We've been home for three months now, and I can't believe how well things are going.
Yesterday, we had our quarterly meeting at work, and Jim got an award for being our stores best friend. All of my coworkers love having a dog around, and are very happy to play with the boy when he's not on duty. His work continues to be great, and he is doing well at navigating me through the city. Mostly, we work around my neighborhood and Georgetown, where my work is located. He is doing a great job at taking me across busy streets, and really handles anything I throw at him. Customers also love Jim, and seem happy to have him in the store.
I am delighted to report that things are going well for me at work as well, and that I am very happy both with work, as well as with my dog. These have been busy, but happy months for both of us, and I am very excited about our progress as a team. I am looking forward to many more years of partnership with my boy, and want again to thank everyone who had a hand in training and raiing him!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Life since returning home
Things are going amazingly for Jim and me! I can't believe we've been home almost two months, or that we've both been gainfully employed for just as long!
Every day we get up and go to work at the Aple Store in Georgetown, where we sell macs, phones, and iPads to customers. Jim continues to do excellent work, and he's become a kind of store mascot. My coworkers love him, and he seems to really enjoy being with me on the sails floor and interacting with customers.
Since coming home we've taken subways, taxis, busses, and done plenty of walking. We've survived a 12 hour day during the iPhone four product launch, had great times with family and friends, and bonded in ways that I didn't think possible until I got Jim. He is my constant companion, my closest friend, and is always with me. We've only been apart for a few minutes at a time since coming home, I know I need to get him used to being alone for longer periods of time, but I just love having him with me and truly believe that he is on his way to becoming the best guide dog I've had!
I can't thank my wonderful puppy raisers, or GDB enough, for all of the work that you have put into training him. I will do my best to get some pictures of Jim at work in his Apple shirt, yes, he's an Apple employee :) he has a blue shirt just like the rest of us :) I need to get a coworker to take a good picture. As soon as I can get one, I'll figure out how to post it here!
I hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for reading, and I'll do my best to keep you jupdated on our adventures!
Every day we get up and go to work at the Aple Store in Georgetown, where we sell macs, phones, and iPads to customers. Jim continues to do excellent work, and he's become a kind of store mascot. My coworkers love him, and he seems to really enjoy being with me on the sails floor and interacting with customers.
Since coming home we've taken subways, taxis, busses, and done plenty of walking. We've survived a 12 hour day during the iPhone four product launch, had great times with family and friends, and bonded in ways that I didn't think possible until I got Jim. He is my constant companion, my closest friend, and is always with me. We've only been apart for a few minutes at a time since coming home, I know I need to get him used to being alone for longer periods of time, but I just love having him with me and truly believe that he is on his way to becoming the best guide dog I've had!
I can't thank my wonderful puppy raisers, or GDB enough, for all of the work that you have put into training him. I will do my best to get some pictures of Jim at work in his Apple shirt, yes, he's an Apple employee :) he has a blue shirt just like the rest of us :) I need to get a coworker to take a good picture. As soon as I can get one, I'll figure out how to post it here!
I hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for reading, and I'll do my best to keep you jupdated on our adventures!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
We're a team!
Jim and I graduated this afternoon! I can't believe how quickly these three weeks have gone! It's been an amazing journey, and today marked a great end to it.
I got to meet all of my puppy raisers, which was great! All three of them are such wonderful people, and I can't thank them enough for all that they've done to raise Jim! They all said such great things about how glad they were that I'd gotten him, and that we were a great team together. Jim has had some great adventures, he went to Big Bear, and various other places in California. he hasn't flown before, so this will be a new experience, but I think he's up to the challenge and will do fine.
After I met my raisers, we had the graduation and everyone gave a brief speach. It was a great time and I really enjoyed listening to my classmates and their puppy raisers.
Once graduation was over, my raisers and I were interviewed by National Geographic for a special they're doing about working dogs. I was asked about getting Jim, my experiences at GDB, and some general questions about what it's like working with a guide dog. My puppy raisers were asked what it was like raising Jim, and whether it was difficult to give him up. I think the interview went well, and the program should be on sometime next year. I will be sure to update and let you know whenit's on!
It was a great day, and now, Jim and I are a team and ready to go home and begin our life together! I am so excited and I will certainly update you all on our progress!
Thanks for following my blog! I really appreciate it, and I'll have my Mom help me add some pictures here when I get home!
I got to meet all of my puppy raisers, which was great! All three of them are such wonderful people, and I can't thank them enough for all that they've done to raise Jim! They all said such great things about how glad they were that I'd gotten him, and that we were a great team together. Jim has had some great adventures, he went to Big Bear, and various other places in California. he hasn't flown before, so this will be a new experience, but I think he's up to the challenge and will do fine.
After I met my raisers, we had the graduation and everyone gave a brief speach. It was a great time and I really enjoyed listening to my classmates and their puppy raisers.
Once graduation was over, my raisers and I were interviewed by National Geographic for a special they're doing about working dogs. I was asked about getting Jim, my experiences at GDB, and some general questions about what it's like working with a guide dog. My puppy raisers were asked what it was like raising Jim, and whether it was difficult to give him up. I think the interview went well, and the program should be on sometime next year. I will be sure to update and let you know whenit's on!
It was a great day, and now, Jim and I are a team and ready to go home and begin our life together! I am so excited and I will certainly update you all on our progress!
Thanks for following my blog! I really appreciate it, and I'll have my Mom help me add some pictures here when I get home!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Training, days 13 and 14
So my formal training with Jim is now completed. I have enjoyed the experience, and it's certainly bitter sweet to be graduating tomorrow!
Yesterday, we went into San Francisco for one final city adventure. We went to peer 39 and Jim did a fabulous job at ignoring the sea lions! He looked at them, but decided that they weren't anything special after a while. After that I had lunch with my instructor at In-N-out, which is this burger place here in California which makes a good quick burger. After that, we took the mini van back to campus and had some great conversation on the way. I have really enjoyed working with everyone here, especially the instructors and Todd, my class supervisor. His wisdom and training experience have really been invaluable to me and he's worked with me pretty extensively on Jim's distraction issues. I really feel that he, more than anyone, has given me the tools to successfully control Jim in situations which cause him to be very excitable.
In the afternoon, I worked with Todd in downtown San Rafael. We worked on Jim's excitement level when people come and greet me. Todd was so funny when he imitated an excited woman, put on a high pitched voice and said, "Oh my god! Olivia! It is so wonderful to see you!" This got Jim totally excited and we had to do some corrections to calm him down. He responded well to the corrections, and I really feel that I can manage his distraction level with out any issues. I also talked to my other puppy raiser last night, and we discussed some of the tools she'd used to calm him down, so that was very helpful. It was awesome to talk to her and I'm so glad that both of my raisers want contact with me, and that they're coming to graduation tomorrow.
Today, we went to Muir Woods in the morning, and I worked with Todd and Angie to get some more practice with Jim's distractions in the afternoon. It was really neat to be able to work with Angie for a bit, Todd called her and told her to get really excited to see me, so she did, and Jim was excited, but Angie and Todd both said I used good handling and controled him just fine. After one correction he was able to keep his position and did what he was told. I was pleased!
Muir Woods was beautiful, it was great working on the trail and just being with nature. I have some pictures on my iPhone, and I hope they came out. When I get honme, I would like someone to go through my phone and pick out the good photos of my experiences here.
This afternoon, I also found out that National Geographic wants to interview me for a speecial they're doing on working dogs. They're going to be on campus filming graduation tomorrow and afterwards, they'll interview me about my experience getting Jim, they'll also interview my raisers about their experiences raising him. It should be a lot of fun. They could only pick one student from class to interview, and I was so honored that they chose me! Thre are so many great people here, and I feel that any of the nine of us could do a great job, but Todd, apparently, picked me out along with the marketing department. I also found out that someone in Maryland who made a generous donation to GDB wanted to sponcer a guide dog team from the Washington area. This basically means that her money went to some of the cost of training Jim for me. I am very greatful to her, and other people like her, who have contributed funds to give us these wonderful dogs.
This isn't a pitch for GDB, well, OK, it kind of is, but if you're insterested in giving money visit their website at
http://www.guidedogs.com
I am ready for bed, but I wanted to be sure that I posted and let you all know what's been going on here. Thank you for following me on this training journey with Jim. I will do my best to post tomorrow night after graduation! I'll also let you know how things are going once I get home!
Yesterday, we went into San Francisco for one final city adventure. We went to peer 39 and Jim did a fabulous job at ignoring the sea lions! He looked at them, but decided that they weren't anything special after a while. After that I had lunch with my instructor at In-N-out, which is this burger place here in California which makes a good quick burger. After that, we took the mini van back to campus and had some great conversation on the way. I have really enjoyed working with everyone here, especially the instructors and Todd, my class supervisor. His wisdom and training experience have really been invaluable to me and he's worked with me pretty extensively on Jim's distraction issues. I really feel that he, more than anyone, has given me the tools to successfully control Jim in situations which cause him to be very excitable.
In the afternoon, I worked with Todd in downtown San Rafael. We worked on Jim's excitement level when people come and greet me. Todd was so funny when he imitated an excited woman, put on a high pitched voice and said, "Oh my god! Olivia! It is so wonderful to see you!" This got Jim totally excited and we had to do some corrections to calm him down. He responded well to the corrections, and I really feel that I can manage his distraction level with out any issues. I also talked to my other puppy raiser last night, and we discussed some of the tools she'd used to calm him down, so that was very helpful. It was awesome to talk to her and I'm so glad that both of my raisers want contact with me, and that they're coming to graduation tomorrow.
Today, we went to Muir Woods in the morning, and I worked with Todd and Angie to get some more practice with Jim's distractions in the afternoon. It was really neat to be able to work with Angie for a bit, Todd called her and told her to get really excited to see me, so she did, and Jim was excited, but Angie and Todd both said I used good handling and controled him just fine. After one correction he was able to keep his position and did what he was told. I was pleased!
Muir Woods was beautiful, it was great working on the trail and just being with nature. I have some pictures on my iPhone, and I hope they came out. When I get honme, I would like someone to go through my phone and pick out the good photos of my experiences here.
This afternoon, I also found out that National Geographic wants to interview me for a speecial they're doing on working dogs. They're going to be on campus filming graduation tomorrow and afterwards, they'll interview me about my experience getting Jim, they'll also interview my raisers about their experiences raising him. It should be a lot of fun. They could only pick one student from class to interview, and I was so honored that they chose me! Thre are so many great people here, and I feel that any of the nine of us could do a great job, but Todd, apparently, picked me out along with the marketing department. I also found out that someone in Maryland who made a generous donation to GDB wanted to sponcer a guide dog team from the Washington area. This basically means that her money went to some of the cost of training Jim for me. I am very greatful to her, and other people like her, who have contributed funds to give us these wonderful dogs.
