Labor Day Picnic

The work I did with FLD Mike to approach my sister's house in a loose-leash heel is paying off.

cc'd Rosie

Monday, we went to Andy's daughter's house for a Labor Day picnic.  She and her husband have two German Shorthair Pointers, with whom FLD Mike loves to play.  Theirs is a dog friendly home--Anne and the girls brought cc'd Rosie, and another guest brought their three-year-old chocolate lab mix.  (We left Gypsy at home so as to avoid a noisy afternoon.)

As we pulled up, FLD Mike sat at attention; he knew where he was.

Mike.  Wait.  I commanded.  

 I'll see everyone in about a half hour, I joked with Andy when FLD Mike wiggled out of the van at the sight of Rosie.  I instantaneously stepped backwards, then heeled Mike past the house, pausing now and then with a "SIT" or "DOWN" command, anything to draw Mike's focus away from the other dogs.  

FLD Mike moaned and muttered under his breath.  But he sat and laid down when told, and turned tight at my side.  The process of getting to the party didn't take as long as I thought it would.  Mike quivered, but stayed in control all the way back to the house.  

Mike.  Right.  We turned up the drive and FLD Mike surprised me by continuing to keep a loose leash.  He then sat and waited while I opened the gate, unclipped his leash, and said, OK.

I did not have to tell him twice.  YIPPPEEE!!!

Odo, not a working dog!

But the bees were busy.

 

Dining Blind

Today's post is my reaction to an article in Sunday's Free Press about "blind dining."  While it certainly has nothing to do with raising Future Leader Dogs, it does have something to do with raising awareness about the blind and visually-impaired.

Perhaps Bon Apetit's restaurant critic Andrew Knowlton is just afraid to experience what eating in any kind of restaurant must be like for a vision impaired person.

In a recent Associate Press article by Karen Matthews, "Blind Dining Concept Heads to New York", Knowlton was quoted as saying "I think it's absurd," when asked his opinion about the concept of dining in a completely dark room.  He continued, "Anytime there's a gimmick involved with eating in a restaurant I have to be a little wary."

I think Knowlton missed the point.

A French investment group, Ethik, committed to "environmental and social innovation," owns successful blind dining establishments in Paris (open in 2004), London (2006), and Moscow (2006), and plans to expand its Dans le Noir? (French for "in the dark") franchise to Barcelna and Manhattan.

The Dans le Noir? eateries follow the example set in 1999 when the Blind-Leicht Foundation opened the restaurant blindekuh (literally, "blind cow," the German name for the children's game "blind man's bluff") in Zurich, Switzerland.  The Blind-Leicht Foundation was started the year before by Stefan Zappa, a visually impaired psychologist, and three other blind people, to develop programs that "foster the integration, dialogue and mutual understanding between the sighted and the blind."  In 2008, more than half of the Foundation's employees were visually impaired.

WHAT IS BLIND DINING?

The tables are turned in a blind dining experience.  Sighted patrons are dependent on visually impaired servers to guide them through an unlit dining room (and to the restroom if needed, which is lighted) to their table where they will eat in complete darkness.

The Dans le Noir? restaurants offer four categories of meal selections:  fish and seafood, vegetarian, meat, and chef's surprise (a combination?).  Afterwards, diners are encouraged to guess what they have eaten.  At the blindekuh (the name is in all lowercase), customers choose from a menu before entering the dining room.

Both restaurant chains are happy to accommodate special dietary needs.  And both profess that "blind dining" not only frees the other senses, it improves interaction between the sighted and the blind or visually impaired.

So, Mr. Knowlton, this "gimmick" of being served by visually impaired wait staff in a pitch black room is more than just a theme concept designed to draw in paying customers hungry for a new fad.

Blind dining is a daring business model, calculated to raise our consciousness, which seems to me to be worth the risk of a less-than-perfect meal.  Given the chance, I look forward to trying it.

