Day Eleven: Step Back From That Ledge My Friend
This morning, we headed for Pasadena at about 8:00. It was a two hour trip, and when we got there, we headed right for the train platform. The capacity to logic, learn and process that these dogs have is incredible to me. Even though I have trained dogs how to do this work, it still totally amazes me how smart they are!
They understand that the edge of the platform is always no bueno if there is no train currently pulled up. If they are asked to go forward while facing the platform, they will not get much more than two feet from the edge. If the handler insists that the dog keep going, he will hold his ground and will turn right in front of the handler to put himself between his person and the drop-off. If his dense handler keeps insisting that he move forward, he will go, but he will finish his right turn and he will walk parallel to the platform while placing himself between his person and the edge.
If the team is traveling with the tracks and drop-off to the right and the handler requests a right-hand turn, the dog will refuse. Most will drive harder into that forward motion keeping a strong parallel to the tracks, and some will take that right turn, but they will do a complete 180 degree turn to avoid the edge.
Troy was awesome. He refused the forward and wouldn't make a right turn. He showed no stress, but he made it clear that he was calling the shots thank you very much! I could tell he was so proud of himself.
Here is the most impressive part to me. The dogs are taught to respect the edge of that platform. ADA requires this edge to be textured and brightly colored. This marker helps the dogs to know how much distance to give at the edge. The moment that train slows to a stop, though, they are willing and eager to walk onto the train. I think this is incredible and requires a lot of circumstantial learning for the dogs. Little man slipped on, turned left, found the seat when I asked and ignored the person in the seat next to ours. He settled in and snoozed all the way to our stop.
We got off at Union Station, and we were one unit darting and dodging through the crowds. Troy was confident and ready to take on all the challenges Las Angeles threw at us.
We worked a short route to Olivera Street which is an old cobbled road with only pedestrian traffic. It is very crowded and has a lot of little vendor booths and restaurants. Troy slowed when there wasn't room for us to get through, and he ignored several people who asked or didn't ask to pet him. That's my boy! We went to a little taco stand for lunch, and it was delicious. We had tiny tables and benches and big black Labradors. They tucked themselves in impressively, and we enjoyed ourselves.
After lunch, we did some more work around that area. I bought a little stone carving of a dog, and we did a lot of high pedestrian and vehicle traffic areas. We even worked under an overpass which was something I had never done before. It was loud and narrow. The traffic was very close, and a bus passed us. We were on the right side of the street, so when the bus came through, it passed right from behind Troy's left shoulder. He pushed me right away from the bus and just kept zipping along. It didn't seem to phase him a bit, and I was really impressed by his quick thinking! We would have been safe if he hadn't made the move, but that doesn't mean his judgment was off. I am so glad he is looking out for me!
We worked back to the station, got back to Pasadena, came home and had some down time. Well, in theory we had down time, but I have been trying to get caught up on some work, so I didn't rest much.
After dinner, I accidentally took a nap, and now here I am. It is amazing to me to think that we just have two more days of training and then we will be graduating and heading home.
Troy tidbits for the day:
1. He is really ticklish between his back toes.
2. He always wags when I touch his harness.
3. If I try to give him a little space to cool off, he will find his way back to holding my feet down in a matter of minutes.
4. He likes to rest his head on my shoulder and nibble my ear when I kneel down to give him snuggles.
They understand that the edge of the platform is always no bueno if there is no train currently pulled up. If they are asked to go forward while facing the platform, they will not get much more than two feet from the edge. If the handler insists that the dog keep going, he will hold his ground and will turn right in front of the handler to put himself between his person and the drop-off. If his dense handler keeps insisting that he move forward, he will go, but he will finish his right turn and he will walk parallel to the platform while placing himself between his person and the edge.
If the team is traveling with the tracks and drop-off to the right and the handler requests a right-hand turn, the dog will refuse. Most will drive harder into that forward motion keeping a strong parallel to the tracks, and some will take that right turn, but they will do a complete 180 degree turn to avoid the edge.
Troy was awesome. He refused the forward and wouldn't make a right turn. He showed no stress, but he made it clear that he was calling the shots thank you very much! I could tell he was so proud of himself.
Here is the most impressive part to me. The dogs are taught to respect the edge of that platform. ADA requires this edge to be textured and brightly colored. This marker helps the dogs to know how much distance to give at the edge. The moment that train slows to a stop, though, they are willing and eager to walk onto the train. I think this is incredible and requires a lot of circumstantial learning for the dogs. Little man slipped on, turned left, found the seat when I asked and ignored the person in the seat next to ours. He settled in and snoozed all the way to our stop.
We got off at Union Station, and we were one unit darting and dodging through the crowds. Troy was confident and ready to take on all the challenges Las Angeles threw at us.
We worked a short route to Olivera Street which is an old cobbled road with only pedestrian traffic. It is very crowded and has a lot of little vendor booths and restaurants. Troy slowed when there wasn't room for us to get through, and he ignored several people who asked or didn't ask to pet him. That's my boy! We went to a little taco stand for lunch, and it was delicious. We had tiny tables and benches and big black Labradors. They tucked themselves in impressively, and we enjoyed ourselves.
After lunch, we did some more work around that area. I bought a little stone carving of a dog, and we did a lot of high pedestrian and vehicle traffic areas. We even worked under an overpass which was something I had never done before. It was loud and narrow. The traffic was very close, and a bus passed us. We were on the right side of the street, so when the bus came through, it passed right from behind Troy's left shoulder. He pushed me right away from the bus and just kept zipping along. It didn't seem to phase him a bit, and I was really impressed by his quick thinking! We would have been safe if he hadn't made the move, but that doesn't mean his judgment was off. I am so glad he is looking out for me!
We worked back to the station, got back to Pasadena, came home and had some down time. Well, in theory we had down time, but I have been trying to get caught up on some work, so I didn't rest much.
After dinner, I accidentally took a nap, and now here I am. It is amazing to me to think that we just have two more days of training and then we will be graduating and heading home.
Troy tidbits for the day:
1. He is really ticklish between his back toes.
2. He always wags when I touch his harness.
3. If I try to give him a little space to cool off, he will find his way back to holding my feet down in a matter of minutes.
4. He likes to rest his head on my shoulder and nibble my ear when I kneel down to give him snuggles.