This isn't a pitch for GDB, well, OK, it kind of is, but if you're insterested in giving money visit their website at
http://www.guidedogs.com
I am ready for bed, but I wanted to be sure that I posted and let you all know what's been going on here. Thank you for following me on this training journey with Jim. I will do my best to post tomorrow night after graduation! I'll also let you know how things are going once I get home!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Training, day 12
Today was a good day for Jim and me. We went to the airport in the morning, and worked on some practice with clicker training in the afternoon. We also had a night route where we worked from the downtown lounge in San Rafael to this icecream store called 31 flavors. Jim did really well on the route, until we saw these girls who my instructor told me were stoned or drunk. They started yelling at me about my guide dog, and I was at a tricky point in the route with a really flat curb. It was also an area that I hadn't been to before, so that posed a bit of a challenge, but after an instructor helped get me back on the right track we were fine and finished the route with absolutely no problems. I was very pleased to see how well Jim did in that situation, even though we were both a bit discombobulated we were able to work through things and figure them out.
When I got back, I talked to one of Jim's puppy raisers. He was raised by two families, one who had him for most of the time, and another who took him at the end to help him with his distraction issues greeting people. Both of them are such great people, and I am so excited to meet them all! I am really greatful for all that they've done, and for the fact that they have both worked so hard to turn him into the wonderful boy that heis today! If it weren't for all their love and dedication he wouldn't be going home on Saturday to join me in my crazy and hectic life working at Apple. LOL, both of his puppy rasing families are loyal mac users so we joked that he was just meant to be an Apple dog. :)
Well, I think that's aboutit. Tomorrow, we head into San Francisco one more time, and do something in San Rafael in the afternoon. I can't believe that we only have two more days of training left. This time has just flown, and going home will be really exciting, but there will also be a bit of sadness. I've enjoyed this experience so much, loved my instructors, made some good friends, and most importantly, gotten a wonderful dog! I am very excited to take on the world with Jim at my side, and I know that we will work well together for many years to come!
When I got back, I talked to one of Jim's puppy raisers. He was raised by two families, one who had him for most of the time, and another who took him at the end to help him with his distraction issues greeting people. Both of them are such great people, and I am so excited to meet them all! I am really greatful for all that they've done, and for the fact that they have both worked so hard to turn him into the wonderful boy that heis today! If it weren't for all their love and dedication he wouldn't be going home on Saturday to join me in my crazy and hectic life working at Apple. LOL, both of his puppy rasing families are loyal mac users so we joked that he was just meant to be an Apple dog. :)
Well, I think that's aboutit. Tomorrow, we head into San Francisco one more time, and do something in San Rafael in the afternoon. I can't believe that we only have two more days of training left. This time has just flown, and going home will be really exciting, but there will also be a bit of sadness. I've enjoyed this experience so much, loved my instructors, made some good friends, and most importantly, gotten a wonderful dog! I am very excited to take on the world with Jim at my side, and I know that we will work well together for many years to come!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Training, day 11
Today marked day 11 of training. Jim and I went to Berkeley, worked around the UC Berkeley campus, and went on a very long route in Downtown San Rafael. I think that today was his best day yet; I noticed a lot of improvement in his sniffing and distraction level. He responded to corrections well, and did not need his gentle leader at all today. When we were on campus he did a great job of finding his line and working through paths.
In the afternoon, he worked through a Wholefoods, and a Petco with a lot of success. He followed my instructor beautifuly in the petstore, and did very well in the grocery store when he was surrounded by a great deal of bread and bagles. Again, I was proud of him! We walked all the way back from the east end of San Rafael, under the 101, and worked our way back to the Downtown Lounge, which is on fourth street between F and E. I got him a toy in the petstore, it's a bone with a rope on the end, and he seems to love playing with it. It was his first present from me, and I feel like he deserves it because he's been working very hard for me over the past two weeks. I will have to work him to the petstore at home, to keep his distraction skills up to date.
When we got back, I hung out with some friends, went to an Applebees for dinner, and took it easy for the rest of the evening. I can't believe that I graduate on Saturday afternoon. Just, how'd that happen? It seemed like such a long time, and now my three weeks is winding down. It will be nice to get home, but as I've said before I will miss the Bay Area a great deal, and am already trying to figure out when I might be able to get back here to visit friends.
Well, I think that's about all I've got. Tomorrow we go to the airport and see how that works before we fly home, not sure what's going on for the rest of the day.
I hope everyone's doing well! Thanks for reading, as always!
In the afternoon, he worked through a Wholefoods, and a Petco with a lot of success. He followed my instructor beautifuly in the petstore, and did very well in the grocery store when he was surrounded by a great deal of bread and bagles. Again, I was proud of him! We walked all the way back from the east end of San Rafael, under the 101, and worked our way back to the Downtown Lounge, which is on fourth street between F and E. I got him a toy in the petstore, it's a bone with a rope on the end, and he seems to love playing with it. It was his first present from me, and I feel like he deserves it because he's been working very hard for me over the past two weeks. I will have to work him to the petstore at home, to keep his distraction skills up to date.
When we got back, I hung out with some friends, went to an Applebees for dinner, and took it easy for the rest of the evening. I can't believe that I graduate on Saturday afternoon. Just, how'd that happen? It seemed like such a long time, and now my three weeks is winding down. It will be nice to get home, but as I've said before I will miss the Bay Area a great deal, and am already trying to figure out when I might be able to get back here to visit friends.
Well, I think that's about all I've got. Tomorrow we go to the airport and see how that works before we fly home, not sure what's going on for the rest of the day.
I hope everyone's doing well! Thanks for reading, as always!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Training, day 10
I can't believe I've been here for two weeks, and that this marks day ten of training. Today, we went into San Francisco and worked around the Embarcadero neighborhood. Jim did great when we rode the BART from Montgomery street to Embarcadero and he seemed to like the escalators. We also practiced revolving doors in a large office building on California street, and for some reason, this got my boy really excited. He was galoping in harness and it was very funny, but I had to take a second in the lobby to calm him down before we worked out to the next set of revolving doors where he did better. We also got "fun facts" about our dogs when they were puppies today. Apparently, Jim lived with a cat, which is awesome because it means he should be good with cats. He slept in a crate in the bedroom, and enjoyed going to visit his raisers mother at a retirement community. His raiser said that he has a lot of enthusiasm and energy, and that sometimes he needs a little help with his excitement level, but that he is quickly able to get himself back under control once you calm him down. She is absolutely correct! He is such a great dog, and his silly side is part of what makes him so much fun, though he, does, indeed, need a bit of help calming down at times.
After we went to the city we had meetings with our instructors about going home. We talked about introducing Jim to my parents dogs, as well as friends and family. Basically, as long as he's off harness and under control, you can pet him.
I also found out today, that my official first day of work is next Wednesday, the day before the iPhone launch. Nothing like baptism by fire, right? I am so excited to start my job, it's what I'm looking forward to most when I get home.
We ended our day with a night route. Jim did well on this route where we went from the buss to the downtown lounge. He seems to love night work and he got very excited in harness again, so I used the gentle leader which calmed him down a great deal. I might use this at first while I'm at work; it just mellows him out and makes him easier to control when he sees dogs and children, two of his major distractions.
That, in a nutshell, was my day. Tomorrow we go to Berkeley, where we'll do some more city work as well as some work on a college campus, I think. Not sure what else is on the cards for tomorrow, but I'd better go get some sleep, so I'm ready for it!
After we went to the city we had meetings with our instructors about going home. We talked about introducing Jim to my parents dogs, as well as friends and family. Basically, as long as he's off harness and under control, you can pet him.
I also found out today, that my official first day of work is next Wednesday, the day before the iPhone launch. Nothing like baptism by fire, right? I am so excited to start my job, it's what I'm looking forward to most when I get home.
We ended our day with a night route. Jim did well on this route where we went from the buss to the downtown lounge. He seems to love night work and he got very excited in harness again, so I used the gentle leader which calmed him down a great deal. I might use this at first while I'm at work; it just mellows him out and makes him easier to control when he sees dogs and children, two of his major distractions.
That, in a nutshell, was my day. Tomorrow we go to Berkeley, where we'll do some more city work as well as some work on a college campus, I think. Not sure what else is on the cards for tomorrow, but I'd better go get some sleep, so I'm ready for it!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Day off
So today was a day off. My class spent the afternoon going to wine country, which was fantastic! We went to the Jacuzzi Winery in Sanoma County and it was great! I tasted some wonderful wines and got a couple of bottles to take home next week.
I was also able to catch up with a friend today, we took my dog for a walk around campus, and ate some great food! It was nice to catch up with him and spend some time together; I really enjoyed it.
Not much else happened, my boy was overjoyed to see me when we got back from our class trip and was ridiculous! He wagged his entire body, roled on his back, and was cute in a way that only labs can be. Pete, one of our class supervisors, spent the night tonight. I like hanging out with him, he has a great sense of humor. This evening, I was walking down the hall and he was joking with me he said, "Go to bed, or I'll put you on tie-down! " It was so funny! We had a nice dinner of chili and cornbread. I have enjoyed the food here, but I'll be glad to get home and do some cooking. I'm not sure what's happening when I get home on Sunday, I guess I will have to play it by ear. I'll be glad to start my life with Jim, but as I said yesterday, I am really going to miss the bay area. Tomorrow, we go into San Francisco, and I'm not sure what else is on the schedule!
I'm off to bed, but I'll check in tomorrow, as usual!
I was also able to catch up with a friend today, we took my dog for a walk around campus, and ate some great food! It was nice to catch up with him and spend some time together; I really enjoyed it.
Not much else happened, my boy was overjoyed to see me when we got back from our class trip and was ridiculous! He wagged his entire body, roled on his back, and was cute in a way that only labs can be. Pete, one of our class supervisors, spent the night tonight. I like hanging out with him, he has a great sense of humor. This evening, I was walking down the hall and he was joking with me he said, "Go to bed, or I'll put you on tie-down! " It was so funny! We had a nice dinner of chili and cornbread. I have enjoyed the food here, but I'll be glad to get home and do some cooking. I'm not sure what's happening when I get home on Sunday, I guess I will have to play it by ear. I'll be glad to start my life with Jim, but as I said yesterday, I am really going to miss the bay area. Tomorrow, we go into San Francisco, and I'm not sure what else is on the schedule!
I'm off to bed, but I'll check in tomorrow, as usual!
Training, day 9
I can't believe that I'm basically two thirds through class. Things here went well today. We did another bus to lounge route, and Jim did a great job. He got all the crossings correct and ignored a dog distraction. I was very happy with his work.
My class supervisor decided to move him from a martingale color to a choke color to help improve his sniffing issues and the move was a success. He was much more responsive to corrections today and two instructors felt like the choke was the right color for a big, active, high energy dog like him. Apparently, the choke was the standard color here until very recently when they switched to the martingale for some dogs, largely because of public image. In case you don't know, the Martingale is a flat color with a little chain piece, I liked it, but I do feel that the choke gives me more control and quicker response when I need to correct my dog.
When I was finished with my route (I went last because I was the time keeper again) I met some classmates for coffee at the Royal Ground, we worked our dogs down there as a group and they all did great!
