New guide dog » The dodgy domain of DigitalDarragh

It should be easier.

Feb 132012

Isn’t it mildly entertaining and weird? If you look back at one of the first posts in the new guidedog topic on this blog, you’ll notice that I included a picture taken from the Irish Guide dogs for the Blind facebook page when I was waiting for training with Ike to begin in January 2011. I included the picture because I received a lot of messages from people who really wanted to see what he looked like. Today, Irish guide dogs posted a picture of Ike and again, I’ve had to copy it down so that people who got to know Ike for the nine short months can see how he’s getting on. Like it or not, and believe me I usually don’t like it, people other than the handler of guide dogs become very attached to our dogs. So, when Ike was returned back at the start of October last year a lot of people were actually quite unhappy with me. I was accused of being too harsh, of giving up, of not sticking with it and of not giving it enough time. I understand though so wasn’t bothered in the slightest by this. I suppose, what these people didn’t see was the days where I couldn’t go somewhere because I knew he would need to relieve himself in an unacceptable point along the way. Or the mornings when on the way to work Ike would be so stressed trying not to relieve himself that he wouldn’t be focused on where he was bringing me. People could even tell me that he didn’t want to go, he had no choice. I felt so sorry for him! Yet, I couldn’t go on with that kind of problem. It simply didn’t suit my life style and this completely defeated the purpose of having a guide dog in the first place.

I find it a little ironic that a year later; I’m posting another picture up here for you to see showing Ike waiting to be assigned to someone else. I really really hope it works out for him. He’s an amazing worker. I can’t say how much I miss walking with him. You just wouldn’t believe how comfortable it is navigating around Dublin city with him specifically. Freddie, my first guide dog was brilliant in so many ways and in more ways than not, his personality suited me more than Ike’s but wow; Ike had an amazing way of walking that felt completely natural. It shouldn’t bother me still but I really hate that it came to this. Firstly if I’m to be completely honest, I hate it because I start every day with the cane dreading every moment when out with that stick but secondly because I miss Ike’s work. I know this might seem heartless to those of you without a guide dog or who knows maybe those of you with a guide dog might think so too but I know that I will be able to draw a line under my trials and tribulations with Ike when I train with another dog. Until then, I’m going to remain a bit bitter about it.

Sorry. I shouldn’t but I can’t help it.

Using the cane, I’m getting a little bit freer in environments that I’m used to. Nassau Street is no longer as much of a challenge. I have to say though, walk fast and walk purposefully seems to be the best option. Sorry for people who might occasionally get in my way but it seems to be the best way of getting people to take notice. I wish pedestrians would learn! I can’t see you! You can see me! MOVE! While walking up Dawson Street now, I find that I can follow the gutter going up the centre of the path but if I just take my time people seem to stand right in my way! I called into a coffee shop last Wednesday on South Fredrick Street. They had a big sign outside their sheltered area and it was in the perfect spot for me. It always marked the centre of the path. They moved it though and my cane kept getting stuck under the plastic partition that surrounds their outside chairs. I think they might have moved it because they apologised a few times after I walked into it in the morning. The problem is though, although it looks like I’m walking into it, I’m deliberately finding it with the cane. It’s my landmark on south Fredrick Street that marks when I need to out dent away from the shop fronts so as I miss the plant pots. I’ve learned with experience. Especially when it’s raining, I don’t want to be anywhere near those stupid plants. They hit me right in the face! Then, when I pass the display, I hit the metal railings. After they finish, I take exactly ten steps and turn directly left. It’s important to take ten because if I take less than 10 I won’t align straight to my next landmark and I could end up going straight down the centre of another road. Yeah, I’ve done that. Humiliating. Anyway, it’s ten paces across south Fredrick Street. I’ll meet a skinny metal pole. I turn directly right and take fifteen and a half steps from there. That will get me to the steps of the office and the centre handrail will be directly on my right or if I’m off a little bit then the left handrail will be right beside me. I have this stepped out because if I follow the wall I can occasionally hit someone sleeping rough and I don’t like to bother them. I also find that there are a few bikes parked at the railings so I can’t follow them too closely so staying in the centre of these paths is my only efficient route. This is the level of detail I have taken on board to help me navigate independently and efficiently using the cane. Don’t get me wrong either, this level of detail wasn’t found overnight. I made some stupid mistakes and I battered my ribs off bike handle bars first. As they say, necessity is the mother of all invention. Just wish they’d stop moving my landmarks. You know where I cross after ten paces? There used to be a part of that path missing. They fixed that during the time I worked with Ike though. It took me ages to find that crossing point again. Why do they have to go around fixing stuff! A you can hopefully see, although I’m still very miffed about what happened with Ike, I’m struggling on and thanks to some great friends it’s probably a little easier this time around in some ways.

