In this new series, guest blogger and Center on Vision Loss volunteer Holly chronicles her experience attaining a new dog guide.
Working the Wild Wednesday
Coming to you live from the Portland lounge, with lots to report. First off, we have worked two very successful routes, and for those of you who know my lack of interest in coffee, you will find it funny that our destination route was to a local Starbucks. I have been inside it once to find the counter.
Each of us will be working with another person as a team. The person I am working with is training with her first dog, and is from Hawaii. She is doing great, and I hope she continues to do so. For the first time this morning, when we were leaving school, we did not have to use our canes, because we could work our dogs. Our route even came complete with a dog distraction that had been planted along our sidewalk. This was designed to give the students practice working what is called a "timeout." This is a very effective method of correction that can be done as soon as the dog becomes distracted. The handler stops, puts their harness handle down, and makes sure that they have a grip on the leash very close to the dog's neck. The person stands still and ignores their dog for ten to 15 seconds. This works because the dog does not get the desired result of having their handler react to them after a distraction. It is like having a child that is misbehaving, and when they are not rewarded with attention, often, they will change their behavior.
On the way to Portland, dogs and people both rode in the back seat of a van. On the first route in Portland, I was lucky enough not to have any rain. We had been warned that there was a possibility of a major rain event that could have resulted a freezing rain situation. Thank goodness that was not the case.
At lunch, we were all told where our dogs were raised and their raiser's names. Tyra was co-raised in Aurora, Colorado, and somewhere in Utah. I hope to find out soon whether her raisers will be coming to our graduation ceremony.
On our second route, we had to deal with drizzle, construction, and a local commuter train called Max. Tyra handled it all very well. We also had to deal with sidewalks that are made of brick, and are very slippery when wet. She was very careful with all of this, especially the metal grates in the sidewalks that can also be slick when wet. The lounge is located on the second floor of an eight story building, so going in or out, the dogs have to work the stairs. She is great with those too, although on the way in after our second workout, she paused often, to try to talk me into giving her kibble. I was very firm with her, and she figured out that she was only going to get kibble when I said so. She is great, and I hope you enjoy reading our updates.
