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<BR>Hi Ken:<BR>
<BR>
I believe that your resolution makes some assumptions and state those assumptions as fact, for example, that food rewards make guide dogs more solicitous of food, or that it is "messy". <BR>
<BR>
I agree with Michael that training doesn't stop when you leave the school. It's an ongoing process. It also includes reinforcing already learned training. <BR>
<BR>
Food rewards is one of many tools a user can choose. Some schools use food rewards as a tool and some don't. Think of it as a sort of currriculum choice. If you don't like the curriculum a school uses, you can choose to go to a different school. <BR>
<BR>
<BR>
SHANNON L. DILLON<BR><BR><BR> <BR>
<HR id=stopSpelling>
From: kenvolonte@comcast.net<BR>To: mwillows@sbcglobal.net<BR>Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:46:10 -0700<BR>CC: cagdu@nfbcal.org<BR>Subject: [Cagdu] food rewards Resolution 2.doc<BR><BR>
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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Food Rewards Resolution</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Ken Volonte</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN> </SPAN>Whereas guide dogs have been in the public eye for more than eighty years, and;</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN> </SPAN>Whereas these guides have been bread to please their handlers, and;</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN> </SPAN>Whereas some few guide dog schools now use food rewards in order to reinforce physical praise, and;</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN> </SPAN>Whereas such use of food rewards may be entirely appropriate and necessary during the initial training of the dogs for guide work, and;</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN> </SPAN>Whereas any dog must be rewarded within 1 second of catching a desired behavior, and;</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Whereas use of food rewards in combination with the clicker is impractical because the time from behavior to reward is more than 2.5 seconds, and;</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Whereas use of food rewards is inconvenient and messy and interferes with the relationship between dog and handler because the dog will not generalize situations, but will instead be focused on trying to get a kibble, and</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Whereas use of food rewards in public will lead to the erroneous perception that we are training our guide dog from scratch for others, and;</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN> </SPAN>Whereas use of food rewards has the unintended consequence of making the dogs more solicitous of food:</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=ecxMsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN> </SPAN>Now therefore be it resolved that the National Federation of the Blind of California request that guide dog <SPAN class=ecxGramE>schools <SPAN> </SPAN>offer</SPAN> the use of food rewards as a tool rather than as an imperative.</SPAN></FONT></P></DIV><BR>_______________________________________________ Cagdu mailing list Cagdu@nfbcal.org https://www.nfbcal.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/cagdu </body>
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