The end of the beginning – Training with Ike my new guide dog

Feb 7, 2011 | New guide dog Nama 2012-2020, Personal | 3 comments

There’s a lot done but more to do.

Friday was the last day of after care that we have scheduled for a while. Ordinarily we would have another two days scheduled for the second week at home however I have asked for this to be cancelled as we’re getting on fine in terms of the dogs work and when the trainer follows us it’s more of a distraction to Ike than a benefit. We met the trainer in Dublin. The plan was that he would walk at a reasonable distance behind us so that Ike wouldn’t see him. All was going great. We navigated our way through the station, a cross the road and down Pierce street. This is where the problems started. Without any warning Ike stopped to relieve himself. This was the second time he had needed to spend that morning. Before leaving home he had done it so it was very strange that he needed to go again so soon. There was nothing I could do. He was already relieving himself when he stopped. When he had finished we continued walking. We got past the pedestrian gate on Nassau Street when he stopped to relieve himself again. This time I managed to get him over to the wall so he wasn’t crapping in the middle of the path. At this point the trainer came over. I very calmly said that I can no longer put up with the dog spending while working. I continued by clarifying that I was not annoyed or frustrated; I had been thinking this for a few days. I do not accept that this should be tolerated when the problem was presented a month ago. In my opinion although the dog’s situation has changed we shouldn’t still be in a position where the dog hasn’t established a solid spending routine and instead has no option but to spend while working. The trainer accused me of being emotional. Anyone who reads this blog or who knows me at all knows this is never the case when it comes to my mobility. I’m practical and logical. If it works great, if it doesn’t then it’s time to try something else. I have said that if there isn’t a marked improvement in this by Thursday the 10th of February then I will need to look at sending him back to Cork. Let me clarify. I’m not saying I’m giving him back. I am saying that it’s unrealistic to try to work a dog to a schedule while also trying to fix a badly broken spending routine. The trainer however made a very valid point. If the staff in cork resolved this it would potentially revert back when the dog was taken back to his new environment in Drogheda again. It’s hard to know what to do. The dog works so well it’s amazing. I really love walking down the street while he’s guiding me. It’s so comfortable and relaxed. I have really missed the freedom. He’s also starting to come out of his shell while at home. Every week I find something new that he likes or some new way of playing with him that he enjoys. I have to say that Ike is definitely the right dog for me. I am ready and able to tackle this spending routine but at the same time I can’t have the dog crapping in the middle of the foot path. It’s really embarrassing and very inconvenient for other pedestrians. I have no idea what to do.

In total, Ike relieved himself four times while working on Friday. Twice on the way to work, once on the way from the office to Stephen’s green and once on the way back from the train station in Drogheda on the way home. I know what you’re thinking. That sounds like a medical thing. I agree. The only reason why I haven’t chased it up is that since Saturday he’s been much more stable. I will certainly bring him to the vet tomorrow if it continues though.

On Friday I sent another message to the IrlGuideDogs discussion group outlining some of the problems that I have experienced with Ike. Up until that point I was almost ready to send him packing. I’m really glad I didn’t though. Some of the responses I got back were very insightful. More importantly about three or four people were very critical of my handling of the situation. More importantly though they were critical in a very positive way. Some people in that group have had dogs for over thirty or forty years. They’ve been through everything I’m currently working through so they know what can happen. It was a relief to see some things I was doing right but even nicer than this was the relief that I’m messing some things up as well. I have no problem messing up. That means that it is something that can be fixed.

After work on Friday I was invited to go with a few people for a drink but I decided against it. To help solidify the dogs routine it was probably better that I go straight home. Not that it helped of course… Instead of going out after work, I went to a pup that I play music at regularly. The people in this place are fantastic. They will not touch the dog and they will ensure that o one else touches the dog either. I have a great group of friends there and they’ve seen the benefits of not touching Freddie while he was in harness right from the start. The only reason why I took him there first is it allowed me to relax and take it easy while knowing that without a doubt Ike was never in any danger of picking up bad habits. Ike has got use to the pipes over the past month so the music didn’t bother him at all. This was a nice relief as although I wasn’t at all worried about it it could have been a possible source of strain for the dog considering he wasn’t use to it in that kind of environment. As with all new experiences for Ike, I tried to keep this as positive for him as possible however I was a little stricter than I ordinarily would be when introducing him into new environments. Mainly because it’s important that he knows that although he can look around he cannot act on anything that he sees unless he has my permission. This for me is vital as it means as much as he can rely on me, I can rely on him to behave even when all my attention isn’t on him.

It was possibly a little early to bring him out to this kind of thing but it did him no harm and I think it was more productive than just letting him sit at home for the evening. The decision to bring him to new places verses sticking to a hard and fast routine for working are never straight forward. You need to consider if this is the best thing for the dog. Will it require him to learn new routes or could it stress him out unduly. Of course, if there’s going to be a lot of work involved it may not be the best thing for him at this early stage as he has enough work to do going to and from work five days a week. It will be necessary to increase the number of routes he walks over time but doing too much too fast could cause him to stop enjoying his work.