A year on. How life changes.

New guide dog, Personal 4 Responses »

Jan 112012

I can’t believe a whole year has passed. On the 11th of January 2011 I arrived in Cork and met Ike, the dog that would drive me crazy, do amazing work and would subsequently be returned to Irish guide dogs on October of the same year. I remember the positivity, the hope, the nervousness the dread, the anxiety and the relief of that day as if it was yesterday. I sat in that bedroom in the centre of Irish guide dogs in Cork on that Tuesday evening writing that post with a dog at my feet. I was overwhelmed with so many feelings and writing the blog posts really helped sort everything out.

Here I am a year later without a dog. I explained in December that because of the irresolvable issues I encountered with Ike It became untenable to continue working himtherefore Irish guide dogs and I mutually decided that he should no longer work with me. I am therefore back on the waiting list for a new dog. This waiting list might be very long. Not because there are people ahead of me in any kind of queue, Irish guide dogs don’t work on that kind of system. Dogs are matched to handlers based on their ability to suit the life style of the individual and the work the dog will be required to do. Because I spend so much time working and travelling the dog that suits me will have a number of attributes specific to my requirements. I and others have made the point that realistically I don’t do anything that tens of thousands of people around Ireland don’t do on a daily basis. I commute to work and socialize. That’s my work from a guide dog perspective in a nutshell so finding a dog shouldn’t be that difficult. That doesn’t seem to be the case either. People have also said that they believe that Irish guide dogs are de -prioritising me because with a cane I’m still quite mobile and independent. I don’t really think that’s the case though. I genuinely believe the instructors are doing their best but that they have found it difficult to find a dog that will do the amount of work that I demand up to the standard I expect. I have spoken with a number of instructors very regularly and I am completely certain that they are genuinely disappointed that Ike didn’t work out and I know they will do anything they can to ensure a new match is found as soon as possible.

In saying that, I told them in April 2008 that Freddie’s vet believed strongly that Freddie should be retired sooner rather than later due to the arthritis in his hips. I am not happy that a successor dog was not found until the matching visit in October 2010 five months after retiring Freddie and over two and a half years after Freddie’s vet advised that his work should come to an end as soon as possible. Again though, I don’t believe this was as a result of a fault of any particular individual or even the fault of Irish guide dogs. I believe that what I was told was the truth. They assessed Freddie regularly for that time and their opinion was that Freddie was ok to continue to work. Later, he was ok to continue working but the routes he worked were reduced substantially. I agreed with their assessments because I wanted to continue working Freddie for as long as possible. However, I expected that they would ensure a successor dog would be found well before October 2010. I very rarely say anything negatively about Irish guide dogs because I think they’re an amazing organization and every single member of staff and every single instructor does a fantastic job. However, I believe they were wrong in their judgement to allow Freddie to work until June 2010. I find it hard to disagree with people who have the opinion that Irish guide dogs did not put me back on the waiting list when they claimed to have. I even wrote to an instructor on the 4th of March 2009 with that point almost a year after the vet strenuously voiced his concerns.

I write this explanation here not to cast any negative light over Irish guide dogs but instead to explain why I’m utterly void of any confidence or hope that a new dog will be found for me in 2012. I of course want to hope that I’m wrong but my experience to date has seriously dampened my confidence.

So, not to over state things, alone I stand. Just me and my white stick. I have probably written on this blog before how much I hate using the cane. Yes, I can get around and yes I’m one of the lucky ones because my mobility is actually reasonably good but I hate every second while using the cane. I hate stumbling along from land mark to land mark dreading the unknown. Dreading the street furniture. Dreading the rubbish on the paths. Dreading the cars parked too near to the wall. Dreading the people standing quietly in my way. Dreading the wind pushing me off course. Dredding the noise disorienting me. Dreading getting off the bus because he keeps stopping in different points along road. I’m tired of walking into things and giving up independence and self reliance. I’m tired of worrying.

