4th Update on Guide Dog Puppy - Sage.
Ace Canine have sponsored Guide Dog Puppies for lots of years. We enjoy watching their development as they progress through puppy school and ultimately make an incredible difference to a person with sight loss to live their life exactly as they choose.
Sage is our current puppy, this update comes from Victoria Sage's trainer.
Sage’s confidence has improved, and she’s mastered the ‘head in’ cue; she eagerly puts her head through the harness. We are using a brown training harness which is a piece of equipment, typically made of leather, and designed to be comfortable for the dog. It features a handle to teach the dog how to guide and create the right guiding tension.
Harness walks
Each day, Sage and I practise the skills she’s learnt in real-life situations. I previously talked about the skill platforms which set the basis for Sage learning how to walk in a straight line and indicate changes in terrain by stopping at kerbs. On our training walks, Sage puts this skill into practice; she’ll guide me along a footpath, stopping when we get to the end of a road. When it’s safe to cross, she’ll indicate there’s a step down by pausing with her front two paws on the road and her back two still on the kerb. This helps me feel, through the harness, that there’s a step down. Sage will also do this on the other side of the road when there’s an up-kerb. She’s a fantastic girl, and I’m amazed at how much she’s learnt and how quickly.
New skills
Before moving on to advanced training, Sage will learn a total of 37 skills; some of these she’s already learnt, and I’ll teach her the remainder in the coming months.
She’s fantastic and is picking everything up quickly. One new skill we’re working on is called ‘intelligent disobedience’, which is when I teach Sage to refuse a cue because it’s unsafe.
An example might be when I ask Sage to cross a road, but a car is coming. A guide dog owner decides when it’s safe to cross, but Sage also needs to look out for unheard obstacles, such as electric cars. Sage will learn to refuse this cue by turning around to indicate that it’s not safe to continue forward. It’s called intelligent disobedience because Sage hasn’t done what I’ve asked, but she’s done it for a valid reason. It’s tough to teach, but Sage is picking it up well.
Chill time
Every dog needs to have downtime as it helps to embed their learning and gives them a chance to relax. Sage loves to do this by having a ‘sniff break’. When we reach an appropriate grassy area during a harness walk, I’ll give her the cue ‘go sniff’. This lets her know that she can sniff the area, which is a relaxing and calming activity for dogs. The best way to describe it is like a breathing exercise for humans or popping on the kettle to make your favourite hot drink.
The highlight of any day for Sage is her free runs; she loves to run and play with her fellow dogs in training. They have so much fun chasing each other and playing tug with rope toys. It’s like playtime during the school day: lots of running, chatter and fun to be had!
Up next
Sage is such a great girl, I’m so proud of the progress she’s making. In the coming months I’ll continue consolidating all her skills and improving her confidence in every situation. The next Sage update is June. Thank you Victoria.
You can find out more about sponsoring a Guide Dog Puppy here.