I was very happy with the way he behaved on Friday night. He was as quiet as I expected him to be and even when I made him wait outside a toilet door he did so without moving at all. This is something I have been practising with him at home and while in the centre in Cork. Again, I can trust every single person in that pub so although this was a risky test it wasn’t all that bad. The first time I left him waiting Emma was beside him. The second time, A friend was around the corner and I asked him to keep an eye out. The dog obviously didn’t know that he was being watched but I knew that if it came to it the dog wouldn’t have been able to get up to much. It’s a nice relief to know that he now has this foundation. It is something that will of course require more work to ensure I can fully rely on him to stay where he has been told even when I’m in a place that I don’t know as well but we’ve had a very strong start. Especially considering this was his first time to a pub with me.

Saturday was a very quiet day. The weather around Drogheda was terrible so although I took the dog out for a walk I didn’t venture too far away. There was a meeting in a local school so I knew there would be cars on the foot paths. I took the opportunity to do a nice relaxed walk around that area so the dog had a few off curbe obstacles to work around. I was in no rush so I took plenty of time to reassure him and give loads of praise when he did it right. I have to say that the technical work that Ike does is fantastic. I only have one problem around my area. For a few days last week there was a very aggressive dog trapped in a house by a large gate. I know the dog is aggressive as I have had experiences with that dog over the past three years. Basically, the people in that house don’t own the dog. They take it when their uncle is away. Unfortunately kids from the nearby school have taunted it to the extent that it now throws it’s self at the gates when people walk past. This has caused Ike to become quite nervous when he’s near. Even now the dog has been gone a week Ike still slows down while passing the gate. I can feel him becoming quite sensitive. I’m trying to fix this with loads of reassurance and very clear directions but it’s probably going to take some time to get it right. I have planned to go into the people to ask them to consider the fact that I have a new guide dog because I’m reasonably certain that they will do anything they can to keep their dog under control but I haven’t had a chance yet.

On Saturday evening I took Emma out to our favourite restaurant for a meal to say thanks. I know that although this process has been a challenge for me it has been particularly difficult on her as well. Freddie’s retirement hit her quite hard as the two of them got on as if they’d known each other for his entire nine years. The day we retired Freddie was probably one of the worst days for her in a long time. During the wait for Ike, I used the Cain. I was very determined to be as independent and as mobile as I possibly could be. I travelled to Birmingham, Italy, Spain and around Ireland without regularly availing of a sighted guide. Where possible I followed people or I used a combination of the text based Google maps, GPS and the KSonar to find my way around new areas. Even though I wanted to be completely independent with the Cain I realistically couldn’t do it seven days a week. Emma had to put up with my complaints after I had a frustrating day with walking around Dublin using just a stick and during weekends she insisted that I use her instead of using the Cain to give me a break from it. I wonder. Is it just me or do others find using the Cain particularly tiring. You’re constantly concentrating. Like a drunken man stumbling from pole to wall to traffic lights you move erratically from land mark to land mark detecting and avoiding obstacles in your path. There’s just so much work involved with it. I will clarify though that this got easier with time. It’s probably just something I experienced because although I used the Cain reasonably regularly to ensure I didn’t lose any of those skills or techniques I didn’t use it over a sustained period of time until I retired Freddie. Anyway, I digress. The reason for this paragraph is to acknowledge Emma’s amazing patients. I would have found the transition from Freddie to Ike and the seven month gap much more difficult if it was not for her help and understanding. It’s far more than I deserve.

Of course, I didn’t want to leave Ike on his own on Saturday night so I took him with us. We know the people in the restaurant from the past few years of going there and although I originally had a problem with bringing the dog in there they had no issues with it on Saturday night. They even found the best table for us to sit at that was well out of the way of other customers. There were other people next to us and there was a party a few feet away but the area that we were in was not very busy so although Ike was under my chair there was no fear of anyone getting near enough to stand on him. It was really nice to hear people at the next table complement Ike for being so well behaved. They were shocked to hear that he had only left training a week before. It’s a credit to the training staff in Irish guide dogs that I can trust Ike so easily when out so quickly after coming home. Like all new experiences for Ike, I was just as strict as the previous night because he needs to know what’s expected of him but when the staff asked if they could rub him at the end when we were leaving I agreed. They couldn’t have asked at a better time. From the dogs perspective he had been quiet under the seat and he hadn’t asked for attention for the hour or so that we had been there and now that he was up and ready to go he got praise from a few people.