When we got back here, we got a tour of the kennels which was a lot of fun! It was great to see where our dogs lived, and pet a puppy! He was a black lab named Keiko, and he was socute! After that I rested, had dinner, and went for a swim. It felt great to get in the pool after the heat we've had today in the bay area!
Tomorrow's a day off, so I'm having breakfast with a friend who lives here in San Rafael, and in the afternoon, my class is taking a trip up to a winary which should be fun! I'm looking forward to the day! I'll probably end it with dinner and a swim and on Monday, I'll start my last full week of training. This time next week, we'll be getting ready to go home. How did that happen? Part of me wants to go home, while the other part will miss this place and, of course, I'll miss the Bay area a lot. There's plenty to be excited for, and I'm up for the challenge. I think Jim is, too, and I'm looking forward to transitioning into our new life together.
Well, it's bedtime here. We're both tired and looking forward to tomorrow!
My class supervisor decided to move him from a martingale color to a choke color to help improve his sniffing issues and the move was a success. He was much more responsive to corrections today and two instructors felt like the choke was the right color for a big, active, high energy dog like him. Apparently, the choke was the standard color here until very recently when they switched to the martingale for some dogs, largely because of public image. In case you don't know, the Martingale is a flat color with a little chain piece, I liked it, but I do feel that the choke gives me more control and quicker response when I need to correct my dog.
When I was finished with my route (I went last because I was the time keeper again) I met some classmates for coffee at the Royal Ground, we worked our dogs down there as a group and they all did great!
When we got back here, we got a tour of the kennels which was a lot of fun! It was great to see where our dogs lived, and pet a puppy! He was a black lab named Keiko, and he was socute! After that I rested, had dinner, and went for a swim. It felt great to get in the pool after the heat we've had today in the bay area!
Tomorrow's a day off, so I'm having breakfast with a friend who lives here in San Rafael, and in the afternoon, my class is taking a trip up to a winary which should be fun! I'm looking forward to the day! I'll probably end it with dinner and a swim and on Monday, I'll start my last full week of training. This time next week, we'll be getting ready to go home. How did that happen? Part of me wants to go home, while the other part will miss this place and, of course, I'll miss the Bay area a lot. There's plenty to be excited for, and I'm up for the challenge. I think Jim is, too, and I'm looking forward to transitioning into our new life together.
Well, it's bedtime here. We're both tired and looking forward to tomorrow!
Friday, June 11, 2010
rest of the day
So the rest of the day went well here. we returned from San Francisco at lunchtime, and did some work in an area with out sidewalks in the afternoon. Basically, when there are no sidewalks to follow, the dog keeps to the left and you follow it's lead. Jim did a great job of keeping me lined up as well as navigating around parked cars. It was great to see him work in this kind of area, and to experience it myself.
After that, we came back and learned how to brush our dog's teeth and clean their ears. Jim didn't much like having his teeth cleaned, but didn't object to the cleaning of his ears, which is great.
After dinner, I went swimming, took a shower, and am now on my patio unwinding from the day. It's been a long but great week, and I feel taht we're just getting better and better as a team. Just now, I was talking to Todd, one of our class supervisors, and he told me that Jim has worked with a lot of instructors, because it took him a while to be matched. They all loved him because he is such a smart and adaptable dog. Lucy, another instructor, told me about having coffee with Jim at a place called Shaky Ground, in San Rafael. She said that people kept coming up and saying what a gorgious dog he was. I've gotten that a few times here as well. I have some pictures, but am not sure how to upload them here. I'll try and figure it out tomorrow, because I'm kind of exhausted at the moment.
I hope everyone is doing well!
After that, we came back and learned how to brush our dog's teeth and clean their ears. Jim didn't much like having his teeth cleaned, but didn't object to the cleaning of his ears, which is great.
After dinner, I went swimming, took a shower, and am now on my patio unwinding from the day. It's been a long but great week, and I feel taht we're just getting better and better as a team. Just now, I was talking to Todd, one of our class supervisors, and he told me that Jim has worked with a lot of instructors, because it took him a while to be matched. They all loved him because he is such a smart and adaptable dog. Lucy, another instructor, told me about having coffee with Jim at a place called Shaky Ground, in San Rafael. She said that people kept coming up and saying what a gorgious dog he was. I've gotten that a few times here as well. I have some pictures, but am not sure how to upload them here. I'll try and figure it out tomorrow, because I'm kind of exhausted at the moment.
I hope everyone is doing well!
Hello from Union Square!
Hi Everyone,
I'm sitting outside in the sun on public wireless in Union Square in San Francisco writing this entry on my macbook. Jim and I just finished a route downtown and he did great. His major issue was sniffing, and I think that's something we're going to have to work on as a team, but over all, I was really impressed with his work. We worked on a BART platform, and he did everything I asked of him. He was good at sticking close to the center and never went near the edge, despite my prompts for him to do so. He was praised and given kible for doing so well!
We also did some practice inside stores and he was great at working through the aisles. Again, I was very proud of him.
I know I've said this before, but I just love San Francisco so much! It's a very vibrant place, with a lot going on, but it's also got this calm quality to it that you just don't see on the east coast. People are friendly, people don't yell every time you fail to "Stand right, walk left" on an escalator, and they don't act like you holding them up for an extra 30 seconds is the end of the world. At the same time, there's plenty of culture here, and it's just an all around great place to be! My lungs love this climate, as well. I haven't had a single asthma twitch since I've been here, which is truly amazing! I don't remember how long it's been since I went ten days with out an inhailer or nebulizer untilnow. Jim loves it here, too, once he gets into the city he trots and prances, and it's so cute!
It was funny today, because he ran me into a person, I corrected him, and asked the guy, "Do you mind if I rework my dog?" He was all like, "Sure, of course go right ahead," so he stood there and I worked Jim back around him and Jim was a lot less distracted. The guy laughed and asked my instructor and I how things worked, so we explained and he was impressed. It was a nice incounter, and we all enjoyed it. My instructor and I both excercised amazing self control, we love Lush and we managed to walk by the one in Union Square with out going inside! We were so proud of ourselves! :)
Well, I must go, my classmates are back, and I think we're almost ready to load up. I hope everyone's doing well, and thanks for reading!
I'm sitting outside in the sun on public wireless in Union Square in San Francisco writing this entry on my macbook. Jim and I just finished a route downtown and he did great. His major issue was sniffing, and I think that's something we're going to have to work on as a team, but over all, I was really impressed with his work. We worked on a BART platform, and he did everything I asked of him. He was good at sticking close to the center and never went near the edge, despite my prompts for him to do so. He was praised and given kible for doing so well!
We also did some practice inside stores and he was great at working through the aisles. Again, I was very proud of him.
I know I've said this before, but I just love San Francisco so much! It's a very vibrant place, with a lot going on, but it's also got this calm quality to it that you just don't see on the east coast. People are friendly, people don't yell every time you fail to "Stand right, walk left" on an escalator, and they don't act like you holding them up for an extra 30 seconds is the end of the world. At the same time, there's plenty of culture here, and it's just an all around great place to be! My lungs love this climate, as well. I haven't had a single asthma twitch since I've been here, which is truly amazing! I don't remember how long it's been since I went ten days with out an inhailer or nebulizer untilnow. Jim loves it here, too, once he gets into the city he trots and prances, and it's so cute!
It was funny today, because he ran me into a person, I corrected him, and asked the guy, "Do you mind if I rework my dog?" He was all like, "Sure, of course go right ahead," so he stood there and I worked Jim back around him and Jim was a lot less distracted. The guy laughed and asked my instructor and I how things worked, so we explained and he was impressed. It was a nice incounter, and we all enjoyed it. My instructor and I both excercised amazing self control, we love Lush and we managed to walk by the one in Union Square with out going inside! We were so proud of ourselves! :)
Well, I must go, my classmates are back, and I think we're almost ready to load up. I hope everyone's doing well, and thanks for reading!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Training,day eight
I can't believe that Jim and I are already on day eight of our training, and a little more than half way through class. This time in ten days, we will be home together, I think we will be ready to take on the world as a team, and I am excited, though I will miss this place, and the friendships I have made here.
Today was very good over all. This morning, we went into San Francisco, and worked on Chestnut street. We crossed a large street, went to an Apple store, and took a city bus. Jim did great until we encountered a pet dog on a leash in the Apple store. He got completely dog distracted, and I had to do some obedience to get him back under control. Apparently, we let pets into our stores, I didn't know this, but I asked someone who said that as long as they are well behaved, they can be in the store. If they cause a problem for anyone, including my guide dog, we ask them to leave. So, that should be interesting when we get home. I will need to work with him on his dog distractions, but his trainer says he responds well to the gentle leader, and it should be easily fixed. We also discusssed keeping him in a crate in the office sometimes, so thathe has somewhere to take a breather if things get crazy. I will have to figure out all of the logistics when I get home, but I feel that it's all workable, and not a huge cause for concern. I just hope that we don't see to many pets, and that Jim doesn't missbehave when I'm with a customer. For a moment, I had horrible images of me saying something like, "let me tell you about our macbooks," my dog seeing a dog, and me having to completely stop in my tracks and get him back under control, but I don't hink it will happen to much, and if it does, I hope people will understand that we're just fresh out of training and still bonding and learning. I kind of wish we didn't just let pets walk in off the street, but there's not muc I can do about that, and I know that my rteam will give me a heads-up that a dog is around and if I know in advance, I can get things under control. Apart from that, he did really well in the city. Once the dog was out of the way, he seemed to like the Apple store and did a great job at navigating through the crowded aisles and displays. I'm not to worried, I think he should take well to his new environment.
When we were finished at the Apple store, we took a bus which he had no issues with. We ended up at a coffee shop and I had a latte with some classmates and relaxed for a bit.
After lunch, we did our first real indipendent route, called a bus to lounge. Basically, the instructors drop us off a few blocks away from the lounge we work out of when we're in downtown San Rafael, tell us how to get back to it, and designate someone to be the time keeper to make sure that people are spaced out every three minutes. People leave the spot every three minutes and begin working their way back to the lounge indipendently. There are instructors on street corners who step in if something goes really wrong, but the idea is to work the route by yourself. I was the time keeper, so I had my iPhone and made sure that people left every three minutes. I gave everyone a one minute warning, and made sure that people left when they were supposed to. I left last, and so was the last to make it to the lounge, but Jim and I nailed the route! Instructors didn't have to step in once with me. I made nice use of my iPhone's GPS features to check that I was going in the correct direction, and my instructors said that I'd made good use of the resources available to me. My classmates joked around with me and said I was cheating because I'd used a GPS system, they asked me where they could get one and I said, "well, for 199 dollars you can GPS it, too." One asked how he could swipe his credit card, I joked that I'd left the machine at home, and everyone laughed.
After that, we headed back to campus. I took Jim to run in a fenced in grassy area which he loved, talked to my friend, Rebecca on the phone until dinner, and after dinner went to a tribute for retrains run by our class training specialist. The tribute gave us all an opportunity to remember our previus guides, and many funny stories were told. Everyone cried at one point or another, for me, I cried when I talked about my Stoney, how he died, and how much we still miss him. I told the story about how he got the Apple pie of my Mom's counter, and about this time when he tried to bring a couch to show my Mom and her friend when my Mom came to get him.
