I am forwarding this post with permission from Ann Edie, a blind horse
and dog trainer, as some list members may be interested in finding out
more.
From: "Ann Edie" <annedie@n...>
Date: Sun Oct 3, 2004 1:41 am
Subject: An Invitation to Help With a Project!
Hi, All,
We have had some recent posts on the subjects of learning, teaching, and
presenting information to others. So I thought I might describe to you
one
project that I have been involved in lately, and enlist your help in the
project.
As many of you are already aware, I have been corresponding on the
Internet
lists with blind and visually impaired people about Panda and her
training
using clicker training. Many of the people on the lists use guide dogs
or
other assistance dogs, and they have a keen interest in dog training and
handling techniques. I also belong to a blind equestrians' list, and
many
of the members of that list are also interested in learning about
clicker
training. Although clicker training is widely used in the training of
dogs
today, the guide dog training community has been slow to move from
traditional correction-based methods toward methods based on the use of
a
marker signal and positive reinforcement. This reluctance to change is
rooted at least partly in the sheer weight of seventy-five years of
guide
dog training tradition which grew out of WWI and WWII military dog
training
methods. However, another perceived barrier to the use of clicker
training
by guide dog trainers and handlers is the belief that clicker training
requires that the trainer or handler have normal or at least fairly good
eyesight.
This perception surprised me at first, since I don't find clicker
training
to be any more vision dependent than other types of training. Perhaps
the
reason why I did not run into the vision barrier is that I was
introduced to
clicker training by actually doing it (under the mentorship of Alex, of
course), rather than through reading about it or hearing presentations
about
it. When many blind and visually impaired people listen to presentations
about clicker training, they hear about the importance of free shaping,
of
having the animal off leash, and of watching the animal and clicking
behavior that tends in the desired direction. They hear about the need
to
capture offered behaviors, and about the importance of good timing of
the
click and of visual attention and eye contact with the dog. All of these
aspects of clicker training can be rather off-putting to a blind person
who
knows he has no chance of precisely monitoring what the animal is doing
at a
distance.
But guide and service animals need clicker training at least as much, if
not
more than other animals. Many guide dogs develop behavior problems or
health problems shortly after beginning their guide work with a blind
person, due to the stress of the working environment and the stress of
the
correction-based handling methods that are used. Many of these dogs
"burn
out" and need to be retired at very young ages, and the emotional
effects on
the handlers are often devastating. Besides having to give up an animal
which has become a beloved friend, the handler faces a severe loss of
confidence in himself as a dog handler and trainer, because despite his
best
efforts to follow the instructions of the guide dog trainers, he has
failed
to keep the dog working successfully. Handlers often feel that others
will
believe they "ruined" a perfectly well-trained guide dog. And since the
breeding, training, and placement of a guide dog with a blind person
costs
in the tens of thousands of dollars, the guilt associated with a failed
partnership is tremendous.
Besides, the relationship between a person with a disability and her
assistance animal is one of the deepest and most reciprocal of
human-animal
bonds. Traditional handling methods create a negative attitude in the
mind
of the handler. She must always be on guard to catch and correct the
animal
for each error or lapse of focus. The traditional training methods lead
handlers to think of their animals as "naughty" children who will take
every
opportunity to do things they "know" they "shouldn't" do. They emphasize
the importance of the handler being the Alpha dog and maintaining
discipline
by force if necessary. This "correction based" handling does not foster
a
true and positive partnership between human and animal, in my
experience.
Clicker Training, on the other hand, would truly foster a relationship
of
respect and trust between the handler and the service animal. And it
would
replace the handler's attitude of suspicion and distrust with one of
appreciation and encouragement of the animal's efforts.
For all of these reasons, wouldn't clicker training be of great benefit
to
guide dogs and to their blind handlers? I have always thought that it
would. And in the last couple of months we have reached a critical mass
of
visually impaired people who are interested in learning more about
clicker
training and how it can be used without depending on eye sight. We have
formed an Internet e-mail list in Smart Groups called
VI-Clicker-Trainers,
and we already have several dozen members. We have had great discussions
on
the list so far, ranging from the basics of what clicker training is and
what the resources are for blind and visually impaired people to learn
about
it, to discussions of how to solve particular behavior issues, such as
scavenging, separation anxiety, and dog distraction. The experience
level
of the group members ranges from first-time guide dog handlers to people
who
have trained several service dogs for their own use, to people who have
been
training dogs or horses professionally for many years. Besides the
sharing
of clicker training success stories and the mentoring of beginner
clicker
trainers which naturally occurs on all good clicker training lists, we
on
the VI clicker list brainstorm techniques specific to non-visual use of
clicker training and solutions to issues specific to guide animals and
guide
work. One of our members, XXX, has been so kind as to volunteer to post
a
series of beginning clicker training lessons to introduce new clicker
trainers to the method. XXX has been using clicker training for several
years to train service dogs and therapy dogs professionally. She has
only
recently lost much of her vision, and so she is exploring ways of
continuing
to use clicker training as a blind trainer.
