Day 2
Day 2
The second day of training comes to a close on a really good note. The first night together was a little rough. All of the dogs are crate trained so that they are able to sleep in their own little home or be safely secured while visitors are coming in if needed. My previous guides were not crate trained, so I didn’t think to zip up the fabric crate before going to bed. But after the third wake up attempt with a nose in my face, I decided that this was going to be a long night.
Surprisingly, I was ready for the day when the wake up song “Little Red Riding Hood” came on at 5:30 a.m. Angie was quite happy to wake up to begin the day with her favorite activity thus far which is eating. It is quite funny to watch this little dog eat voraciously and wagging the whole time.
The Seeing Eye may have gotten its roots in Switzerland, but their commitment to working rain, sleet, or snow must have come from the Postal Service. We completed the Maple Street route with good progress in walking together as one team. Because of the rain, there were huge puddles and tree limbs that were lowered due to the weight of the rain. Angie didn’t clear one of them and I corrected with a good shake of the tree. The second attempt was successful! No need to get any wetter than she already was.
Normally, the teams do each route three times, but since I’m trying to catch up with the others, I did the Maple route twice and started the South Street route this afternoon. This route had more obstacles, wider sidewalks, grates on the sidewalks, and increased pedestrian & dog activity. Angie did well on this route as well, though I could tell she was none too pleased to be in the rain. I could tell by her pull and pace being slightly slower. This was something seen by the other teams. We also began incorporating slight corrections for behavioral and work errors. I’m finding that she responds nicely and I am starting to recognize the difference in when she’s focused and when her attention is wandering. There’s so much information that’s conveyed through the harness, that’s difficult to describe.
I am really enjoy seeing the differences in her, that make her Angie. She’s definitely a love bug! She enjoys being touched, playing with the bone, and sitting with me. It’s comforting to know that she is soliciting this attention from me. She also enjoys grooming, which is a blessing! Denver and I always had to argue about how long I was allowed to groom him before he would barrel his way back into the house without me being finished. So I am hoping to build grooming into our daily routine.
My instructor helped me with addressing a concern I had for Angie’s excessive pull on leash on stairs. I have a fear of falling and stairs are a serious matter for me. So while keeping it positive, Angie and I are coming to an agreement on what is an acceptable pace and pull on stairs.
One sweet treat was spending some time with the handler of Angie’s sister, Agnus. Based on all of the descriptions, they both look identical with the exception of color.
We also had two lectures today; a mid-day session on how to give medicines such as pills, ear cleaning, and teeth brushing. This evening’s lecture was on massage. I am so glad we had this session as it was a great opportunity for Angie to trust me and relax from me touching her. Touch is a huge component to the bonding process for any animal, but for our guides this is especially true since we can’t easily gaze into their eyes, read their body language solely based on vision, or respond to their visual cues. She curled up between my legs and totally melted.
Tomorrow, I get to take the training wheels off! I get to work her in the building! This is a huge milestone as the others are now able to move with their guides both inside and outside of the house. It also indicates that she’s able to take on that responsibility. The school is very keen on pinpointing the right moment for each milestone in the relationship as to avoid placing too many responsibility on the new dogs.
The second day of training comes to a close on a really good note. The first night together was a little rough. All of the dogs are crate trained so that they are able to sleep in their own little home or be safely secured while visitors are coming in if needed. My previous guides were not crate trained, so I didn’t think to zip up the fabric crate before going to bed. But after the third wake up attempt with a nose in my face, I decided that this was going to be a long night.
Surprisingly, I was ready for the day when the wake up song “Little Red Riding Hood” came on at 5:30 a.m. Angie was quite happy to wake up to begin the day with her favorite activity thus far which is eating. It is quite funny to watch this little dog eat voraciously and wagging the whole time.
The Seeing Eye may have gotten its roots in Switzerland, but their commitment to working rain, sleet, or snow must have come from the Postal Service. We completed the Maple Street route with good progress in walking together as one team. Because of the rain, there were huge puddles and tree limbs that were lowered due to the weight of the rain. Angie didn’t clear one of them and I corrected with a good shake of the tree. The second attempt was successful! No need to get any wetter than she already was.
Normally, the teams do each route three times, but since I’m trying to catch up with the others, I did the Maple route twice and started the South Street route this afternoon. This route had more obstacles, wider sidewalks, grates on the sidewalks, and increased pedestrian & dog activity. Angie did well on this route as well, though I could tell she was none too pleased to be in the rain. I could tell by her pull and pace being slightly slower. This was something seen by the other teams. We also began incorporating slight corrections for behavioral and work errors. I’m finding that she responds nicely and I am starting to recognize the difference in when she’s focused and when her attention is wandering. There’s so much information that’s conveyed through the harness, that’s difficult to describe.
I am really enjoy seeing the differences in her, that make her Angie. She’s definitely a love bug! She enjoys being touched, playing with the bone, and sitting with me. It’s comforting to know that she is soliciting this attention from me. She also enjoys grooming, which is a blessing! Denver and I always had to argue about how long I was allowed to groom him before he would barrel his way back into the house without me being finished. So I am hoping to build grooming into our daily routine.
My instructor helped me with addressing a concern I had for Angie’s excessive pull on leash on stairs. I have a fear of falling and stairs are a serious matter for me. So while keeping it positive, Angie and I are coming to an agreement on what is an acceptable pace and pull on stairs.
One sweet treat was spending some time with the handler of Angie’s sister, Agnus. Based on all of the descriptions, they both look identical with the exception of color.
We also had two lectures today; a mid-day session on how to give medicines such as pills, ear cleaning, and teeth brushing. This evening’s lecture was on massage. I am so glad we had this session as it was a great opportunity for Angie to trust me and relax from me touching her. Touch is a huge component to the bonding process for any animal, but for our guides this is especially true since we can’t easily gaze into their eyes, read their body language solely based on vision, or respond to their visual cues. She curled up between my legs and totally melted.
Tomorrow, I get to take the training wheels off! I get to work her in the building! This is a huge milestone as the others are now able to move with their guides both inside and outside of the house. It also indicates that she’s able to take on that responsibility. The school is very keen on pinpointing the right moment for each milestone in the relationship as to avoid placing too many responsibility on the new dogs.
Thanks, Denna, for your ongoing blog in this busy time of training Angie. I, for one, am very appreciative of your explanation of your journey. It is fascinating. Continued prayers.
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