The best story came from my friend Garry, I asked him, and he said it's OK to share it here. Garry had his first guide, a male yellow lab named Langer, and he was considering dating a woman, though he wasn't really sure about her. The two of them were hanging out at his apartment in Baltimore one day, and Langer was in front of them. Apparently, Langer didn't like the woman much, and he showed his displeasure by peang right in front of her feet, even though Garry had taken him out a few minutes before. Obviously, that relationship didn't last, and Garry decided he didn't like her anyways. Apparently, Langer aproved of Garry's wife, because he lickd her toes under the table the first time they met. That was a light moment in a pretty solumn hour long tribute session, but I'm really glad that we all got the chance to honor our previous guides. Both of mine really deserve it!
After the tribute, I hung out with my classmates Garry and Rebecca and we shared some laughs in the computer room. Rebecca was frustrated that she couldn't get the computers to load her gmail correctly, I tried to help, but had no success (I was reminded why I only use macs when I went through the frustration of trying to get a windows screen reader to do what I needed it to) so Rebecca is going to have her first macbook lesson tmorrow night, because she really neeeds to write an email and can't sign into her account on these computers. I hope I'm able to teach her a little, it will be a challenge with only one laptop, but I'm sure we'll figure it out.
Today, I also found out that Jim was raised in Palo Alto, which is pretty cool because I have friends there. I don't know anything else about his puppy raisers, but I guess I will find out more in the coming week. I was amazed how far away some of the puppy raisers are, one dog in our class comes from Washington State, I think Jim was one of the closest ones to the school in Palo Alto, the rest come from around Sacramento and the central Valley of California, I think. It's really great that there are so many dedicated volunteers who are willing to take these puppies in for a year, they have so much to do with shaping these creatures into the wonderful dogs they are, and I am just so greatful to all of my puppy raisers for the dedication and love they've shown to my guides! Thank you, guys!
Tomorrow, we go into San Francisco again. I am not sure what else is on the schedule, but what ever it is, I need to go to bed so that I can wake up feeling rested and ready to take it on!
As always, thanks for reading!
Today was very good over all. This morning, we went into San Francisco, and worked on Chestnut street. We crossed a large street, went to an Apple store, and took a city bus. Jim did great until we encountered a pet dog on a leash in the Apple store. He got completely dog distracted, and I had to do some obedience to get him back under control. Apparently, we let pets into our stores, I didn't know this, but I asked someone who said that as long as they are well behaved, they can be in the store. If they cause a problem for anyone, including my guide dog, we ask them to leave. So, that should be interesting when we get home. I will need to work with him on his dog distractions, but his trainer says he responds well to the gentle leader, and it should be easily fixed. We also discusssed keeping him in a crate in the office sometimes, so thathe has somewhere to take a breather if things get crazy. I will have to figure out all of the logistics when I get home, but I feel that it's all workable, and not a huge cause for concern. I just hope that we don't see to many pets, and that Jim doesn't missbehave when I'm with a customer. For a moment, I had horrible images of me saying something like, "let me tell you about our macbooks," my dog seeing a dog, and me having to completely stop in my tracks and get him back under control, but I don't hink it will happen to much, and if it does, I hope people will understand that we're just fresh out of training and still bonding and learning. I kind of wish we didn't just let pets walk in off the street, but there's not muc I can do about that, and I know that my rteam will give me a heads-up that a dog is around and if I know in advance, I can get things under control. Apart from that, he did really well in the city. Once the dog was out of the way, he seemed to like the Apple store and did a great job at navigating through the crowded aisles and displays. I'm not to worried, I think he should take well to his new environment.
When we were finished at the Apple store, we took a bus which he had no issues with. We ended up at a coffee shop and I had a latte with some classmates and relaxed for a bit.
After lunch, we did our first real indipendent route, called a bus to lounge. Basically, the instructors drop us off a few blocks away from the lounge we work out of when we're in downtown San Rafael, tell us how to get back to it, and designate someone to be the time keeper to make sure that people are spaced out every three minutes. People leave the spot every three minutes and begin working their way back to the lounge indipendently. There are instructors on street corners who step in if something goes really wrong, but the idea is to work the route by yourself. I was the time keeper, so I had my iPhone and made sure that people left every three minutes. I gave everyone a one minute warning, and made sure that people left when they were supposed to. I left last, and so was the last to make it to the lounge, but Jim and I nailed the route! Instructors didn't have to step in once with me. I made nice use of my iPhone's GPS features to check that I was going in the correct direction, and my instructors said that I'd made good use of the resources available to me. My classmates joked around with me and said I was cheating because I'd used a GPS system, they asked me where they could get one and I said, "well, for 199 dollars you can GPS it, too." One asked how he could swipe his credit card, I joked that I'd left the machine at home, and everyone laughed.
After that, we headed back to campus. I took Jim to run in a fenced in grassy area which he loved, talked to my friend, Rebecca on the phone until dinner, and after dinner went to a tribute for retrains run by our class training specialist. The tribute gave us all an opportunity to remember our previus guides, and many funny stories were told. Everyone cried at one point or another, for me, I cried when I talked about my Stoney, how he died, and how much we still miss him. I told the story about how he got the Apple pie of my Mom's counter, and about this time when he tried to bring a couch to show my Mom and her friend when my Mom came to get him.
The best story came from my friend Garry, I asked him, and he said it's OK to share it here. Garry had his first guide, a male yellow lab named Langer, and he was considering dating a woman, though he wasn't really sure about her. The two of them were hanging out at his apartment in Baltimore one day, and Langer was in front of them. Apparently, Langer didn't like the woman much, and he showed his displeasure by peang right in front of her feet, even though Garry had taken him out a few minutes before. Obviously, that relationship didn't last, and Garry decided he didn't like her anyways. Apparently, Langer aproved of Garry's wife, because he lickd her toes under the table the first time they met. That was a light moment in a pretty solumn hour long tribute session, but I'm really glad that we all got the chance to honor our previous guides. Both of mine really deserve it!
After the tribute, I hung out with my classmates Garry and Rebecca and we shared some laughs in the computer room. Rebecca was frustrated that she couldn't get the computers to load her gmail correctly, I tried to help, but had no success (I was reminded why I only use macs when I went through the frustration of trying to get a windows screen reader to do what I needed it to) so Rebecca is going to have her first macbook lesson tmorrow night, because she really neeeds to write an email and can't sign into her account on these computers. I hope I'm able to teach her a little, it will be a challenge with only one laptop, but I'm sure we'll figure it out.
Today, I also found out that Jim was raised in Palo Alto, which is pretty cool because I have friends there. I don't know anything else about his puppy raisers, but I guess I will find out more in the coming week. I was amazed how far away some of the puppy raisers are, one dog in our class comes from Washington State, I think Jim was one of the closest ones to the school in Palo Alto, the rest come from around Sacramento and the central Valley of California, I think. It's really great that there are so many dedicated volunteers who are willing to take these puppies in for a year, they have so much to do with shaping these creatures into the wonderful dogs they are, and I am just so greatful to all of my puppy raisers for the dedication and love they've shown to my guides! Thank you, guys!
Tomorrow, we go into San Francisco again. I am not sure what else is on the schedule, but what ever it is, I need to go to bed so that I can wake up feeling rested and ready to take it on!
As always, thanks for reading!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Training, Day 7
Today was a pretty good day for Jim and me. He is at the point in class where he is testing me to see what I will let him get away with. This happens when a dog ralizes that it is no longer with it's instructors, and that it now has a new handler who might cut it some slack and let it get away with things like sniffing or running curbs. Jim certainly tried to sniff a lot this morning when we were on our way to a coffee shop downtown, but he quickly got the messae that I wasn't going to let him get away with being sniffy or distracted by things like dogs. Every time he stopped to sniff a bush I put him in a sit, corrected, and we went on our way. At one point, I had to put Jim on a gentle leader, a sort of contraption which goes over the dog's nose, so that they can't sniff, this fixed Jim's sniffing issues, mostly, ad we got through the rest of the route pretty well. My instructor said that I should consider this a posative route, because even though Jim was distracted, I was able to get him back under control and stop him from sniffing.
This afternoon, we walked over to a mall accross the street from campus, and practiced work on stairs, escalators, and elivators. This was a much beetter route, and Jim didn't sniff at all. I really think that he got the message this morning. He did well dealing with the escalators and I was proud of him. I was also very glad that ie didn't seem to mind the escalators, because he'll be dealing with them on a daily basis when we get home and I go to work on the subway.
When I got back to campus, I relaxed for a while, and had a very enjoyable dinner out with a friend. We went to an Applebees near campus, and it was just great to get out into the real world, have a drink and some dinner, and spend time with my friend. We were able to take a tun of pictures, so when we figure out which ones came out well, I can try to post them here, or send them to those who would like them via email.
Tomorrow, we go into San Francisco. I am very excited to see Jim work in the city. I'm also looking forward to a quick trip to the Apple Store on Chestnut Street, just to give Jim a quick glimps of the conditions he'll deal with every day when he gets home. I can't spend much time, because the instructors need to work with everyone, but it will just be great to walk inside and work him a little through the displays, people, etc. I'm sure he'll do great! I'll probably take the iPad along, because we'll have to spend a lot of time in a coffee shop, and it will be nice to have it with me.
Well, I think that's about all of note for today. I'm having an early night because I want to be ready for San Francisco tomorrow morning! Goodnight, everyone!
This afternoon, we walked over to a mall accross the street from campus, and practiced work on stairs, escalators, and elivators. This was a much beetter route, and Jim didn't sniff at all. I really think that he got the message this morning. He did well dealing with the escalators and I was proud of him. I was also very glad that ie didn't seem to mind the escalators, because he'll be dealing with them on a daily basis when we get home and I go to work on the subway.
When I got back to campus, I relaxed for a while, and had a very enjoyable dinner out with a friend. We went to an Applebees near campus, and it was just great to get out into the real world, have a drink and some dinner, and spend time with my friend. We were able to take a tun of pictures, so when we figure out which ones came out well, I can try to post them here, or send them to those who would like them via email.
Tomorrow, we go into San Francisco. I am very excited to see Jim work in the city. I'm also looking forward to a quick trip to the Apple Store on Chestnut Street, just to give Jim a quick glimps of the conditions he'll deal with every day when he gets home. I can't spend much time, because the instructors need to work with everyone, but it will just be great to walk inside and work him a little through the displays, people, etc. I'm sure he'll do great! I'll probably take the iPad along, because we'll have to spend a lot of time in a coffee shop, and it will be nice to have it with me.
Well, I think that's about all of note for today. I'm having an early night because I want to be ready for San Francisco tomorrow morning! Goodnight, everyone!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Training, day six
I can't believe that Jim and I have been together for a week today. The time has really flown, and I only have another ten days or so until I go home and back to reality. I just can't believe how quickly time is flying here.
