Round and round we go. Where we’ll stop nobody knows.

• Firstly, you should read this so you know what these posts are all about.
• The first day with Ike
• Day 2 of training.
• Day 3 of training.
• Day 4 of training.
• Day 5 and 6 of training.
• Day 7 of training.
• Day 8 of training.
• Day 9 of training.
• Day 10 of training.
• Day 11 of training.
• Day 12 of training.
• Day 13 of training.
• Day 14 of training.
• Day 15 of training

Today was another success. We are continuing to build on the positive work done over the past few weeks and this is really starting to show. For example, the trainer described Ike’s walk as a swagger this morning. Interestingly, I now know that we have built up the dog’s confidence to almost the level it was at before training started. There is still some way to go but this is better than was anticipated by the staff involved with Ike’s training originally. Of course, this will revert back to a slightly earlier state when the dog goes to Drogheda to its new home on Friday but as I’ve said here before. If everything goes to plan then there should only be a slight drop in confidence as opposed to a complete regression.

I even think we may have begun to make some progress with the spending issue. By redistributing the amount of food the dog gets during each feed it is hoped that his spending pattern will change so that he only requires one solid spend in the morning and the other is done late at night. This would be an ideal solution but it will take some time to verify that it works. Unfortunately, we have also begun trialling this at the end of class and just before his routine changes again when he moves to Drogheda so it will take a little longer for this change to settle enough to give any indication as to its level of effectiveness. There was one occasion during this morning’s walk that he exhibited signs of wanting to go but it only seemed to bother the dog for a very short time and by sitting him to take pressure off his bowels he was comfortable enough to continue walking again. I am hoping that this second solid spend was required because of the change in routine. I hope we’re not going to be back to a situation where he continues to require two spends in the morning but as I said a moment ago, I’m reasonably satisfied that this new approach may solve it.

Speaking of this morning’s walk, it was in a place called Bishops town in Cork. It was the second time we had walked around this area. I had chosen it in consultation with the trainer because it’s a very nice long route with plenty of distractions, road crossings and obstacles so the dog gets to really stretch his legs and really has to remain focused for a reasonably extended period of time. One thing that I have noticed after the two times we have done this route is the dog is really happy while walking it. I think he really enjoys the freedom of the nice straight roads combined with the challenge of the obstacles on the narrow foot paths. Apart from his need to relieve himself there were no other problems. He continued to work particularly well. Even when he needed to relieve himself it was something that was very manageable and it did not seem to place any stress on the dog. I will wait with caution for tomorrows walk. I don’t expect a major difference but I’m kind of slightly hopeful that if he spends late tonight and tomorrow morning we might get a nice long walk without any signs of this. I would love this to happen before we go home as I think it would be a valuable reassurance not just for me but for the dog too!

This afternoon we took the dogs for a free run. This is where the dogs change into a different collar and they are let loose in a park or some other kind of safe public area suitable for dogs. This is an essential part of a guide dogs life. It allows them to completely relax and blow off some steam. I let Ike out in the garden at the front of the grounds at least once a day but even with this short run, the free run is vital. Ike spends a free run bounding around like a horse on crazy drugs. He darts from left to right bounding through bushes. He doesn’t go all that far away and in fact it would seem to me that he keeps me in his field of vision because when we moved to a different path or we turned back Ike wasn’t too far behind. Ike is particularly different to Freddie when free running. Freddie was clingy and needy. He loved to play so he wouldn’t really go off on his own for all that long before coming back and waiting for something to play with. This was something he seemed to do from when I got him first. Ike on the other hand is delighted to go off for a run and a sniff. He bounds back toward me from time to time but after telling him that he’s a good boy he’s quite happy to continue running around the place like a crazy thing. I was delighted that Ike got to go for a free run today. It is never a great idea to free run a guide dog very shortly after returning home because it is important that their spending routine becomes established and their work takes priority. The amount of time will vary from dog to dog in terms of how long to wait before bringing them for a free run when they go home but I would think that with Ike I won’t be able to bring him out for at least a month as even if I don’t encounter many issues with spending it will be useful for him to be completely set in his ways in terms of when he needs to relieve himself. A free run is a time when they get particularly stimulated so if they have anything in there at all their likely to let it out therefore potentially disrupting the spending routine for the day or even for a few days for a new dog that has had issues settling into this routine in the past.

One of the most important lessons we all learn when we get a guide dog is that every guide dog and handler partnership is different. Therefore advice that is given to one partnership may not work for another. Therefore, if you have read something on this blog that you would like to try I would ask that you please contact your guide dog association for advice first. I know that this goes without saying for everyone but it’s still worth mentioning just in case.

As with every evening, we have spent most of the time listening to a bit of music, playing, having a bit of a chat and just taking it easy. I came down to this class with one objective. That was to learn about my new guide dog and ensure he had loads of opportunities to learn about me. I spend quite a lot of time with Ike either playing or simply sitting with him getting to know the best places to rub him. For example, He loves his ears getting rubbed but he’s more into getting a rough back scratch. He also growls and wines from time to time but as I don’t particularly encourage that it’s becoming less and less. Except while playing of course. As someone mentioned today, when they hear Ike and I playing with a toy it sounds like he’s eating me! He growls and barks like he’s in a ferocious temper. He isn’t of course. He just gets really involved when he’s playing and all his quiet personality traits get forgotten about temporarily. I wouldn’t have this any other way. It’s great to see that he can easily relax.

Just another note before I finish up for tonight’s post, I find that I can’t be lazy at all with Ike when it comes to grooming. If I don’t groom him for even one day his hair becomes knotted. Of course, it’s not bad, it’s manageable but it adds a lot of extra time in the mornings. I think I could probably get away with grooming Ike three or four times a week but I know that if I don’t do it every day it will take far too long. I’d rather stay in the habit of doing it every night. It makes him feel and smell better and he seriously hardly sheds any hair!