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!