Today was yet another great day for Jim and I. In the morning we did a route involving traffic checks where an instructor drives around in a Prius and recreates real traffic situations that we might deal with in our every day lives. Jim did a great job at reading the situations and reacting appropriately by either backing me up, or crossing in front of me to protect me from the cars. In some instances he refused to go because there was a moving car in the intersection. I did a great job at reading the traffic, and my instructor said it was a team effort and that we'd done really well. So that made me feel good!
In the afternoon, we had our vet check ups, and Jim is completely healthy. The vet said "I don't even have an ear infection to tell you about," He said that the only time Jim has been to the vet was for his physicals before class. This, of course, was music to my ears after dealing with two dogs with health issues, I think I might finally have a totally healthy dog at last!
After the vet visit I hung out with some classmates, did some yoga, and relaxed for the rest of the night with my boy. I just can't get over how well he is doing. Most of my classmates have had bad days in training for some reason or other, but I haven't yet. I am sure I will before the three weeks are up, but right now, I can't believe how smoothly and seemlessly things are going. This truly is a wonderful experience, and I am so glad I opted to come here!
I am not sure what we'll be doing tomorrow during the day in terms of routes. In the evening a friend is coming to visit and we'll go get some dinner. I'm looking forward to catching up with my friend, and to getting some pictures of Jim and I. It will also be nice to get off campus for an hour or two. As much as I love it here, it's sometimes nice to have an outing into the "real world" and enjoy a meal with a friend.
Well, we're both exhausted once again, and another day is drawing to a close. Jim is sacked out on his rug in his corner, and I'm lying in my bed beside him. I hope you are all doing well, and thank you for reading about my training adventures! I'll update tomorrow, as usual!
Today was yet another great day for Jim and I. In the morning we did a route involving traffic checks where an instructor drives around in a Prius and recreates real traffic situations that we might deal with in our every day lives. Jim did a great job at reading the situations and reacting appropriately by either backing me up, or crossing in front of me to protect me from the cars. In some instances he refused to go because there was a moving car in the intersection. I did a great job at reading the traffic, and my instructor said it was a team effort and that we'd done really well. So that made me feel good!
In the afternoon, we had our vet check ups, and Jim is completely healthy. The vet said "I don't even have an ear infection to tell you about," He said that the only time Jim has been to the vet was for his physicals before class. This, of course, was music to my ears after dealing with two dogs with health issues, I think I might finally have a totally healthy dog at last!
After the vet visit I hung out with some classmates, did some yoga, and relaxed for the rest of the night with my boy. I just can't get over how well he is doing. Most of my classmates have had bad days in training for some reason or other, but I haven't yet. I am sure I will before the three weeks are up, but right now, I can't believe how smoothly and seemlessly things are going. This truly is a wonderful experience, and I am so glad I opted to come here!
I am not sure what we'll be doing tomorrow during the day in terms of routes. In the evening a friend is coming to visit and we'll go get some dinner. I'm looking forward to catching up with my friend, and to getting some pictures of Jim and I. It will also be nice to get off campus for an hour or two. As much as I love it here, it's sometimes nice to have an outing into the "real world" and enjoy a meal with a friend.
Well, we're both exhausted once again, and another day is drawing to a close. Jim is sacked out on his rug in his corner, and I'm lying in my bed beside him. I hope you are all doing well, and thank you for reading about my training adventures! I'll update tomorrow, as usual!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Training, day five
Wow, I can't believe I've been here a week today. Time really does fly.
Yesterday was a day off, so no real training activity happened. I spent the day catching up with friends, bonding with Jim, going swimming and doing laundry. It was nice an relaxing and helped get me into gear for the busy week ahead.
Today, we did another route in downtown San Rafael this morning and had individual meetings with our instructors in the afternoon to talk about our progress. Jim did great on our route to a coffee shop; I had to correct hi for running a couple of curbs and we had to watch to make sure that we didn't veer into the street, but it was a great succcess over all and I was very proud of him! When we got to our destination, Jim lay under a table while I took out my iPad and tried to follow Steve Job's keynote at Apple's World Wide Developers conference in San Francisco. I did that and was asked by the curious citizens of San Rafael how my iPad worked for me and how I used it. The two people who asked seemed to really enjoy my explination and so we had a nice conversation about dogs, Apple products, and did some speculation about what was happening just 20 minutes away over the Golden Gate Bridge at the keynote. We couldn't get wireless to work on the iPad, so I couldn't use it to check. We used my iPhone instead, but really I think the speculation was just as much fun as actually finding out. We also discussed GDB and dogs which was cool. It was neat to hear the local citizens talk about how they liked having our school in the community. Through out this, my dog was completely sacked out at my feet; my instructor and I had to wake him up when she came back after about 40 minutes or so because she was helping a classmate go to radio shack to fix hear dead phone. When I came here, I expected that we'd do more routes and things together asa class, but both times, I've been the only GDB person in the two coffee shops I've visited which has surprised me a bit. Perhaps no one in my class likes hanging out over a cup of coffee as much as I do? I'm not sure, but I will say that the coffee in both places I've tried has been excellent! It's really neat to see local coffee establishments other than Starbucks doing well.
When we got back from our route, it was time for lunch and our meetings. My instructor told me in my meeting that she thought Jim and I were doing great as a team and that things are going smoothly. We talked about working in the city, how well I was bonding with Jim, and the progress he and I are making as a team in our partnership. She said again how well matched we are and that she loves watching us walk together. So all of those things made me feel really good! We also briefly talked about Yahzee and how she has made me a better guide dog handler, because I have a good grasp on dealing with things like dog distractions and positioning.
After my meeting I basically did some computer stuff, studdied up on what happened at the huge Apple conference today, had dinner, hung out with classmates for a bit, and got some good bonding time with my dog on my patio. I think he's pretty exhausted now! I went to pet him and he just curled up on his rug and went to sleep. He is such a good boy, and I am looking forward to doing more work with him tomorrow! I am not sure what tomorrow holds in terms of routes, but what ever it brings, it's bedtime for both of us!
6:30 comes early!
Yesterday was a day off, so no real training activity happened. I spent the day catching up with friends, bonding with Jim, going swimming and doing laundry. It was nice an relaxing and helped get me into gear for the busy week ahead.
Today, we did another route in downtown San Rafael this morning and had individual meetings with our instructors in the afternoon to talk about our progress. Jim did great on our route to a coffee shop; I had to correct hi for running a couple of curbs and we had to watch to make sure that we didn't veer into the street, but it was a great succcess over all and I was very proud of him! When we got to our destination, Jim lay under a table while I took out my iPad and tried to follow Steve Job's keynote at Apple's World Wide Developers conference in San Francisco. I did that and was asked by the curious citizens of San Rafael how my iPad worked for me and how I used it. The two people who asked seemed to really enjoy my explination and so we had a nice conversation about dogs, Apple products, and did some speculation about what was happening just 20 minutes away over the Golden Gate Bridge at the keynote. We couldn't get wireless to work on the iPad, so I couldn't use it to check. We used my iPhone instead, but really I think the speculation was just as much fun as actually finding out. We also discussed GDB and dogs which was cool. It was neat to hear the local citizens talk about how they liked having our school in the community. Through out this, my dog was completely sacked out at my feet; my instructor and I had to wake him up when she came back after about 40 minutes or so because she was helping a classmate go to radio shack to fix hear dead phone. When I came here, I expected that we'd do more routes and things together asa class, but both times, I've been the only GDB person in the two coffee shops I've visited which has surprised me a bit. Perhaps no one in my class likes hanging out over a cup of coffee as much as I do? I'm not sure, but I will say that the coffee in both places I've tried has been excellent! It's really neat to see local coffee establishments other than Starbucks doing well.
When we got back from our route, it was time for lunch and our meetings. My instructor told me in my meeting that she thought Jim and I were doing great as a team and that things are going smoothly. We talked about working in the city, how well I was bonding with Jim, and the progress he and I are making as a team in our partnership. She said again how well matched we are and that she loves watching us walk together. So all of those things made me feel really good! We also briefly talked about Yahzee and how she has made me a better guide dog handler, because I have a good grasp on dealing with things like dog distractions and positioning.
After my meeting I basically did some computer stuff, studdied up on what happened at the huge Apple conference today, had dinner, hung out with classmates for a bit, and got some good bonding time with my dog on my patio. I think he's pretty exhausted now! I went to pet him and he just curled up on his rug and went to sleep. He is such a good boy, and I am looking forward to doing more work with him tomorrow! I am not sure what tomorrow holds in terms of routes, but what ever it brings, it's bedtime for both of us!
6:30 comes early!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Training, day four
Today was another good day, though we didn't do any routs today, so Jim basically had the day off. This morning, we worked on reworking errors, and how to correct the dogs when they make mistakes like bumping us into objects, or not stopping to show us curbs when we are crossing streets. Our instructors worked with us, and we put our dogs on tie-down. The process of reworking erros is pretty easy, though it took me some getting used to, because it is different than other schools. Basically, when Jim makes a mistake, I have him heel, after that I have him sit, tap the object or show him the curb with my foot and tell him, "careful" When I've done that I take a few steps back and rework the error. It was funny, because right after the workshop, he ran a curb when he was taking me out to the relieving circle, so I had an opportunity to practice with my instructors watching. They said I did a good job of handling, and that he did a great job in responding and correcting the mistake once I reworked it.
In the afternoon, we had a really neat lecture about massaging our dogs. We learned how to stroke them in certain positions and how to touch them in order to relax them. It certainly worked with my boy, I ended up with 65 pounds of mellow yellow labrador on my lap on his back! It was so cute!
They opened the pool today, so I was able to go swimming twice which was great! After that, I came inside, took a hot shower, talked to some people in Cupertino, and am now under the covers about to go to bed.
On that note, if you're on the east coast and reading this, sorry I'm difficult to talk to, the time difference is hard to deal with because I'm busy until about 5 which is about 8 your time. I don't think I fully appreciate how difficult it can be for my friends in California trying to talk to me sometimes.
I spoke to my parents today twice and it was great to talk and hear how well Yahzee is doing. They say she is a different dog, that all that stress has gone away, and that she's much calmer. She's not frantic like she was, and it seems that a lot of the nervous energy she had is basically gone now that she's a pet. They both said what a great dog she is and how they are lucky to have her! I knew they would love her very much and that she would be a great pet for them, but it's just so reasuring to hear how happy she is and how well she is settling into her new place in our family. I think just knowing these things helps me release some of the guilt and doubt I felt over retiring her, and really lets me focus on my complete and total bond with Jim. He is working out so well, and just as my parents are lucky to have the Yahz, I'm extremely lucky to have him as my boy! I am so excited to take him home so everyone can meet him! He is such a wonderful dog!
Alright, well, tomorrow is a relaxed day, and I plan to rest, do laundry, and bond with my dog.
I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday! It's off to bed early for me tonight!
In the afternoon, we had a really neat lecture about massaging our dogs. We learned how to stroke them in certain positions and how to touch them in order to relax them. It certainly worked with my boy, I ended up with 65 pounds of mellow yellow labrador on my lap on his back! It was so cute!
