PICKING UP TOUGH SKILLS
Once Eve learnt how to manage distractions, she surprised Teng with how clever she was in picking up the hard abilities to be a guide dog.
One of the fundamental things she need to do is walk consistently in a straight range. When an obstacle is within her way, she should avoid it and return to her original, straight route afterwards.
And yes it turned out that the girl was good at solving this problem early within her training, said Teng. For example , whenever all sides of her path were blocked, she naturally did a U-turn and tried searching for another way through.
“When she’s focusing on what she’s carrying out, she can do quite a good job, ” mentioned Teng, who never ever held back the girl compliments when Eve did well, so that the pup knew this.
Pats on the head, ear rubs and a resounding “good girl! ” are the positive reinforcements Teng uses in training. Food is not utilized, she said, because it presents a muddiness, especially when the dogs are expected to guide their handlers in shopping centres, where food is abundant.
As Eve got better in following instructions, like taking her lefts and rights and stopping at kerbs, she levelled as much as “complex” training environments — busy casing estates, bus interchanges, shopping centres and the city centre — where there are more people and sounds.
She also learnt to find and familiarise herself with escalators, lifts and doorways to help her handler navigate indoor areas.