Maintaining a Straight Line of Travel

[Lisa Belville]

Hi, all.


I'm currently working my fourth dog, my second from GDA.  I am wondering
if this is just a new thing or if I'm misremembering how things were
back in the day, and by that I mean late '90's/to around 2015 or so. 
All three of my dogs, two from GDF and my first from GDA could maintain
a straight line, that is, if there wasn't a sidewalk or shoreline they
could walk me in mostly a straight line.  This also included walking in
a parking lot between a row of cars.  I'm noticing that my new dog isn't
so great at this.  Do schools no longer teach this concept?  As a person
with no usable vision knowing my dog can maintain a straight line is
very helpful to me, especially as I'm in an area where there are plenty
of wide driveways and parking lots and not always well-maintained
sidewalks.  GDA has told me to pay attention to my body positioning, but
again, as a total it's still difficult to be conscious of this,
particularly if there is a lull in my parallel traffic.


Any ideas on how I can help my dog with this concept, or is it just one
of those ancient guide dog things that is no longer emphasized as much.


Thanks in advance for everyone's thoughts.


Lisa and Dahlia


--

Lisa Belville
misskt...@frontier.com

[carc...@access.net]

-----Original Message-----
From: carc...@access.net <carc...@access.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 1, 2025 1:00 PM
To: 'Lisa Belville' <misskt...@frontier.com>
Subject: RE: [NAGDU-Discuss] Maintaining a Straight Line of Travel

Hi Lisa.
I remember during training at GDB many moons ago that my dog might wander a bit into a parking lot that took up a long stretch of sidewalk, but mostly they went straight, and my current TSE dog goes straight. However, it is easy for those of us who've had dogs for a long time to start over-walking the dog, or accidentally push them one way or another.
So be careful that you're staying in position with your dog, not creeping up or dropping back, and that you've got good tension in the harness, and that you're holding the harness straight and at the right angle.
I had a dog who was very sensitive to how I held the harness. If I didn't have it centered over her back, she would tend to veer. Maybe your new dog is like that.
Anyway, those are mistakes I've made, so they might be helpful to you.
It takes a lot of thought, but then you adjust and it's OK.
Good luck.
Tracy

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[Al Elia]

Lisa – your dog may be veering to aim for a down/up curb or to offer a perceived option for a destination/turn. It may also be avoiding perceived obstacles that aren’t actually dangerous (e.g., overhanging trees that aren’t too low for you but may have been too low for their taller trainer).

It may be difficult to figure out if this is what is happening. You may have to use Aira or a sighted companion to help figure it out if a trainer is not available, though you may be able to video-chat with a trainer in lieu of Aira.

This happened with my second dog – he always veered to up/down curbs when he saw one within about 30 degrees off of straight, and sometimes wider when crossing parking lots, where my prior dog presumed I wanted to go straight even if that meant having to step up at a curb. Took an intervention from a trainer to help me understand that he was actually doing a good job and that my attempts to correct him were counter-productive. I eventually got used to it with him, and now praise my fourth dog when I realize thats what he’s doing. It does mean I have to keep my head turned in the direction I want to go sometimes so I don’t get too turned-off of true, but I deal with that rather than confuse the dog.

Good luck.

/Æ

[Lisa Belville]

Thanks, Tracy.  We've only been together for a few months, so some of
this might work itself as time goes by.  it is frustrating, though.


Lisa


Lisa Belville
misskt...@frontier.com

On 7/1/2025 11:59 AM, carc...@access.net wrote:
> Hi Lisa.
> I remember during training at GDB many moons ago that my dog might wander a bit into a parking lot that took up a long stretch of sidewalk, but mostly they went straight, and my current TSE dog goes straight. However, it is easy for those of us who've had dogs for a long time to start over-walking the dog, or accidentally push them one way or another.
> So be careful that you're staying in position with your dog, not creeping up or dropping back, and that you've got good tension in the harness, and that you're holding the harness straight and at the right angle.
> I had a dog who was very sensitive to how I held the harness. If I didn't have it centered over her back, she would tend to veer. Maybe your new dog is like that.
> Anyway, those are mistakes I've made, so they might be helpful to you.
> It takes a lot of thought, but then you adjust and it's OK.
> Good luck.
> Tracy
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lisa Belville <misskt...@frontier.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, July 1, 2025 12:26 PM
> To: dis...@nagdu.org
> Subject: [NAGDU-Discuss] Maintaining a Straight Line of Travel
>

[Lisa Belville]

Hi, Al.


I wish this were the case.  The areas I'm having difficulty with are
wide parking lots on sidewalks where there isn't a defined curb; it's
very blended.  I've done some of these with a sighted person, and I've
given her treats when she stays reasonably straight and locates the
sidewalk on the other side of the parking lot.  I have a good stream of
parallel traffic, so I can usually tell when the drift happens, though
not immediately as it happens.  GDA is very big on stressing body
positioning for their handlers, so I know what you mean about difficulty
with always keeping your head and shoulders facing the direction you
need to go.


Lisa Belville
misskt...@frontier.com