They opened the pool today, so I was able to go swimming twice which was great! After that, I came inside, took a hot shower, talked to some people in Cupertino, and am now under the covers about to go to bed.
On that note, if you're on the east coast and reading this, sorry I'm difficult to talk to, the time difference is hard to deal with because I'm busy until about 5 which is about 8 your time. I don't think I fully appreciate how difficult it can be for my friends in California trying to talk to me sometimes.
I spoke to my parents today twice and it was great to talk and hear how well Yahzee is doing. They say she is a different dog, that all that stress has gone away, and that she's much calmer. She's not frantic like she was, and it seems that a lot of the nervous energy she had is basically gone now that she's a pet. They both said what a great dog she is and how they are lucky to have her! I knew they would love her very much and that she would be a great pet for them, but it's just so reasuring to hear how happy she is and how well she is settling into her new place in our family. I think just knowing these things helps me release some of the guilt and doubt I felt over retiring her, and really lets me focus on my complete and total bond with Jim. He is working out so well, and just as my parents are lucky to have the Yahz, I'm extremely lucky to have him as my boy! I am so excited to take him home so everyone can meet him! He is such a wonderful dog!
Alright, well, tomorrow is a relaxed day, and I plan to rest, do laundry, and bond with my dog.
I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday! It's off to bed early for me tonight!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Day three of guide work
So today was another good one here at GDB. We had a great rout in the morning and I enjoyed going to a local coffee shop called the Royal Ground. Jim did a great job getting me there and when I sat in the store and enjoyed a wonderful latte while I waited for my instructor to work with another student he lay under the table and was a good boy! He is so quiet in public and doesn't mind being positioned, etc. A very different story from Yahzee in this regard!
When we worked back from the coffee shop we encountered three pet dogs with a woman who had them on leashes, but did not have them under control. They tried to engage Jim, but he ignored them and attempted to work past them like they weren't even there! I was so proud of him! My instructor had to help me round them in the end, because they were really out of control, but even when she was helping me he heeled right past them! It was amazing.
After lunch, we went back downtown and practiced working in buildings. It went well, he did a great job of finding me all of the landmarks. The only problem we had was when he vered on a crossing, but once we reworked things, he did really well! I can't believe how seemlessly he is working for me and it's only been three days.
When we got back here we ate dinner, I had a ridiculous time with several classmates and we laughed until our stomachs hut and tears were running down our faces. This is such a great group of people and I am going to miss them when we all go home!
The rest of the evening was pretty low key. I played kong with Jim on the patio which he loved, read a book, and just enjoyed sitting out here, where I am now. After the week, I just felt like I wanted some down time to be with my dog, which, after all, is the reason I am here.
I am not sure what's going on tomorrow. We've gout routs in the morning, and I believe they're opening the pool in the afternoon, so I am looking forward to a good swim!
Sunday is somewhat of a day off, though we keep the same relieving schedule, so I have to be available every two hours. I'm hoping some friends from Cupertino will make it up here next Sunday, though I'm not sure, because it's quite a long drive from here to there. (Hi Guys! Please come see me! :) It is so awesome to talk to them with out worrying about the time difference and once training's done I need to come back to the Bay area. I just love it here, I love the people, the lifestyle, and my lungs love it, too. I can't remember a time when my asthma has been like this, I think I'd forgotten what it's like to truly take deep breaths until the last few days when I've been here. This climate really agrees with me, though I kind of already knew that.
Anyways, I digress, I am so glad that I have this dog, I think he is going to work out wonderfully. I'm noticing how bonded we are after such a short time together. This guy will truly go everywhere I go, because he is such a pleasure to have out in public. He is part of my package, and I really don't want to leave him much, unless I have no alternative. I will probably leave him alone sometimes for short stretches when I get home, just so that he can get used to it should the need arise, but I think he will be with me more than my previous two dogs were just because he is easier to handle and more receptive to commands.
I tried to skype with my parents tonight, but they couldn't figure out my iMac's crazy mouse (they're staying in my apartment for the weekend to do some things) but we talked on the phone which was great. I'm hoping we can skype more next week, because I know they enjoy it as much as I do. One day next week our nurse, Catherine, is going to bring in a puppy she's raising and we're going to get on skype so that my Mom can see her. It should be a lot of fun!
One final note: I apologize for the formatting errors, I'm putting things in paragraphs, but, apparently, on some entries the formatting isn't being retained! I'm not sure why this is, but I hope everyone is able to read these OK. I'll see if I can figure out a work around to make these posts retain formatting.
Alright, Jim and I are hitting the sack. 6:30 comes way to early for both of us on a Saturday!
I hope everyone's doing well, and thanks for reading!
When we worked back from the coffee shop we encountered three pet dogs with a woman who had them on leashes, but did not have them under control. They tried to engage Jim, but he ignored them and attempted to work past them like they weren't even there! I was so proud of him! My instructor had to help me round them in the end, because they were really out of control, but even when she was helping me he heeled right past them! It was amazing.
After lunch, we went back downtown and practiced working in buildings. It went well, he did a great job of finding me all of the landmarks. The only problem we had was when he vered on a crossing, but once we reworked things, he did really well! I can't believe how seemlessly he is working for me and it's only been three days.
When we got back here we ate dinner, I had a ridiculous time with several classmates and we laughed until our stomachs hut and tears were running down our faces. This is such a great group of people and I am going to miss them when we all go home!
The rest of the evening was pretty low key. I played kong with Jim on the patio which he loved, read a book, and just enjoyed sitting out here, where I am now. After the week, I just felt like I wanted some down time to be with my dog, which, after all, is the reason I am here.
I am not sure what's going on tomorrow. We've gout routs in the morning, and I believe they're opening the pool in the afternoon, so I am looking forward to a good swim!
Sunday is somewhat of a day off, though we keep the same relieving schedule, so I have to be available every two hours. I'm hoping some friends from Cupertino will make it up here next Sunday, though I'm not sure, because it's quite a long drive from here to there. (Hi Guys! Please come see me! :) It is so awesome to talk to them with out worrying about the time difference and once training's done I need to come back to the Bay area. I just love it here, I love the people, the lifestyle, and my lungs love it, too. I can't remember a time when my asthma has been like this, I think I'd forgotten what it's like to truly take deep breaths until the last few days when I've been here. This climate really agrees with me, though I kind of already knew that.
Anyways, I digress, I am so glad that I have this dog, I think he is going to work out wonderfully. I'm noticing how bonded we are after such a short time together. This guy will truly go everywhere I go, because he is such a pleasure to have out in public. He is part of my package, and I really don't want to leave him much, unless I have no alternative. I will probably leave him alone sometimes for short stretches when I get home, just so that he can get used to it should the need arise, but I think he will be with me more than my previous two dogs were just because he is easier to handle and more receptive to commands.
I tried to skype with my parents tonight, but they couldn't figure out my iMac's crazy mouse (they're staying in my apartment for the weekend to do some things) but we talked on the phone which was great. I'm hoping we can skype more next week, because I know they enjoy it as much as I do. One day next week our nurse, Catherine, is going to bring in a puppy she's raising and we're going to get on skype so that my Mom can see her. It should be a lot of fun!
One final note: I apologize for the formatting errors, I'm putting things in paragraphs, but, apparently, on some entries the formatting isn't being retained! I'm not sure why this is, but I hope everyone is able to read these OK. I'll see if I can figure out a work around to make these posts retain formatting.
Alright, Jim and I are hitting the sack. 6:30 comes way to early for both of us on a Saturday!
I hope everyone's doing well, and thanks for reading!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Day two of guide work
Hi Everyone!
Today was another amazing day here in San Rafael, and I know that I'm in the midst of one of those transformative, life-changing experiences that you never forget. I just hope that I am appreciating everything that's going on here and getting all that I can out of these three weeks.
I'll start with the guide work portion of this day. Today, Jim and I did two routs in downtown San Rafael. He did very well both times, though he tended to veer off to the left, so we worked on correcting that this afternoon. Basically, we walked a few blocks at a time with an instructor and learned what we were doing correctly and where we were making errors. Over all, Jim and I are doing great; I have to work on reading his signals, and he has to work on approaching things like curbs and not hesitating a step before he needs to stop and indicate them to me. All of these skills will come with time, and practice on both of our parts, and I feel great about the way things are going for us as a working team.
After our morning rout, and before lunch, I had a wonderful surprise, I learned that Angie, who trained Yahzee and I for Fidelco is now working here at GDB as an instructor. She came to see me while I was on the floor with Jim just petting and rubbing him. She and I talked about so much, about how we thought that GDB was a better environment for me to learn in, about how the lab was a great choice for my nees, and about how Yahzee was doing with my parents. She told me that she loved the in-home community training Fidelco provides, but that she felt that shepherds just weren't the right dogs for some people, and i was one of the people who would do really well with a mellow, yet inteligent lab like Jim, who is serious about his work, but can also play. He's got an off-switch, but when he plays he plays hard. Angie and I spoke about Yahzee's dog encounter with Ivor back in 2006, and both agreed that was probably the beginning of the end in terms of her leash behavior around other dogs, because after those episodes with Ivor and his handler, I was tense when dealing with Yahzee around other dogs because I didn't know how she would react. We don't know if this was the full cause of her leash behavior, but it certainly didn't help things. Sorry, I know most of you don't have a clue what this is referencing, but if you ask me when I get home and am not content but exhausted, I will explain; it's a long story, and I don't have the time or energy to write it here. I also spoke to Angie about Yahzee's irritable bowel issues, and we both agreed that I did the right thing by retiring her.
After Angie's visit, it was time to go downtown for our afternoon rout. Jim worked well when we had to cross a series of parking lots which required him to find his line and not veer to the left, like he had done in the morning. He did much better this afternoon, and I did a better job of being able to read him. My instructor said that we did well and looked like a great team together. I just felt so happy when she said that, it affirms my belief that this bond between Jim and I is becoming more solid with every day, and that we will be a great working team when we get home.
When we got back to school, we were given three toys to use when we played with our dogs. We got a tug toy, a plastic bone, and a kong, which is a sort of round rubber thing that dogs love to fetch. Jim loves all three of his toys, even the plastic bone, which no other dog of mine has ever liked. I let him off leash in my room to play with his kong and he enjoyed bringing it back to me. We played several great games of tug and he talked to me during these, which was so cute! I haven't heard any kind of vocalization from him before, so I didn't know what his voice sounded like. I have never heard him bark, though several dogs in our class have barked at various times. It was great to see him play. he wagged his tail and rolled around and was generally adorable as only a lab can be.
When we were finished playing, we fed and relieved our dogs, and went to dinner ourselves.
