guide dog training – Page 2 – Opportunity Unleashed

Guiding Eyes Training (September 2017), Day 3 Part 1|Meeting Oleta’s Young Padawan

I have split day 3 into two posts, because there was just too much to say. Find part two here.

Dog day!!!

Juno obedience Wednesday morning went well. After breakfast, I had a deep philosophical conversation about life in the lobby with one of my classmates. It was very enjoyable and passed the time quickly. Before I knew it, it was 9:00 and I was rushing to puppy proof my room before the big reveal at 9:15. We gathered in alumni hall and listened as the list was read. I was the first on the list. I must disappoint you in reporting that I cannot publicize any identifying information about my new guide just yet, not until the match is a bit more certain, and not until the puppy raisers have been notified that their puppy has been matched with a person and is in class. Our puppy raisers work so hard and give so much of themselves to these dogs, and we want to ensure that they find out about their puppy’s placement through the proper channels, and not through a third party like social media.

That said, they announced my dog’s name, breed, and sex. For now, I will refer to her as Padawan, as in Oleta’s Young Padawan.

I spent a few minutes in the coffee room with a snack, chatting with my classmates, then went back to my room to wait. It wasn’t too long before I heard the knock on my door.

“Coming!” I called out, then hurriedly gathered my treat pouch and leash from my bed. My trainer came in with our instructor assistant and “somebody else”, as she announced as I opened the door. “Somebody else” came excitedly in, sniffing out the entire area. My instructor walked me through giving her five high value food rewards, which she very much enjoyed for the approximately 15 seconds that it took her to eat them, gave me a few last bits of information, then left us to snuggle. We did not do much snuggling, though not for lack of trying on my part haha. First we explored every inch of the room, then she spent the time getting up, laying down, staring at the door, and whining for the trainers. This is perfectly normal. She has spent the last six months training every day with them, and she doesn’t understand yet that I am going to be her person now… so she cried, and cried, and I fruitlessly attempted to distract her with petting, talking, her bone, and singing, which eventually did help her some. As I sang, she finally laid down for more than a minute next to me. At one particular song, she got excited and rolled over on her back, wriggling back and forth and batting me with her paws. It was so cute, and I thought I had her well-occupied, but she was soon back at the door whining.

Eventually we were escorted up to lunch by a trainer. Padawan was very excited and we only walked a few steps at a time before I had to ask for a sit to remind her not to pull on the leash. Lunch was hectic, as I expected after spending two hours trying to get her to stay still long enough to pet at all hahaha. She was up and down the entire time, but I did get to eat bites of my sandwich in between commands to “sit” and “down” and “stay”. The other students at my table had to do so a couple of times. It seemed their dogs were much more interested in chilling out. Personally, I’m glad I have my ball of energy. 🙂 ❤

Guiding Eyes Training (September 2017), Day 2|Juno Walks and Test Driving A Dog!

I woke up this morning bright and early at 5:30 Am without an alarm. I think something about the knowledge that I am getting a new guide dog tomorrow is keeping me from sleeping well. I woke originally at 2:30 Am thinking it was time to get up… only to find that I had to go back to sleep again. What a disappointment.

I began the morning, as I will every morning while I am here, with obedience, although this time with no dog. The trainer used her arm to simulate the motion of the dog as I gave the commands and hand signals. We practiced sit, down, stay, and heel. The process was quite painless, and the only comment of note by the trainer is that I need to slow down a bit in backing up from my dog when performing “stay”, so that my dog isn’t tempted to chase me instead. Slowing down is something I have heard from my trainers a few times over the last couple of days… apparently my need for speed is putting myself and others at slight risk haha. I am trying to listen… I think that counts for something at least.

We had breakfast then left at quarter of eight for our Juno walks and live dog walks at White Plains. That’s right, this time, I got to test drive a real, live, actual, breathing, walking dog!!! Unfortunately, it was not until all of my other classmates had already done so. Yes, I was the last in the lineup. You can imagine the torture! My classmates sarcastically suggested that I might need a little coffee. It was clear that coffee was the absolute last thing I needed. One classmate added that I, “come pre-caffeinated.” It’s true. There is a reason I do not drink caffeine.