I can’t say enough how much family and friends have helped. Emma has been absolutely amazing! Again, because I’m reasonably mobile and because I have fantastic people around me, I’m one of the exceptionally lucky ones. I could have it a lot worse and this post shouldn’t be considered one long moan. Although, I will grant you, it’s certainly sounding like one. Sorry about that.

I wanted to write this post just to say that I’m glad 2011 is over. Ike was not the dog for me. He drove me crazy in so many ways most serious of which was his constant problem of relieving himself while working. I am quite happy that he will likely be reallocated to another handler with an easier work load or who can facilitate these problems. I miss having a guide dog. I miss the confidence, the freedom and the flexibility. I didn’t get much flexibility from Ike but still, what little I did get was nice to have for the short time that I worked him. I know that Irish guide dogs and I made the right decision but living with it is incredibly difficult.

Yes, I’m glad 2011 is over. Good riddens. I doubt 2012 will be any better as I doubt a successor dog will be found within the next twelve months but hey, anything is possible.

For the moment, I’ll continue doing what I’m doing and hope that time passes quickly. Let’s hope I don’t go too crazy and don’t walk into anything too serious in the mean time. Dublin isn’t helping though. On Monday I nearly broke my nose off a shop awning on Nassau Street. An irresponsible shop owner usually has a few seats under this area and the Cain meets these therefore stopping me before I can walk any further. On Monday morning, these seats hadn’t been put out yet and because I didn’t know that the seats were in the way of any obstacle at head height I had no reason to walk with any more caution than normal. Before I knew it my nose came into contact with a metal bar that was supporting the frame that the awning is stretched over. A guide dog would almost always spot this kind of obstacle at head height and move to avoid it. Just one example of why I hate using the cane.

Slán Ike. I’m back to the cane again.

New guide dog, Personal 4 Responses »

Dec 082011

I’ve put off writing about this for over two months now but I’d appreciate your input.

I hate to say it, but with mutual agreement with Irish guide dogs for the Blind in cork, Ike is no longer my guide dog. Readers of my blog, my followers on Twitter and people who know me will be aware that I have had almost constant problems with Ike due to unclean walks. In other words, he regularly relieved himself while working.

The problem with this was that I could not bring him with me all the time as I could not take the chance that he would spend in an area where I could not pick up after him or he would need to relieve himself and his concentration would not be on his work.

The entire story is very long and complicated. I won’t go into the whole thing here at the moment because I want to write about my life as a cane user and not the issues that lead up to Ike being returned however, what I will say is, I’m very unhappy with what happened and I think I have been treated quite unfairly.

Anyway, what I wanted to write about today was a problem that I am having now that I am back using the cane.

I am quite confident when walking around both with the cane and with a guide dog. Of course, I can be much more relaxed with a guide dog and I can move much more freely. With a guide dog navigating around Dublin city is much easier compared to using a cane. I walk into stuff. My left shoulder seems to be constantly sore because of things sticking out from buildings at shoulder height but generally, I don’t mind walking into things. The worst that will happen and I trip and land on the ground… Worse things have happened. Seriously though, I usually don’t let much stop me thanks mostly to the attitude adopted by my parents when I was very young. I was never given the chance to take the easy way out. I was always pushed out the door on Saturday morning to fend for myself. Not in a bad way. Don’t pick me up wrong. They just encouraged independence and didn’t except anything less. Actually, it’s kind of funny. I remember being really young and sitting on the side of a chair. I was doing something that was probably uniquely recognisable as being characteristic of someone who is blind. I remember my father asking me what I was doing. I answered and he seemed genuinely amused and curious. He quizzed me on it and actually made me think about it so much that I never did it again. It was this complete unwillingness to surrender to stereo typical attitudes relating to visual impairments that gave me the attitude I have today. I think I’m incredibly lucky to have had that kind of upbringing.

Ok. So, to my problem. Getting around isn’t too difficult when I know where I’m going while using the cane. I get where I need to be usually. I have had problems finding places that I’m not very familiar with but I’ve tried to stay as positive as possible and have asked strangers for directions when needed. The problem arises when I don’t’ know the area that I have to go to. I lose all confidence and I become confused and a bit stressed. I also find that I am terrible in crowds or in busy social situations such as pubs. With a guide dog, I just point in the general direction and the dog will walk me there. He’ll need to make corrections to avoid people or obstructions but in general he’ll walk that direction. With a cane, it’s so easy to get disorientated.