After dinner, I listened to tomorrow's lecture on CD with a classmate, and after that, several classmates, one of the training specialists, and I went out by the graduation stage on the grass and just sat and talked. Jim and I sprawled out on the grass and I put my head on him like a pillow. He loved every minute of it, and so did I. This was something Yahzee would never have enjoyed, but this big guy couldn't get enough of it. We had some really great conversation tonight about why we all had guide dogs, and I really benefited from just listening to my classmates experiences. I'm the only one here who has been blind since birth; all of the other people in this class have had pretty serious medical conditions, I won't go into detail here to respect privacy, but listening to them made me realize how lucky I am in many areas of my life even including my health. It was just a really valuable experience for me, and made me think about how great my life truly is. Even when I had some rough spots, I knew that my friends and family would support me and that things would come together for me in theend. Now, they finally are, and as we all share our life experiences with one another and go on this guide dog adventure together, I know that I will continue to enjoy and learn from my interactions with both classmates and staff here.
When we were a bit chilly, we all came back inside, and I had an opportunity to talk at great length with Stacy, our training class specialist, who is also blind, and who has been since birth like me. She is on her fourth guide dog, and it was just wonderful to have an opportunity to talk with someone about Yahzee's retirement who understood and who has been there like I have. We discussed my feelings of guilt about retiring Yahzee, how I had done the right thing, and how I shouldn't fel bad about focusing all my time and energy in bonding with Jim because I realized today that I don't miss Yahzee as much as I thought I would. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that I know how incredibly happy and wonderfully looked after she is by my parents, and a lot has to do with the fact that I have really clicked with Jim in these few days in a way that I didn't with my previous two guides. When I first got Stoney, I was young and inexperienced and didn't really know very much. When I got Yahzee, I loved her very much, still do, but she had a lot of dog issues and I was worried about how things would work out. Looking back, I think those issues had an impact on my confidence, which in turn impacted her confidence in me. We worked through them, mostly, and she turned into a wonderful and smart worker, but I'm not sure she really ever loved it like this guy does. My instructor said to me today, "Jim loves to work. He's so focused on working that he ignores dog distractions and veers to avoid temptations. He's born to do this job and is just a great match for you." I can see that focus in him as wel. When he's on his harness he's all business and ignores things like children and dogs, but when he's off he's always up for saying hi. An important note to those of you at home who will meet him! Please DO NOT pet him when he is in harness. I know I was lax about this with Yahzee, but this time around, I'm going to inforce this rule pretty strictly, because I want him to keep his focus and not be distracted by people asking for his attention when the harness is on and he's on duty. Also, please DO NOT feed him or give him treats. GDB has a strict food reward system, which I will explain in more detail at a later date, but it's important that I stick to this system and that I am the only one to offer him food and rewards while we are bonding. I need him to count on me for everything to make our bond stronger. Also, when he's off harness, please wait until I say it's OK for you to pet him. He needs to be calm and listening to me before you can interact with him. This will help reduce some of the excitable behaviors Yahzee exhibited, and it's very important that I abide by these rules. My instructor told me that if we all follow these rules, we should avoid some of Yahzee's jumping patterns, etc.
I'll write a list of rules that I'd like you to follow when I get closer to coming home, but I just wanted to write this now, even though I totally wasn't intending to. I'm not setting these rules to be mean, I want you to interact with and get to know my dog, but it needs to be on my terms in order for us to be the best team we can possibly be! Thank you so much in advance for your understanding and cooperation!
Well, my day has come to an end, and I'm sitting outside on my patio with Jim writing this post. I think that so much of the calm I'm finding here comes from the beauty and peace of this place. It's so quiet out here, no traffic, no one talking, lots of grassy areas, and a patio right outside my door where I can come to groom my dog, or just sit and relax with a glass of lemonaid at the end of the day, like I'm doing now. I also think that this wonderful setting and environment really is contributing to my bonding with Jim. I know that after three schools, I've truly found the right place for me, and I'll certainly be coming back here for my next guide in about eight years or so. The staff are amazing, my classmates are great, and all of this freedom to be outside any time is awesome. It's interesting that not a lot of people use their patios as much as I do. I'm out hre a lot of the time on my laptop or iPhone, or playing with my dog. I think we both love it out here, though we should probably go in soon and head to bed.
I talked to Mom tonight, though I didn't get to skype with her which I missed, but hopefully we'll get to do that tomorrow evening.
Sorry for the lengthy post! I hope everyone is doing well! Tomorrow, we learn how to work in buildings, so I'll let you all know how that goes and what other experiences tomorrow holds!
Today was another amazing day here in San Rafael, and I know that I'm in the midst of one of those transformative, life-changing experiences that you never forget. I just hope that I am appreciating everything that's going on here and getting all that I can out of these three weeks.
I'll start with the guide work portion of this day. Today, Jim and I did two routs in downtown San Rafael. He did very well both times, though he tended to veer off to the left, so we worked on correcting that this afternoon. Basically, we walked a few blocks at a time with an instructor and learned what we were doing correctly and where we were making errors. Over all, Jim and I are doing great; I have to work on reading his signals, and he has to work on approaching things like curbs and not hesitating a step before he needs to stop and indicate them to me. All of these skills will come with time, and practice on both of our parts, and I feel great about the way things are going for us as a working team.
After our morning rout, and before lunch, I had a wonderful surprise, I learned that Angie, who trained Yahzee and I for Fidelco is now working here at GDB as an instructor. She came to see me while I was on the floor with Jim just petting and rubbing him. She and I talked about so much, about how we thought that GDB was a better environment for me to learn in, about how the lab was a great choice for my nees, and about how Yahzee was doing with my parents. She told me that she loved the in-home community training Fidelco provides, but that she felt that shepherds just weren't the right dogs for some people, and i was one of the people who would do really well with a mellow, yet inteligent lab like Jim, who is serious about his work, but can also play. He's got an off-switch, but when he plays he plays hard. Angie and I spoke about Yahzee's dog encounter with Ivor back in 2006, and both agreed that was probably the beginning of the end in terms of her leash behavior around other dogs, because after those episodes with Ivor and his handler, I was tense when dealing with Yahzee around other dogs because I didn't know how she would react. We don't know if this was the full cause of her leash behavior, but it certainly didn't help things. Sorry, I know most of you don't have a clue what this is referencing, but if you ask me when I get home and am not content but exhausted, I will explain; it's a long story, and I don't have the time or energy to write it here. I also spoke to Angie about Yahzee's irritable bowel issues, and we both agreed that I did the right thing by retiring her.
After Angie's visit, it was time to go downtown for our afternoon rout. Jim worked well when we had to cross a series of parking lots which required him to find his line and not veer to the left, like he had done in the morning. He did much better this afternoon, and I did a better job of being able to read him. My instructor said that we did well and looked like a great team together. I just felt so happy when she said that, it affirms my belief that this bond between Jim and I is becoming more solid with every day, and that we will be a great working team when we get home.
When we got back to school, we were given three toys to use when we played with our dogs. We got a tug toy, a plastic bone, and a kong, which is a sort of round rubber thing that dogs love to fetch. Jim loves all three of his toys, even the plastic bone, which no other dog of mine has ever liked. I let him off leash in my room to play with his kong and he enjoyed bringing it back to me. We played several great games of tug and he talked to me during these, which was so cute! I haven't heard any kind of vocalization from him before, so I didn't know what his voice sounded like. I have never heard him bark, though several dogs in our class have barked at various times. It was great to see him play. he wagged his tail and rolled around and was generally adorable as only a lab can be.
When we were finished playing, we fed and relieved our dogs, and went to dinner ourselves.
After dinner, I listened to tomorrow's lecture on CD with a classmate, and after that, several classmates, one of the training specialists, and I went out by the graduation stage on the grass and just sat and talked. Jim and I sprawled out on the grass and I put my head on him like a pillow. He loved every minute of it, and so did I. This was something Yahzee would never have enjoyed, but this big guy couldn't get enough of it. We had some really great conversation tonight about why we all had guide dogs, and I really benefited from just listening to my classmates experiences. I'm the only one here who has been blind since birth; all of the other people in this class have had pretty serious medical conditions, I won't go into detail here to respect privacy, but listening to them made me realize how lucky I am in many areas of my life even including my health. It was just a really valuable experience for me, and made me think about how great my life truly is. Even when I had some rough spots, I knew that my friends and family would support me and that things would come together for me in theend. Now, they finally are, and as we all share our life experiences with one another and go on this guide dog adventure together, I know that I will continue to enjoy and learn from my interactions with both classmates and staff here.
When we were a bit chilly, we all came back inside, and I had an opportunity to talk at great length with Stacy, our training class specialist, who is also blind, and who has been since birth like me. She is on her fourth guide dog, and it was just wonderful to have an opportunity to talk with someone about Yahzee's retirement who understood and who has been there like I have. We discussed my feelings of guilt about retiring Yahzee, how I had done the right thing, and how I shouldn't fel bad about focusing all my time and energy in bonding with Jim because I realized today that I don't miss Yahzee as much as I thought I would. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that I know how incredibly happy and wonderfully looked after she is by my parents, and a lot has to do with the fact that I have really clicked with Jim in these few days in a way that I didn't with my previous two guides. When I first got Stoney, I was young and inexperienced and didn't really know very much. When I got Yahzee, I loved her very much, still do, but she had a lot of dog issues and I was worried about how things would work out. Looking back, I think those issues had an impact on my confidence, which in turn impacted her confidence in me. We worked through them, mostly, and she turned into a wonderful and smart worker, but I'm not sure she really ever loved it like this guy does. My instructor said to me today, "Jim loves to work. He's so focused on working that he ignores dog distractions and veers to avoid temptations. He's born to do this job and is just a great match for you." I can see that focus in him as wel. When he's on his harness he's all business and ignores things like children and dogs, but when he's off he's always up for saying hi. An important note to those of you at home who will meet him! Please DO NOT pet him when he is in harness. I know I was lax about this with Yahzee, but this time around, I'm going to inforce this rule pretty strictly, because I want him to keep his focus and not be distracted by people asking for his attention when the harness is on and he's on duty. Also, please DO NOT feed him or give him treats. GDB has a strict food reward system, which I will explain in more detail at a later date, but it's important that I stick to this system and that I am the only one to offer him food and rewards while we are bonding. I need him to count on me for everything to make our bond stronger. Also, when he's off harness, please wait until I say it's OK for you to pet him. He needs to be calm and listening to me before you can interact with him. This will help reduce some of the excitable behaviors Yahzee exhibited, and it's very important that I abide by these rules. My instructor told me that if we all follow these rules, we should avoid some of Yahzee's jumping patterns, etc.
I'll write a list of rules that I'd like you to follow when I get closer to coming home, but I just wanted to write this now, even though I totally wasn't intending to. I'm not setting these rules to be mean, I want you to interact with and get to know my dog, but it needs to be on my terms in order for us to be the best team we can possibly be! Thank you so much in advance for your understanding and cooperation!
