There are probably as many methods of dog training as there are dogs (or at least as many as there are dog trainers!). Koehler , Barbara Woodhouse , Carol Lea Benjamin , Wendy Volhard , Karen Pryor , Ian Dunbar and of course, the latest - The Dog Whisperer .

Guiding Eyes for the Blind uses its own techniques that have evolved over 50 years of observing what works for the dogs and their partners. A keyword, "Yes", tells the dog immediately that their action was the one desired, along with a reward of kibble, play, or petting. Sometimes this is a natural behavior that is encouraged, similar to the operant conditioning used with dolphins. Sometimes they are lured into an action that they might not already do. In either case, while training, desired behavior is rewarded and incorrect actions are ignored. Because guide dogs may some day have to disobey a command , they learn to think as much as to obey; figuring out what we want them to do is a great learning exercise.

Has your dog ever bolted out the door when you open it? Rather than tell Paxton to sit at the door, he figured out that he should sit at the door and wait until I release him to go through. To begin, I walked up to a door and lured him into a sit . Then I rewarded him with the lure. We repeated this until he "got it", then gradually added touching the door handle, opening the door a little bit, and finally walking through. At each stage, I rewarded after the desired behavior. If he moves before I'm ready, I simply close the door and start over - remember, no correction for not doing it "right". (This technique also worked with my cat, Moses, which I used as a surrogate for practice before Paxton arrived.)

Paxton gets a lot of practice at work on this exercise!

This was taken with the "Puppy Cam" Kodak Z612 donated by the Interoperability Lab.

Labs are always ready to eat, so when feeding time rolls around it could be me that ends up rolling on the floor as the dog knocks me over to get his food. In Paxton's case, he waits patiently until I put the bowl down and release him. Why? From the first time I fed him, I lured him into a sit with his full bowl. Then I put the bowl down. If he moved out of his sit, I simply lifted the bowl back up to where it was before he got up. He was quick to figure out that if he stayed sitting, he'd get to his food much faster! The foundation for this was laid at GEB when the pups first began eating solid food. It's never to early (or too late!) for them to begin learning.

I took this with the camera in one hand and bowl of food in the other.

I tried to use the GorillaPod with the Z612 to show the exercise from Paxton's point of view, but I need a smaller camera or a bigger GorillaPod! Or maybe a pug???

Are you kidding me?

Another thing to remember about all dog training - when you teach an exercise in one location, then move to another, it's like a new exercise for the dog. Each different type of door, handle, etc is different to the dog. It takes them a while to generalize. We are supposed to expose the pups to new things every day, keeping in mind their confidence and maturity level. Bringing Paxton to work with me has given us a great training field of different sized rooms, different sounds, doors, knobs, stairs and floor surfaces - oh, and people! People with hats, aprons, gloves, boots, glasses, lots of hair, no hair, facial hair, suits, and crutches. People of different sizes, shapes, colors and accents. Lots of people - and they all love to help Paxton socialize!

I also often feed him at work using different bowls and locations - his metal bowl in my office, a disposable paper bowl in the conference room, his fabric travel bowl outside. I can almost hear him thinking - "Oops, gotta sit - there she goes - it's almost down - uh oh, false start - butt back on the floor - almost there - I'm FREEEE! - yes, food, yum - um, is that all there is?!"

Sometimes he learns something I didn't mean to teach. When Paxton takes something he shouldn't, instead of chasing him I call him and put my left hand under his mouth. I have a treat in my right hand and as he drops the item to receive the treat, I say, "give it". Seems simple enough, right? Well recently I was packing for a trip and he began taking things from across the room and bringing them to me on his own with the expectation of a reward for dropping the item in my hand!

Training a dog to think and work with you requires patience and creativity, but based on the results so far, it's well worth it!

Picture taken by Jay Shelosfsky with his Canon EOS 30D at 1/640s, ISO 250. with flash .

At Home: Having had dogs of my own for most of my life, home is not much different with Paxton. I am more paranoid about doing something to "break" him and ruin his guide dog career - allowing him to do something that might be merely annoying in a pet, but would be a career-breaker for a guide dog. And having a new puppy is certainly different than an adult dog, just ask Washington!

With his beloved Kelsey

Paxton also receives nightly body handling - massage, nails, teeth, and ears that my own dogs did not get so religiously.

In the Car: Guide dogs ride on the floor of the passenger seat, under their partner's feet. So instead of noseprints on the back windows, I have pawprints on the console and hair on the floor mat.

This is how he's supposed to ride...

This is how I found him one day in the time it took me to get around the car - "We need a convertible!"

At Church: Although I occasionally brought my pets to church at other times, they never came to a service. With some grumbling (you know who you are!), everyone is joining in the training-by-ignoring that is so hard for people but really is a big part of his training and success. After the first few services, Paxton has a routine: he goes to "his spot" and curls up for a nap, not waking up until it's time for fellowship afterwards. He did start dreaming once, and yipping in his sleep, but only a few rows heard him...at least he doesn't snore during the sermon!

Meditation pose.

At Work: I have to plan ahead more - leaving enough time beforehand to ensure that Paxton has a walk before I attend a long meeting. I can't go into just any entrance in a building - we can't go through automated turnstiles and have to find a manned entrance. And if there's any distance in the halls to walk, I need to add in time for people stopping me to admire Paxton or ask questions.

I have more of a routine at work now. We walk or play in the morning, then he naps in his crate or under my desk. We walk at lunch, generally up and down the halls (of our LONG building) and he gets lots of exposure to people, forklifts, carts, etc. He naps most of the afternoon. If I'm working later, as happens more often now that I don't have to run home to let the dog out, then he eats at work and plays until it's time to go home - not always quietly, last night at 5:30 pm Paxton let out two short sharp barks and a voice from over the wall translated "Let's go home!"

Everywhere: I was never a fashion diva, but now every day, my ensemble includes a fanny pack filled with dog accoutrements, and a hip tote filled with training treats.

Treat tote and fanny pack - with towel, toy, hand sanitizer, bags, and paper towels - just in case!

Most everything takes longer as I am training Paxton as well as whatever else it is I'm doing. I need to make sure Paxton is not pulling things from low shelves, picking up trash off the floor, or sniffing someone walking by. There are always questions from or education of passersby. That's an aspect that I had not thought about - educating the public about interaction with dogs in general and with Assistance Dogs or Guide Dogs in particular. A basic rule of thumb - always ask the person before interacting with their dog.

And of course the biggest change is that people used to greet me upon meeting...now the greeting is more often "Hello Paxton! How's the sweet boy?" smile - smile - smile - look up - "oh, hi Robbin..." - sheepish grin. Ok, that's SLIGHTLY tongue-in-cheek...but only slightly!