What all of this boils down to is this: I really don’t like using the cane. I find it slow, cumbersome, obtrusive, inefficient, imprecise and conspicuous. I feel like I’m waving a sign around saying, please help! More than the cane though, I hate with a passion asking sighted people to guide me somewhere. It doesn’t matter how well I know them. People are going to completely disagree with this but it’s my personal view for me only. This does not extend to anyone else. I can’t stress this enough, for me; I feel that using a sighted person by grabbing their elbow is a sign of weakness, disability and dependence. I know there are a few people hopping off their chair right now but that’s my honest view of using a sighted guide. I feel like I’m letting myself down and I’m not trying hard enough when I take the lazy option of not using the cane. I think it looks terrible as well. How can I expect to be viewed as an equal in my office for example if on a work night out I ask a colleague to guide me somewhere? Again, I know. You disagree. You’re entitled to that and in fact, you’re probably right. It’s stupid. I know it’s stupid but I can’t shake it. I don’t mind not seeing what’s around me. I just hate the way people pity it. I work damn hard at making sure I contribute equally at work. I think asking for that kind of help would be taking a step back. It’s not just in work though. I really don’t like going to any social setting and having strangers approach me to ask if I need help going somewhere. Is it too much to ask that they introduce themselves to me like they would anyone else? If I introduce myself, it is not because I require their assistance, it is possibly because they sounded interesting and I might want to speak to them.

I really admire people who use a cane. I’m only back to it for just under three months now but I honestly dread every day with it. I really don’t know how they do it.

Take last Sunday for example. I wanted to go to the launch of the TwitterXMasSingle in Dublin. Getting there was no problem but I knew once I got into the crowded room I was going to have problems. I didn’t know anyone there and I knew that simply walking around and joining in with a conversation was going to be made impossible by people asking if I required help to get somewhere. Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate people’s assistance. I just don’t like having to ask for it. I also don’t like that it’s the first thing people think of when they see me with the cane. Anyway, the short version of the story is, after all the speeches, I lasted about five minutes before I gave up. I tried walking around the room but I seriously couldn’t stay orientated and I wasn’t able to confidently join in with a conversation. This is the route of the problem I suppose; I used the dog like a crutch in a way. A guide dog is great for starting a conversation. It kicks the communication off on a positive note that doesn’t revolve around the fact I can’t see. From there, I generally always get speaking to someone else and it progresses from there. Again, as I said earlier, if I’m walking somewhere, I do it much more easily because I give the dog the direction and he avoids everything in between until I’m ready to stop. I’m probably not explaining this very well. I just hope you understand what I mean. I know this is just me being stupid and if I’d just except help in the first place and I wasn’t so hung up on the negative aspect of doing that things would be a lot easier. Trust me, it’s easier said than done.

Tonight, I’m in a similar situation. I’m meant to be going out with people from work. I don’t know the area, I don’t know the pub and for professional reasons I refuse to ask anyone for help. As I said earlier. I refuse to give any of them a reason to see me as anything other than an equal. I know that there are at least five out of the twenty of us that I can completely trust but there are three out of the twenty that I constantly have to be aware of. Problems keep going through my head. How do I get there. Can I just follow along? When I get there where is the bar. Where are the toilets. Is it a big place? What if it’s noisy. I won’t be able to hear any of the people around me and I’ll completely lose track of what’s going on! What if I can’t remember the way back to the bus or train station? I’m already talking myself out of it ! I enjoy these occasions. Their always a nice way of getting to know people outside of work but I find them so hard when using the cane. When using the dog, he happily follows one of the people that I’m with so the fact that I have no idea where I’m going isn’t obvious at all.