ON Sunday we again did very little. I took Ike to one of my sister’s houses to introduce him. My niece is almost five and she’s a real live wire. She enjoys nothing more than jumping around the place like a crazy thing. My sister and Emma blame me for this but I don’t agree. She’s crazy by nature. I just wind her up and let her go! Ike wasn’t very happy with this at all! He wanted to know what the hell this little person was doing hanging off my neck and walking up my back. He had a few playful barks from time to time and I’m not really sure how to show him that she’s only playing. I think most of his anxiety during this was because he wanted to join in. I have the same kind of problem with Emma actually. When simply giving her a hug Ike starts growling and barking. It’s important to say growling and barking is in no way aggressive for Ike. He’s very vocal. If I don’t take his toy off him quick enough he growls at me. When I’m playing he growls. When he gets up in the morning and does his little horse dance around the room he groans and growls. It’s just him having a bit of a chat. Again, it’s something he’ll just have to get used to. By horse dance I mean he sounds like a horse when he bounds around the place. That combined with his rapidly changing directions makes him sound like a crazy horse. It’s my description. Go with it! Anyway, on Sunday evening we went to the same pub. I ordinarily don’t go here twice in one week but for a number of reasons I was really in the mood for more music. We were only there for just over an hour so it wasn’t a huge change to Ike’s day. He was again very happy to sit at my feet quietly for the duration. I was a little less strict on him yesterday but he didn’t push it at all. When I let him walk around he said hello to the guitar player and another man at the bar but after giving both of them a quick sniff and a lick he came straight back over. The guitar player is a very good friend of mine. He hates seeing dogs so quiet. He’s a man who would be use to dogs bouncing around the place so it can be a bit hard for him to see one as well trained. He’s use to it now though considering he knew Freddie from when he started with me first but one of my main reasons for letting Ike have a look around was to assure him that Ike has his own personality too and although he knows when he’s working, he equally knows when he’s allowed his freedom.

Here I am again at another Monday. This morning Ike had no problems with spending. It was very unusual. He didn’t relieve himself before we left for work but although I gave him two opportunities on the way to the train station in Drogheda he didn’t take them. He has shown no signs of needing to go either. I am hoping that he doesn’t need to go before we get to the park during lunch. If he can just hold on until then and relieve himself when we get over there I’ll be really delighted. I’m hoping that if he does it over there he’ll be happy to then wait until we get home before doing it again and we won’t have another situation like Friday. I’m really hoping here but I’m quietly confident.

This is the end of my new guide dog related posts for the time being. We are now in our routine, Ike is bringing me to work efficiently and safely and he is settling in well at home. We have created a firm foundation over the past four weeks and the hard work is now done. For the next six weeks we will need to ensure that the training is reaffirmed and maintained to the high standard it is currently at. I will also need to ensure that Ike continues to really enjoy everything he is doing. The next six months will be the most important of our working relationship over the next nine to ten years. The dog will settle into his new life and routine and we will both learn more and more about each other with every passing week. As a company in Ireland have said, “We’ve a lot done but we have a lot more to do.” Ike’s spending routine requires more work and I need to continue to get use to this fantastic new dog. There will be more challenges but a lot more successes. One thing is certain. The next few months will be much easier than the past few were.

In no particular order thanks to Emma, Torie, Jenny, Nicky, Steve, Sinead, Joan anne, David, Tara, Sabrina, Mark, Aden, Rachael, Sarah, Sherlie, the other Emma, Abby, Lesley, Paul, Diana, Meka, Christine, Damien, Carol, Jesica, Claire, Mike, Maire, Kerrie, Lucy, Michel, Lina, Ari, Shaun, Dominique and everyone else who has emailed, called, tweeted and left comments of support. I also have to say a huge thanks to Ike’s puppy walker and trainers as well as all the staff in Irish Guide dogs. You all have done a fantastic job. I can’t begin to express how glad I am to have a guide dog again. The relief is unexplainable.

3 Comments

  1. Dominique

    You’re very welcome Darragh and thank you so much for the mmention. I’ve so much enjoyed reading your daily accounts and the entire process, and I look forward to the next installment. Who knows, it might be mme next?!

    Reply
  2. Jenny

    Keep up the great work you two!
    And your welcome 🙂
    Myself and OJ might be in Dublin a bit over the next month. Ike meeting my eejit of a dog mightn’t be the best idea but hopefully we’ll get to meet him sometime. OJ might even buy him a pint to celebrate all his hard work over the last month.
    Jen

    Reply
  3. torie

    No bother Darragh. I’m glad that I could help. Hard to believe that was me 5 months ago.

    As for the spending, it’s either something medical or there is something on that street that makes him want to go. You feel like you just want to crawl into a whole though when they do it. Thankfully Ushi only did it twice. I hope that is the end of Ikes spending mishaps.

    Take care, and i know i might not be the best at giving advice, but feel free to send a tweat or that if you need a chat or anything. Xxx.

    Reply

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