So, when my trainer finally came into the room (five hours later!) and announced that she was ready for me, I was raring to go. We headed out the front door of the White Plains facility and to the sidewalk. I took one end of the harness, my trainer took the other, and we began our walk, talking as we went about how it felt to me. After a few blocks, we paused and met up with another trainer who repeated the process with me. I always wonder what random passers by are thinking when they see a blind person being tugged around by another person with a heavy duty leather harness and no dog. We probably look a tad ridiculous, but I embraced it, enthusiastically praising my trainer for a job well done, and correcting her with a “No Juno, leave it.” when she went to sniff something off to the side. My favorite part by far, though, was the live dog walk.

“Here I am.” my trainer said as she approached with the dog. We had stopped at a section of sidewalk near the vans that held all our potential matches.

“Hi you!” I said, reaching out. “You’re so small!”

She was small! A teeny tiny Labrador. Oleta was a small lab as well, but this one seemed especially minuscule, and much smaller than Little O. Granted, I only got to see her briefly, but she does seem quite petite to me… small, but mighty, as I soon discovered.

“Juno, forward.” I said. The first thing I registered was pull. She was actually pulling out into the harness as a guide dog should, and as my retired guide hasn’t done consistently for years. She was also walking at a high speed. I felt a bit like I was on a rocket ship, and it was amazing. She was everything I had asked for and more. She found curbs like a champ, and didn’t stop until she was right on top of them. The clarity was incredibly refreshing. I was both joyful and a little sad to find that after 10 minutes spent with this dog, I felt I could trust her with my safety in a way that I hadn’t been able to trust Oleta for a long, long time… and I didn’t even know her name.

Admitting that makes me feel like a traitor. I feel guilty for the years I spent in willful ignorance of our issues as a team. I think I knew in the latter half of 2014 that our struggles then would eventually result in retirement, but I wasn’t willing to let go just yet. I wanted to make it work, and I think maybe I tried a little too long. By last spring, Oleta was going to extremes to show me that she was ready for retirement, and I wish I hadn’t pushed her to that point. Still, I needed her to stick it out due to the circumstances, and she did as well as she could. Gosh I miss her.

We had a transitions session tonight with all of the retrains to discuss retirement and moving on to accept and bond with a new dog. I am thrilled that tomorrow is dog day, and cannot wait to officially meet my match, but I can’t help thinking of Oleta. She is in my memory constantly, and I do long for her, but, as noted during the transitions session, the bond between guide dog and handler never breaks. It only changes. I have room in my heart for this new dog, and I have to do my best to keep my mind on that purpose and goal during my time here. That said, I almost broke down tonight, and I am sure it will happen sometime… it’s just a matter of when. This is emotional stuff.

Tomorrow is dog day. That means our trainers will meet tomorrow morning to finalize the matches between human and dog, and then we will gather in Alumni Hall to hear the name, gender, breed, and color of each announced in turn. After that we will wait in our rooms to welcome our dogs individually and have some bonding time before lunch and our first harness walks outside. I cannot wait! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Reflections on my First Guiding Eyes Journey – Meeting my Little One with Wings

I found a seat in the circle of chairs in Alumni hall along with my classmates. I was full of lunch and laughter and bursting with the excitement of it all. I had dreamt of getting a guide dog for years, and this was the moment. I was about to discover the identity of my long-awaited companion. I sat on the edge of my seat as our meeting commenced. A few people spoke first — my class supervisor, the president of the organization, saying a few special words about the journey we were about to undertake. Until, finally, it was time. We all waited with bated breath as our class supervisor read the first name.

“Miss W, It’s your birthday so we’ll start with you. Your dog is named Paulson, P-A-U-L-S-O-N, and he’s a yellow lab male.”

She continued from Paulson, a yellow lab male, to Lynn, a yellow lab female, to Pacer, Orlando, and Butch, all yellow lab males, among others.