This isn’t a new thing with me. I remember going out for a meal with a previous employer about five years ago. We were going to a very strange restaurant but it was basically a big buffet. Buffets aren’t’ good when you can’t see at all! There’s just no way you can use it independently. We had people from a perspective client there that night so showing any kind of dependence at all was not an option for me. I was incredibly worried about it! So. To make sure I could stay in control for the entire night, I contacted the owners of the restaurant before hand and explained my situation. They were fantastic! They told me that the menu changes from night to night and they asked me what kind of food I’d be most likely to eat. They discreetly kept an eye on me for the whole night and while the other people got up from the table to get food they quietly made arrangements with me. No one noticed at all! At the end, one of the managers asked how I managed. She never thought of asking me before hand if I’d have any problems. I was delighted at that. It would really annoy me if a manager considered the fact that I can’t see. I was relieved to be able to explain that I had made arrangements before we arrived and she was actually impressed at my approach. That same manager actually asked me straight out once why Emma was going out with me. She didn’t mean it in a bad way, she was genuinely curious why someone who didn’t have a visual impairment would go out with someone who had one. She just had a very direct way about her. When I explained she just laughed quietly and continued on her way. That was a very weird bunch of people I worked with back then.

Hopefully you know where I’m coming from. I’m just waiting for all the comments saying that I’m crazy. Maybe one though might tell me how I get out of this whole I’m in. It’s getting to the stage where I just don’t want to go anywhere. I don’t want to be like that. I enjoy being out. I enjoy going to places where I know no one. I enjoy doing different things and going to new places. I just don’t have the confidence at the moment and that’s really pissing me off.

As I keep saying to people, I still can’t believe I’m back in this situation again. I only had Ike for nine months. They were nine difficult months and to be straight with you, although I would have liked to keep working him until a successor guide dog was found, I’m kind of relieved he’s gone. He was making it difficult to go anywhere. Probably even more so than I’m finding with the cane.

A year ago without Ike

New guide dog, Personal 2 Responses »

Sep 072011

I have read a few blogs lately where the writers speak of training with their guide dogs and their thought’s looking back on it one year on. I’ve found some of the posts interesting however for me what is more hard hitting in terms of my experience is my time without a dog. What I was doing this time last year when using the Cain, the challenges, the benefits, the risks and the restrictions. I think I’ll possibly only do two of these posts. One now and one around December. The reason why will become clearer in a moment I hope.

This time last year I was just back into my first week of work after being away in Salu in Spain for two weeks. I had retired Freddie three months previous and I had yet to visit him. I was actually surprised at how much I missed him but that’s not the focus of this post so I’ll keep moving. I came back to reasonably good weather but as always happens around September and the start of October the wind was really starting to pick up. Me and wind don’t mix at all. It’s just a bad combination. It’s harder to walk straight when there’s strong wind and the amount of audible information I can pick up about the environment I’m walking through is drastically reduced. When using a guide dog the issue of wind causing disorientation isn’t as big a deal because the dog will keep you on the straight and narrow but with a Cain it’s not easy for me at all.

I was only really starting to settle into using the Cain at this stage. I was adamant that I wouldn’t get lazy and fall into habits of using sighted guides or anything like that so armed with the Cain and the K-Sonar I battled my way through. I remember one morning I got completely confused and ended up crossing two roads instead of just one. I knew the road was wider than it should have been and before I knew it I was on the wrong side of Kildare Street.

My social life took a nose dive as well. I hate to depend on people so when people from work asked me to join them for lunch I declined because I didn’t want to walk at my slower pace and have to so obviously follow along. I also stopped doing simple things like walking into town in Drogheda on Saturdays because it just wasn’t worth the hassle. There were a few places I hated walking around. The path just before the pedestrian gate into the bus station on the way toward the Dublin road was one, finding the crossing at the North road in front of the Trinity arms was another. I also hated walking past St. Peter’s church on West Street and the open spaces before the path in the train station in Drogheda were very off putting as well. There were just parts that I really hated to walk around but I had no choice. Routes that took twenty minutes with a guide dog took half an hour or more. Streets that I breezed through with the guide dog were a source of mounting stress and apprehension with the Cain. I just hated the entire time. That might sound like a poor me post but it’s really not. Please don’t take it as that. I’m one of the lucky ones. Believe me. I continued to get out. I continued to work every day. I continued to do almost everything that I could with the dog. I continued to travel. I continued to play music. I just did it all with more difficulty, less independence and less mobility. There are people who for having a guide dog is their source of freedom. Again, I am one of the very lucky ones and I was very aware of this for the entire time I was waiting for Ike.

It’s worth occasionally looking back at last year at that wait between Freddie and Ike to appreciate how much things have changed and how much life has returned to normal again.