Well, my day has come to an end, and I'm sitting outside on my patio with Jim writing this post. I think that so much of the calm I'm finding here comes from the beauty and peace of this place. It's so quiet out here, no traffic, no one talking, lots of grassy areas, and a patio right outside my door where I can come to groom my dog, or just sit and relax with a glass of lemonaid at the end of the day, like I'm doing now. I also think that this wonderful setting and environment really is contributing to my bonding with Jim. I know that after three schools, I've truly found the right place for me, and I'll certainly be coming back here for my next guide in about eight years or so. The staff are amazing, my classmates are great, and all of this freedom to be outside any time is awesome. It's interesting that not a lot of people use their patios as much as I do. I'm out hre a lot of the time on my laptop or iPhone, or playing with my dog. I think we both love it out here, though we should probably go in soon and head to bed.
I talked to Mom tonight, though I didn't get to skype with her which I missed, but hopefully we'll get to do that tomorrow evening.
Sorry for the lengthy post! I hope everyone is doing well! Tomorrow, we learn how to work in buildings, so I'll let you all know how that goes and what other experiences tomorrow holds!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Guide work, day one
Hi Everyone!
This will be a quick post, because Jim and I are both ready for bed after a long but great day! It started at 6:30 AM when we woke up, after that, I fed and watered Jim and made my own way down to breakfast. Meals have been some of my favorite times here when we're not doing guide work. I sit with two really fun classmates, Rebecca and David, and we spend every meal laughing about something or other.
After breakfast we went into the lounge to practice some basic obedience training, which Jim did really well with. I was very impressed with how quickly he obeyed my commands, considering I've known him for a bit over 24 hours.
When we were finished, it was time to harness up our dogs and get on the buss to go to downtown San Rafael. Jim loved his harness, and was delighted to get on the bus. When we got downtown we waited in the downtown lounge, which is this building that GDB has downtown where students can hang out and wait until it's time to go on route. I was the last person to go, so I spent some time talking to a classmate and listening to some music on my iPod while I waited my turn. Finally, the big moment arived and my instructor came and got us. I picked up that harness handle, gave Jim the command "forward" and we were off and running. He walked very well, and I love his pace and pull. He is a fast walker, and so am I, so we make a great team. He did a good job at turning, and I did a good job at reading him. We're working with him a bit, because he's stopping short on some curbs, instead of stepping right up to them to indicate to me where they are.
When I was finished, it was time to return to campus for lunch, and after lunch we harnessed up and went back downtown to do a second route, similar to the first one. He did really well again, and this time, he stopped to show me curbs better. I absolutely love working him, he's a great match for me in terms of his work and the things he likes. My instructor told me that she and one of the training class specialists, who's also blind decided for sure to match us together last week when they took him on a route in Berkeley and he loved navigating the crazy hectic environment. She said that they turned to each other and said, "Jim, Olivia!" So I thought that was great.
This evening was pretty laid back. I made some phonecalls, let Jim play with my friend Rebecca's dog Dorris, and Dorris, Rebecca, Jim, and I had another video session with my Mom on Skype with the help of our nurse here, Catherine. She was able to get the camera in a perfect position so that my Mom saw the dogs playing. It was a lot of fun. After that, I helped Catherine download skype and showed her some other things on her new mac. I really enjoyed this, and it made me even more excited to go home and start work! :)
I ended my day by going outside and sitting with six of my classmates on a bench. We laughed a lot, hung out with our dogs and each other, and had a great and relaxing time.
Now, I'm here with my laptop, lying in bed with Jim sacked out on his rug beside me. I can't believe I've only known my boy for 24 hours or so. I feel like I've had him for ever, he's just such a natural fit for me and I absolutely love him already! I love his work, how he plays, and how we interact together. I am looking forward to many great years together!
And, with that, I'll leave you for the day. I hope you are all doing well!
This will be a quick post, because Jim and I are both ready for bed after a long but great day! It started at 6:30 AM when we woke up, after that, I fed and watered Jim and made my own way down to breakfast. Meals have been some of my favorite times here when we're not doing guide work. I sit with two really fun classmates, Rebecca and David, and we spend every meal laughing about something or other.
After breakfast we went into the lounge to practice some basic obedience training, which Jim did really well with. I was very impressed with how quickly he obeyed my commands, considering I've known him for a bit over 24 hours.
When we were finished, it was time to harness up our dogs and get on the buss to go to downtown San Rafael. Jim loved his harness, and was delighted to get on the bus. When we got downtown we waited in the downtown lounge, which is this building that GDB has downtown where students can hang out and wait until it's time to go on route. I was the last person to go, so I spent some time talking to a classmate and listening to some music on my iPod while I waited my turn. Finally, the big moment arived and my instructor came and got us. I picked up that harness handle, gave Jim the command "forward" and we were off and running. He walked very well, and I love his pace and pull. He is a fast walker, and so am I, so we make a great team. He did a good job at turning, and I did a good job at reading him. We're working with him a bit, because he's stopping short on some curbs, instead of stepping right up to them to indicate to me where they are.
When I was finished, it was time to return to campus for lunch, and after lunch we harnessed up and went back downtown to do a second route, similar to the first one. He did really well again, and this time, he stopped to show me curbs better. I absolutely love working him, he's a great match for me in terms of his work and the things he likes. My instructor told me that she and one of the training class specialists, who's also blind decided for sure to match us together last week when they took him on a route in Berkeley and he loved navigating the crazy hectic environment. She said that they turned to each other and said, "Jim, Olivia!" So I thought that was great.
This evening was pretty laid back. I made some phonecalls, let Jim play with my friend Rebecca's dog Dorris, and Dorris, Rebecca, Jim, and I had another video session with my Mom on Skype with the help of our nurse here, Catherine. She was able to get the camera in a perfect position so that my Mom saw the dogs playing. It was a lot of fun. After that, I helped Catherine download skype and showed her some other things on her new mac. I really enjoyed this, and it made me even more excited to go home and start work! :)
I ended my day by going outside and sitting with six of my classmates on a bench. We laughed a lot, hung out with our dogs and each other, and had a great and relaxing time.
Now, I'm here with my laptop, lying in bed with Jim sacked out on his rug beside me. I can't believe I've only known my boy for 24 hours or so. I feel like I've had him for ever, he's just such a natural fit for me and I absolutely love him already! I love his work, how he plays, and how we interact together. I am looking forward to many great years together!
And, with that, I'll leave you for the day. I hope you are all doing well!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Dog day!
Well, it was "dog day" here in San Rafael. This morning started out with some basic obedience drills with our instructors. The instructors pretended to be dogs and took us through things like sit, stay, heal, down, etc. After that, we worked around the campus with our instructors holding a harness so that we could get a feel for our positioning working with actual guide dogs. This was important, because it gave us an opportunity to practice giving actual guide work commands and helped us make sure that we were positioned correctly when we worked with real dogs. After lunch, we did a bit more obedience practice and learned about our feeding and watering schedule while we were in class.
Finally, around 2:30, our instructors gathered us in the retrain lounge and read out the list of dogs and individuals in our class. I was first on the list and learned that I would be getting a male yellow lab named Jim. I was then told to go back to my room while my instructor brought him into the building to meet me. I waited about ten minutes and called my Mom and a friend, to tell them the news. I was the first to meet my dog, and I walked with my instructor back down to the retrain lounge where I was introduced to Jim. My instructor told me that he is a dark yellow, that he's 23 inches tall, and that he was born on July 15, 2008. She said that he loves city work, and walks fast, this is why he was chosen to be my boy. When he first met me, he was really excited and he rolled on his back with his legs in the air! It was sooooo cute! After we spent a minute or two saying hello in the lounge I healed him back to my room and spent the next hour and a half or so petting him and getting lots of kisses. He is so soft; he's got the best floppy lab ears, and I just love him.
After I fed and relieved Jim, it was time for dinner, so I ate dinner and got on a quick video chat with my parents through Skype so that they could see Jim. My Mom said that he is a beautiful golden color and that he kept sticking his head in the camera of my macbook. LOL! I'm really glad I showed my Mom how Skype works because it means she can video chat and see my room and my dog. I hope we'll do more of that, because we all really enjoyed it.
When I was finished with that, it was time for a yoga class, I decided to go and I am really glad I did. I loved the stretching and that was a relaxing way to end the day. I spent the last hour talking to some of my classmates in the lounge, and now it's time for bed. Tomorrow, we start real guide routes in town, so I will be sure to update and let you all know how that goes!
For now, goodnight! I hope the first day of core training was amazing! I wish I could be there, and I can't wait to start working with the whole team when I get home!
Finally, around 2:30, our instructors gathered us in the retrain lounge and read out the list of dogs and individuals in our class. I was first on the list and learned that I would be getting a male yellow lab named Jim. I was then told to go back to my room while my instructor brought him into the building to meet me. I waited about ten minutes and called my Mom and a friend, to tell them the news. I was the first to meet my dog, and I walked with my instructor back down to the retrain lounge where I was introduced to Jim. My instructor told me that he is a dark yellow, that he's 23 inches tall, and that he was born on July 15, 2008. She said that he loves city work, and walks fast, this is why he was chosen to be my boy. When he first met me, he was really excited and he rolled on his back with his legs in the air! It was sooooo cute! After we spent a minute or two saying hello in the lounge I healed him back to my room and spent the next hour and a half or so petting him and getting lots of kisses. He is so soft; he's got the best floppy lab ears, and I just love him.
After I fed and relieved Jim, it was time for dinner, so I ate dinner and got on a quick video chat with my parents through Skype so that they could see Jim. My Mom said that he is a beautiful golden color and that he kept sticking his head in the camera of my macbook. LOL! I'm really glad I showed my Mom how Skype works because it means she can video chat and see my room and my dog. I hope we'll do more of that, because we all really enjoyed it.
When I was finished with that, it was time for a yoga class, I decided to go and I am really glad I did. I loved the stretching and that was a relaxing way to end the day. I spent the last hour talking to some of my classmates in the lounge, and now it's time for bed. Tomorrow, we start real guide routes in town, so I will be sure to update and let you all know how that goes!
For now, goodnight! I hope the first day of core training was amazing! I wish I could be there, and I can't wait to start working with the whole team when I get home!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Here!
So I arrived in San Rafael earlier this afternoon. Most of today was spent settling into the dorm and getting to know my fellow classmates. There are eight of us, so it's a small class, which is great. We didn't really do any training today, basically, we just got oriented to the dorm setting. The staff here are great, and I think I will enjoy interacting with them on a daily basis. We are a pretty diverse group in terms of occupations, ages, and backgrounds, so I think it will be an interesting class.
"Dog day" is tomorrow about 2:30 California time. This is when I will be matched with my dog. I am not sure what exactly the process entails, so I'll write more about that after it happens tomorrow.
For now, I'm a bit tired, so I'll wish you all goodnight. If you're in core tomorrow, good luck! I really wish I was there with the team!
"Dog day" is tomorrow about 2:30 California time. This is when I will be matched with my dog. I am not sure what exactly the process entails, so I'll write more about that after it happens tomorrow.
For now, I'm a bit tired, so I'll wish you all goodnight. If you're in core tomorrow, good luck! I really wish I was there with the team!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
First post
This blog will chronicle my experiences as I travel to San Rafael, CA to meet my third guide dog in May. I am nervous and excited about this adventure and hope that you will follow me through the process
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