Guiding Eyes Day 2 Monday 27th

Woke up to alarm at 5:45 AM, dragged myself out of bed to shower before Obedience training. Thought this plan would work, um... not so much.
In obedience we worked on come/heel/hup up/down/off with instructors as the dogs. Learning to make corrections for errors or inappropriate behaviors with a firm tug on the leash. By the time I got to breakfast (3 minutes) I'd already forgotten half of it. Can you say Overload????

Went to training center in White Plains. Plan to walk students in pairs while others chill in lounge. Dan, the assistant, gave orientation tours I offered to go on first tour but was told, politely, that a schedule had already been worked out. I'm changing the name from guide school to doggie boot camp.

My walk turn came after lunch. First half of the walk, instructor held harness and pulled me through the streets of White Plains, weaving in and out around people and other obstacles. We practiced the command phrases "to the curb" and "to the door." After a few blocks, we switched instructors and the second one brought out a small black female lab for me to try walking with. The instructor was also hooked to doggie's leash, sort of like the extra steering wheel and brake the old drivers ed training cars. Just in case of emergencies. Well, instructor told me to instruct dog with the Forward command and whoosh, off we went. I know that dog probably weighed less than 1/3 of me however, she was dragging me down the sidewalk as if late for an appointment! And when I cued her to go "to the curb", man, she stopped on a dime. Correct responses to cues, in training, are followed by the word YES and a food reinforcement. By the time we returned to the center, I was out of breath as if I'd been power-walking and smelled like a liver treat. Not my choice of perfume!


Oh, the rule of treat/food giving. Always keep it in the palm of your hand, never fingers because labs especially will snarf it down. Bring hand across your body, keeping it close to your stomach, and open your palm under the dog's mouth.. Yeah okay, but nobody tells you that doggie's snarfing involves a good bit of slobber. I hear you laughing at me, dog-owner friends, but this is all new to me and starting with bodily fluid is a little yuck..

Back at school, after dinner, we again had lecture from 6-8 PM Like in the military or the police academy, we were assigned "equipment." A leash, a harness, a Nylabone (large-sized plastic-ish bone with raised nubs for biting and gnawing (better than my hand) and we were taught ways to use and hold leash as well as parts of the harness.
Highlights of the day:
the interesting conversations we had at training center about our lives, our vision loss, and pet peeves with the sighted community. Example of topics discussed- are we always supposed to be the Ambassadors of the Blind World and educate everyone we meet? Or is it ok to get cranky with people who do stupid, rude things and make wrong assumptions?

Bonus Highlight:
We were told we will get our dogs on Tuesday, not Wednesday since that is day 3. Tomorrow I become a dog owner... well actually a dog renter since the school technically owns the dogs!