One thing that’s very important to say and I wish more guide dog owners, instructors and even journalists who interview people with guide dogs would say is: Having a guide dog means different things to different people. The empowerment, freedom, mobility, independence, flexibility and efficiency that guide dogs bring to their users are simply immeasurable even to other guide dog users. To some having a guide dog is the best thing ever. To others having a guide dog is completely unsuitable and would never work. Everything about a guide dog and the handler is different to any other team. Every guide dog that handler uses will completely change the dynamic. There are just too many variables that come into play in this partnership. I really think this is something that people would benefit from being aware of at times.

One year on. acknowledging Freddie and looking forward with Ike.

New guide dog, Personal 2 Responses »

Jun 132011

This is a conclusion.

If this was one in a series of books it would be the happy ending that would make you wait with anxious inpatients for the next one to come out.

Like a book, I knew that it would probably have this kind of ending but the interesting part was watching the story line unfold.

Now that it has ended I’m relieved but I’m looking forward to what will follow.

I’m talking about one year. For some of you it’s been the worst year ever, for some of you it’s been the best year. For some of you the year since I wrote the post about retiring my last guide dog Freddie has been completely normal without anything to set it apart from any other.

For me, the year since retiring Freddie has been difficult, challenging, frustrating, annoying and at times even intolerable. It’s also been satisfying, interesting, educational and very rewarding.

Looking back to last year, I wrote a blog post while dwelling on the memories I made with Freddie. I wasn’t really sure how I was going to cope without having a guide dog. I was also very aware that I was going to miss him as a companion. It’s impossible to know Freddie without enjoying his quirky attention seeking personality.

The independence I get from having a guide dog was only really shown to me when I had to revert back to using a Cain. Commuting using a Cain was a nightmare every single day. I like work. Yes, I know. That’s a crazy thing to say. Work wasn’t my problem. Getting there was. I knew it was going to be difficult but I had no idea exactly how much not having Freddie was going to have an impact on my ability to be mobile.

I blogged a few times about how difficult it was but I didn’t really want to over-do it. I wanted to show people in a small way that although I was very strict on Freddie, retiring him was still very difficult for me both because I was losing a fantastic guide and because possibly more significantly than I expected, because I was losing a four legged friend. As anyone knows me will agree, this kind of sentiment is not something you’ll hear from me very often. In fact, I know of one person in particular that would go as far as to say that I don’t talk about that stuff often enough at all.

I don’t want to write about this too much because I’m sure it’s kind of obvious but although I would have always seen myself as very capable with a Cain, I found that I just couldn’t navigate around new environments as easy as I could with Freddie. O’Connell Street was a horrible place to get around. Because it’s so wide I found that finding landmarks or static objects to help me orientate myself where few and far between. Walking along the shop fronts was generally impractical because of the range of obstructive shop furniture and displays that littered the path. Following the road side of the path was equally as challenging. There are too many bins, poles and signs to allow it. I also found walking along the path around the central bank a little difficult. There are too many people standing around the walls. Following the edge of the path was also difficult because it is too busy. Considering I was having these problems in areas I know quite well just imagine the problems I had when I I needed to go somewhere completely new to me. I don’t want this to seem like this is a post where I’ll spend all my time complaining so I’ll quickly move on to the next part of it. Don’t worry; the positive stuff will come up shortly.

During the post I wrote to mark the retirement of Freddie, I explained that Freddie was fantastic in social situations. He in fact made me become more approachable while in college which hugely improved my social life. I was a little surprised that I still relied on him somewhat when this reliance was demonstrated to me last September during a Blog and Twitter meet up in Dublin. I had no idea who was in the room but I knew that if I could just get to speak to the right person they’d tell me who was around. When someone walks into a pub with a dog it seems to be impossible to resist saying hello. This is something that I hated up to recently. I wished that people would simply respect that I am not a walking talking advertisement for Irish guide dogs and in fact, if I was out, there’s a good chance that I won’t appreciate someone coming over to me asking for either me or my dogs life story. Don’t get me wrong, that still annoys me from time to time however I have a new appreciation for it. It’s funny the things that you miss when their gone. During that Blog and Twitter meet up I would have loved someone to come over to ask a question that I’d answered a hundred times in the past week. Once I could ask them simple questions I would have been delighted! Don’t get me wrong. It didn’t stop me for long. It just would have been easier.