I would like my blind and visually impaired friends to find resources
that
speak to them about clicker training in terms that make them feel
welcome.
I would also like to be able to recommend to them clicker training
workshops
and training classes where they will be included and where they will
find
useful techniques and strategies that they can employ without depending
exclusively on visual monitoring of the animal.
This is where you all come in! I would like all of you who give
demonstrations of clicker training and who teach people to use clicker
training with their animals to be aware that pet and working animal
owners
come in all sizes, ages, shapes, and with all sorts of physical,
sensory,
mental, and emotional resources and limitations. Challenge yourself to
think of them all as clicker trainers and to keep in mind how their
relationships with their animals will blossom with clicker training. If
someone with a disability or other difference comes to your demo or
clinic,
and you can almost guarantee that there will be someone that fits this
description at any gathering of even a few individuals, try to include
that
person as a full participant in whatever activities are planned. Try to
offer several options of ways to do things and ways of learning things
so
that as many people as possible can feel included. Listen to the
individual
and let her suggest ways that she thinks may work for her to do things,
as
well as suggesting things that you think might be helpful. And here is
the
main thing I would like you to help me do--If you know people who give
clicker training classes, who write clicker training articles and books,
who
make clicker training videos, who organize clicker training conferences,
or
who in any way offer clicker training to the public, remind them that
people
with all sorts of differences are also animal owners and are among their
audiences and will benefit greatly from the use of clicker training.
Remind
them to be open and welcoming of individuals with different learning
styles
and abilities. And if you are a participant or presenter at a clicker
training event and notice someone who appears to have a disability or
difference which might require adaptations of standard techniques or
modifications of presentation style for that person to feel included, I
do
hope that you will take a chance and strike up a conversation with the
person and see if you might be able to help make them feel more
included.
Who knows, you might even find a new friend!
A recent posting on the VI-Clicker-Trainers list from XXX illustrates
how
persons with disabilities can feel isolated and alienated at conferences
and
other public events. I would like to think that the clicker training
community is open enough and inclusive enough to welcome, support, and
encourage all those who want to learn and use clicker training to enrich
their relationships with their animals.
In a post to the VI-Clicker-Trainers list, XXX wrote:
HI all,
Yesterday was an interesting day. As you know i have been attending
the YYYYY conference here in ZZZZ. I decided to
take Alex
[her service dog in training] even though I wasn't sure if she could
handle
the stress. She wasn't real bad,
but was stressed, so I decided to take her home. We left the conference
hotel
and had to walk 4 blocks to the bus stop. As we were crossing a driveway
for
one of the buildings, a car came over the little hill and came close to
hitting
us. Alex did a perfect traffic check! Once my heart came back out of my
throat, I praised her and we continued. I am so proud of her! But I was
also
scared out of my wits! Anyway, So far I am really disappointed with the
conference. Too much of it is visual and too many slide presentations
that I
cannot
see. And to be honest, no one will talk to me except the staff. I cried
on
the
way home. I used to love the wonderful networking...YYYY offers the
conference
[on DVD] with all the presentations for $170.00. I paid $500.00 to go.
Next
time I will
choose the DVD instead. And I hate being VI right now. And I am sorely
disappointed. 2 more days left [of the conference]...
XXX
By the way, Neil, this is in part my answer to your invitation to talk
about
learning styles and teaching methods. I agree that this is certainly a
worthy topic for Clicker Camp. But we don't have to wait till then to
get
started on it! Anyway, if any of you would like to listen in on the
discussions of clicker training for people who are blind or visually
impaired, and share with us your expertise on clicker training theory
and
practice,or offer some suggestions, I invite you to join us by sending a
blank message to vi-clicker-trainers-subscribe@s....
Thank you all in advance for helping me in this endeavor to make the
Clicker
Training community truly inclusive and supportive of everyone.
Ann
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