Oh, and by the way, blind dining ventures also create jobs for a segment of our population who struggle to find work in a good economy.

Photos Along Eagle Run Trail

We've taken FLD Mike to the cabin, his last trip to northern Michigan before he returns to Leader Dogs for the Blind on Monday. 

After a long hike on the Eagle Run Trails with spectacular views of the Au Sable River, it is a quiet evening in the cabin.

The Eagle Run Trail...

...along the Au Sable, west of Oscoda.

Tall pines.

Inch worm, measuring!

 

 

Purple flower, not yet open.

Wild flower.

Exploded milkpod.

Some kind of blue berries.

Perfect place for a picnic.

Gypsy lost her stick!

"Oh, woe is me!"

A very tired FLD Mike tonight in the cabin.

Tuesday's Training TIP: ADVANCED "LEAVE IT"

Witnessed on Labor Day:  11-month-old, intact (unneutered) male black lab walks through Meijer's and ignores miscellaneous stuff on the floor.

What?!  How did this happen?

Puppy-raiser patti remarks, I'm amazed myself.  My arm usually gets a workout keeping FLD Mike's nose off the floor.  I wish I had a nickel for every time I said LEAVE IT to him.  I have been trying to break him from lunging after stuff, but I wasn't seeing any progress.  Until today!

What did patti do?  Find out here...

ADVANCED "LEAVE IT"

Once your Future Leader Dog puppy starts to understand the LEAVE IT command, you can wean him/her off treats, and reward with praise instead.  But when you expand the command into public places with more distractions and temptations (like the grocery store, if you are raising a puppy for Leader Dogs for the Blind, or on a busy downtown street if you are not), you might need to reintroduce a food reward.

Here are some tips on how to work on LEAVE IT in stores, as I finally did with FLD Mike.

• Bring a helper.

Don't try to do your shopping alone with your puppy, you will need to concentrate on what your puppy is doing.  Either work your puppy in the store without shopping, or bring someone to use your list and push your cart.  My mistake of having shopping as my first objective when I took FLD Mike with me led to frustrations with him trying to pick up every little thing he saw (and a sore forearm).

• Prepare yourself.

Have a pocket of food morsels, or use a "highly-valued" treat such as Snausages or some other delectable dog snack (break them into small pieces).  Heel your puppy slowly through the store.  Don't worry about staging a temptation; trust me, there will be plenty.  Scout ahead.

• Give your puppy a chance to decide.

When you spot something you know your puppy will lunge for, keep your leash short enough so he/she cannot reach it, but let your puppy make a decision before saying anything.

• If your puppy decides to go for it, give the command, LEAVE IT.

Hold the leash so as to prevent him/her from reaching it.  Only say the command ONE TIME!

• If your puppy ignores it, give a lot of PRAISE! 

• Reward with a treat.

Hold your puppy from reaching the item until he/she looks at you.  THEN reward with the special treat.  Praise!

• REPEAT.  REPEAT.  REPEAT.

 

• Distract your puppy.

After your puppy gets the idea of "leave it" in this setting, try other tactics to divert his/her attention from the floor temptations.  Tap your puppy's side with your finger.  Practice name recognition.  Talk to your puppy--Good boy, Mike!  You are so good to be walking like this without grabbing everything!  And such a nice heel, too!  Use your most expressive voice; this is actually a very good method to keep strangers from dive-bombing your puppy!  When they see your effort and the attention our puppy is giving you, they will not want to interfere with your training.

I followed this process several times in different stores and thought I wasn't making ANY progress.  Until yesterday, when Andy and I took FLD Mike to Meijer's to pick up a watermelon and a few other last-minute snacks for our family picnic.

I was surprised when Mike sniffed at but then ignored miscellaneous scraps of vegetable matter without a word from me.  Later, in the snack aisle, he made a move toward some peanuts on the floor--I said LEAVE IT and he did!  Good boy, Mike!

There is hope for him yet.  Oh, I mean me, hope for me!