The seven months while waiting for my successor guide dog wasn’t a complete frustration though. I made some really fantastic new friends. It was interesting and refreshing to never have Freddie come up in conversation. After a while it became a little predictive that questions about Freddie would be asked regularly. I didn’t mind though and in fact as I wrote on the blog, it was a nice tribute to Freddie that so many people, both strangers and friends asked about how Freddie was keeping after he had retired. It was just nice to get to know people who had never met Freddie before.

Anyway, enough of all that kind of thing. You know that not having a guide dog for seven months was a little difficult and I don’t want to have to do that for a long time again. After the Seven months though I got to train with Ike. My successer guide dog. He’s a 32KG golden retriever male. I explained Freddie’s little personality traits last year. I think it’s only fair that I give Ike the same recognition.

Ike is a new dog. I’ve only had him for five months so far. The powers that be say that it takes between six months to a year before guide dogs fully settle into their new home and their new routine. It’s important to say this in this post because although I can list off Ike’s personality traits and I know him quite well, I’m continuing to learn more and more about him every week. He continues to grow to fill the very big shoes that Freddie left for him and with every new route I show him he seems to have a way of impressing me beyond all my expectations. With all that said, let’s get down to the interesting bits.

Ike has an insatiable curiosity. He wants to know everything that’s happening. He’s rarely content to just sit up beside me when I’m working while at home. He wants to regularly walk around to see what Emma’s doing. He generally comes back up after a second when he’s satisfied himself that nothing interesting is happening but he doesn’t relax if he thinks there’s something going on around him that he doesn’t know about. I have noticed that he really doesn’t like staying in his bed when I’m doing something in a different room in the house. He might last for about ten minutes but he inevitably comes up to have a look. If I’m working in the computer room he comes in just enough to see what I’m doing but he prefers to sit out on the landing.

He’s got a really funny way of sitting and lying. If he’s sitting and there are steps around he’ll put his backside on the step above his paws. If he’s lying he puts his two front paws over the step. It’s like he’s hanging on. If he’s there for a while he crosses them.

When he works he has the most fantastic walk in the world. I have no words that can accurately express how much I love Ike’s walk. The very first time I walked with Ike I knew that his walk was just brilliant. I said it almost straight away! You know the walk that a horse has? He is exactly the same! When working with Ike, he pulls a little bit to keep up the strain so as it’s easy to follow him. Because he has quite a long body I can almost tell what he’s going to do before he does it. People even comment on it on the street! When Ike is working he seems to be more confident and relaxed than when he’s not working. I don’t really understand that yet but I certainly complain. I find that it’s better to leave Ike to do whatever he wants to do when he’s not working. Most of the time he just wants to sleep. Occasionally he comes over with his toy or to get a rub. But he can be quite happy sitting on the landing watching me in the house or as it gets later he is quite happy to mosey to his bed.

He’s quite vocal. When he needs to blow off some steam he does it with no prompting at all. He runs around in circles and barks once or twice. He usually prefers to do this around a few trees but he’s not too fussy. He also growls while playing. It’s obviously not a bad growl. He’s too playful to be anything more than an over excited.

When working he’s a bit strange. I like it though. He completely ignores people that he knows or recognises. He just walks right past. I love this because it means that I can keep control of when he gets to greet people that I meeting with.

Emma says Ike walks as straight as a die. She’s absolutely right. He never veers left. He’s equally happy hugging the left as he is tracing along the right side of the path. He’s also happy with walking right down the centre as well. I really love the way he guides. I have no doubts as to his abilities to be completely honest with you, I have found it difficult to become use to Ike’s personality but his work and guiding style is perfect.

I have had my fair share of teething problems with Ike. He was relieving himself while working. This was massively impacting his work and his confidence. Fortunately we seem to have found a solution to this. It took time though and I know now that it was worth it.

