenge Africa had on this route was that there was a place where two cars were parked very close together. Rather than simply passing both cars and then regaining the route she tried to walk me between the two cars to get back to the curb as soon as possible. There wasn’t enough room so I was smushed against one of the cars. No one was hurt, but it was a good experience for Africa. She is a bright dog and I believe she won’t do that again.
After this walk it was time for lunch. We went up to Novato to the Vintage Oaks shopping center where we had lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. Vintage Oaks is also the home of Costco and Target. After lunch we decided it was time to call it a day. Todd, Africa, and I returned home around 2 p.m. Sure we could’ve walked more, but training is in part about good quality bonding time. It is not all about simply walking routes and keeping the dog in harness all day. The value of doing in-home training is that we get to spend our quality time at home so Africa gets used to our home life.
Tomorrow we get to do traffic checks. Come back to read what that’s all about.
“The Accidental Tourist” – Day 4
November 20, 2008 by Mike Hingson · Leave a Comment
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- Africa and Mike relaxing after lunch
Saturday, November 15, 2008, 8:21 PM
Today was the fourth day of training for Africa and me. In a regular class environment training occurs Monday through Saturday. There are a few exceptions. Students arrive for class on Monday. The actual training process begins on Tuesday. First-time students come for four weeks graduating on the fourth Saturday of class. Retrain students come for two, three, and sometimes even the entire four weeks of class depending on their needs and desires.
In-home training is more intensive and lasts for one to three weeks. This training also permits the focusing on specific areas of interest to the handler as well as working with the new guide dog in the more realistic home environment. Of course, since in-home training requires a dedicated instructor spending time with only one student is more expensive for GDB to provide. Students with active lifestyles involving work or school often find that in-home training is the most viable option. I’m very glad that GDB began offering it a few years ago. For me, training with Africa at home has allowed me to spend more time observing her in our actual environment. I think that we have been able to begin a more effective bond since I have the opportunity to begin training her right from the outset here in Novato. I am very blessed that in-home training was offered to me. Besides, if we were training as part of a regular class we would never be able to go on some of the interesting routes we have seen and will see over the next week.
Todd showed up as usual right at nine o’clock. We went off to Novato and Costco. There were a few purchases I had to make, but the main reason for going to Costco was to observe Africa and to give us the opportunity to work together in a very busy store environment. It doesn’t get more active than Costco with all the hustle and bustle and people going every which way not necessarily watching where they’re going.
We arrived at Costco at about 9:30 a.m. We walked around the store quite a bit. Along the way we picked up the things I needed to buy. I had no concerns about Africa’s ability to guide in the store. What I was more interested in seeing was how she behaved while walking behind a shopping cart. Rather than using the harness and letting Africa guide I asked Todd to steer the card from the front while African I pushed from the back. Africa had no fear of the shopping cart nor did she deviate in order to snag any loose items of interest from the floor. She heeled well and worked exactly as I would expect her to in that kind of environment.
After Costco we drove to downtown Novato for another visit to Dr. Insomnia’s coffee shop. Again we walked around downtown with no difficulties and finally arrived at Powell’s candy store. This shop has very narrow aisles and is usually crowded as well. Today was no exception.
Africa did a good job of working through the store and waited patiently while we scooped and bagged some malted milk balls for me, some gummy bears for Todd’s wife and daughter, some candy fruit slices for Karen, and some chocolate covered pretzels for emergency purposes. The reality is that most of the candy will end up in our freezer and stay there for months. In our house out of sight really is out of mind.
We paid for our stash and then return to the van for the trip back home. After relieving Africa and Roselle we were ready for our next sortie. Todd, Karen and I boarded our minivan for a trip to our favorite winery, Gloria Ferrari. We didn’t expect this to be a strenuous trip nor did we expect it to be very challenging for Africa. What was unique in Africa’s experience was that she would be spending time walking beside a power wheelchair. Karen uses an electric wheelchair both in home and when she travels outside. If the two of us go somewhere together mostly I will walk behind her chair holding onto handgrips on the back of the chair. Typically I would not expect my dog to guide but rather to walk it heel. My interest this trip was to see how Africa handled the presence of the wheelchair outside the home. She had, of course, already been around the chair since her arrival last Wednesday. This would be her first time walking with the chair.
Before going to the winery we stopped for lunch at a restaurant and small tourist area across the street from Gloria’s. Lunch was enjoyable and Africa behaved well as usual. I am very impressed with the fact that she does not like to pick things up off the ground. I should say that even if she does like to pick up and eat things she resists temptation well. This is a direct result of good food rewards practices.
After lunch we spent some time walking around some gardens near the restaurant. It was then time to go off to the winery for a little wine tasting.
Gloria Ferrari makes regular wine and sparkling wine sometimes called champagne. If we are to believe the French the only sparkling wine that can be called champagne comes from the Champagne region in France. However, many of us reject the notion that champagne has to come from France. As members of the Gloria Ferrari wine club we get complimentary tastings of a number of their wines. We especially like one of their champagnes. We each stuck with only one glass and thus did not imbibe to excess. Africa did a good job of working through the winery and avoiding obstacles.
We returned home a little after 3 p.m. having spent another good productive day of training. Since we get Sunday off Todd informed me that he would be at my door on Monday at 9 a.m. sharp as usual. He continues to say that he’s very pleased with our training and our progress. For my part I am quite pleased. Next week should bring some other interesting adventures. I know we will be spending more time in San Francisco. We will also be practicing some rural routes.
I hope that you who are reading this find my experiences and journal interesting and informative. There is plenty more to come. Stay tuned.
“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.