As the names and breeds passed, I evaluated each one. Did that dog’s name match with the name of their handler? Would I like having a dog named that? Oh dear, what would my dog’s name be anyway?! What if I hated it? Would I get a boy or a girl? It seemed like we had a lot of yellow lab males… maybe that’s what I would have too… but then it was my turn.

“Shea,” A pause that seemed like eternity. “Your dog’s name is Oleta, O-L-E-T—A, and she is a black lab female.”

A sound that was half laughter half sob escaped me at hearing her name. It was so beautiful I thought I was going to cry right there. My classmates laughed at my reaction and encouraged me to breath. I tried, but couldn’t. Oleta! I was already in love with her!

After the rest of the class received their match information, we all went back to our rooms to wait… and wait… and wait. I curled up on my bed trying to distract myself with Facebook and reading my bible, but nothing was working. All I could think about was Oleta. Would she like me? Would we be able to work together? What was I going to do for the next two hours of bonding time? What if I did something wrong and ruined all her training? Could I really stay calm and collected when she arrived like our instructors told us we should be?

I perked up every time I heard a sound in the hallway. Footsteps? It must be my trainer coming to my room! But no. They continued past, probably headed to a fellow students room to deliver their pup. The jingle of a collar or a leash? That had to be Oleta! I thought, but no. It was someone else’s dog. Voices! I was sure it was my trainer with Oleta! But no… it was my neighbor receiving her dog. I must have started toward my door to open it three or four times, before I finally surrendered to the agonizing wait.

At long last, an hour or so on, a gentle knock sounded, and I slid quickly from my bed to go get it. Leash in hand and treat pouch appropriately placed, I reached for the door handle.

“Hi Shea.” My instructor greeted me, calmly. “Here is Miss Oleta for you.”

Wet nose, velvety fur, thwacking lab tail, and kisses galore.

“Hi Oleta!” I crooned, giving her a greeting scratch and welcoming both she and my trainer into my room. I reached into my treat pouch and offered her the three, high-value food rewards our trainers had given us to make a good first impression on our new partners. My hand was shaking, and thoroughly washed, as she gobbled up each treat in turn, and then made absolutely sure there weren’t any remaining morsels in my palm. At discovering there weren’t, she turned her attention to the floor.

“Okay.” My trainer said. “I’m gonna take my leash off and you can clip yours to her collar.”

I did, and just like that, Oleta was mine.

“She’s all yours.” My trainer confirmed, as she moved to the door. “Enjoy her.”

Puppy Poll!!! — You Tell Me, Who will It Be?

Getting a new guide dog is rather like having a baby… there is a long period of waiting, and then that exciting moment you realize it’s actually happening, and then more waiting, and all the time, you are wondering… will it be a girl or a boy? What will she look like? What will her name be? Will he be calm or energetic? Clingy or independent? Focused or playful?

In this case, I can’t help thinking about whether he will be like Oleta, my retired guide. Will he knock me over with kisses the first time he meets me like Oleta did, or be a bit more reserved? When we go out for training, will she step daintily into the van like Oleta did, or leap enthusiastically after me, like some of my classmates dogs did in 2011?

At the moment, I can’t answer any of these questions… but what I can do is have some fun with it. So, let’s speculate.

What’s your vote?

Need Some Expert Testemony? (By Oleta Renee)

Wow… It’s been a while, but Shea is currently working on a speech, and ignoring me I might add, so I thought I might contribute to the blog, since she’s been such a terrible blog authoress (blauthoress? I like it.) She’s been a terrible blauthoress, so I’m lending a paw to the cause.
The speech on which she is currently working happens to be on the subject of guide dogs, a subject on which I happen to be well versed. Her professor is always talking about how one should have “expert testimony” to support their claims. She is concerned, because she was crazy this week with midterms and didn’t have time to call and interview a guide dog trainer as she wanted to do, but I think she is missing a crucial detail here. SHE literally lives with an expert on guide dogs and guide dog training! Hello… why bother calling a human guide dog trainer when you can just interview the guide dog? Sometimes Shea makes no sense!
So, I just wanted to let you guys know, if you ever need some expert testimony on guide dogs, I would be more than pleased to offer my expertise.
Professionally,
Oleta Renee