Last year on the 13th of June 2010 I had just returned from Galway. I had enjoyed a great weekend I had played music with some great musicians and I had enjoyed the break. I sat on this chair, in this room with massive uncertainty looming. I had just retired Freddie and I didn’t know how things were going to work. Today, the 13th of June 2011, I am sitting in the same place with Ike beside me. I can hear him lightly breathing. He’s a sleep. We’re back from another weekend where I spent most of my time playing music. We travelled to Carlow, Limerick, Galway and Cork in four days. It was a lot for such a new dog to handle. In fact, it was a lot for any guide dog to handle. I was well prepared though. I had planned a lot of free time for him, nice large places to stay each night and of course, loads of praise, reassurance, encouragement and play. Not only did he work brilliantly through the entire weekend, he exceled! I didn’t think it was possible but he continued to demonstrate that his incredible memory was more than able to handle anything I threw at it. He also surprised me a few times as well by doing things I seriously didn’t expect such as jumping up on a bench made out of rock. I’m still not sure what possessed him to do that. He wasn’t working at the time. I had taken him to the grass at the river at the end of Shop Street in Galway. He didn’t need to relieve himself but we had been walking for some time so it was a nice opportunity to let him stretch his legs before continuing on for the next while. He was on a flexi lead at the time. We were talking to a young family nearby when Ike walked straight over to the bench and jumped up on it completely. In fairness, I may have accidently pointed over to it but I’m not really sure. All I know is one moment he was standing on the grass and the next moment he was standing on the bench. I’m putting it down to a lack of experience and his giddy puppy nature making a brief appearance. I didn’t mind. In fact, aside from telling him to get off I didn’t even bother correcting him. I was too stunned and I found it very funny.

Speaking of the dog of the hour, he has just stuck his head up to say hello. He doesn’t nudge me like Freddie did. I just know he’s looking up at me because I heard him moving around in his bed, yawning and probably licking his nose. Yes. He’s like me. A little strange.

Ike is learning a lot faster than I thought he would. He’s already correcting me when I try to direct him in the wrong direction to find crossings, he knows that I have a lot of places to go during the day and he knows that although I give him a lot of freedom I expect and demand precision obedience without exception when we’re working.

I want to finish this post by thanking Emma for putting up with me for the past year, Nicky for listening to my rants while training with Ike, Simon the fantastic instructor with Irish Guide Dogs and of course every single friend and every person who took the time to comment or contact me in the past year.
This blog will shortly come to an end. My reasons for this will be explained in the next day or two. The next post that I write will tell you about the past eight days. I successfully played music in eight sessions in eight towns over eight days. This is a first for me and it’s something I want to write about to record the fantastic experience. That will be the last major post I write here.

Mixing the old with the new for the best results.

Accessibility, New guide dog, Personal, Technology 1 Response »

May 122011

On Saturday I had a simple journey from Drogheda to Dublin to undertake. The part of Dublin I was going to wasn’t serviced by expresse busses and although I could get there using connecting trains it would have taken a long time. I had planned on getting a non-express bus. This service stops everywhere on the route from Drogheda to the central bus station in Dublin so would have left me very near to my destination. Unfortunately on my way to the station a woman stopped me to ask me to play at an event she was organizing in June so I missed the bus I was planning to get.

The drivers in the bus station in Drogheda know me quite well. I don’t use this form of transport very regularly any more but when I do I’m usually catching the express to either Dublin or Dundalk. When I asked about the non-express bus to Dublin they obviously didn’t hear me properly so I jumped on the wrong bus. We were on the M1 to Dublin when I realised so it was too late to change. I had to quickly think of the best way of getting to my destination within the shortest amount of time possible.

I decided that getting off at the airport was probably the best way to do it. Making my way back in from the bus station in Dublin might take a long time as I’d potentially get stuck in traffic or the bus might take a while to arrive at the stop. However I haven’t got a bus from the airport towards the city centre in about five years so I had to enlist my trusty iPhone. I asked if anyone on Twitter had any ideas but as we were getting near to the airport I decided to try looking around the Dublin bus website. I had fears that this wasn’t accessible as for years it’s been very difficult to navigate around the time tables but fortunately I was able to find travel adversaries that advertised that the 16A and 747 busses passed through where I needed to be.

I was all set when the bus was pulling into the airport. I would get off, continue walking in front of the bus for a few seconds, cross the road and find someone to ask where the 16 stopped. The airport bus stops have been arranged very close to each other for years so by crossing the small roadway used by the Drogheda bus I should have been very near to the stops used by the Dublin city busses. This was not to be as easy as I thought it would be. As I was getting off the driver commented that he was not allowed stop at terminal one any more so had let everyone off at the newly designated bus stops at terminal two. This is a new addition to Dublin airport and I haven’t been around this newly constructed area yet so I was at a loss. I knew that the bus drove through this area and terminal 1 was most likely right ahead of me somewhere so I kept walking until I reached the edge of the path. Fortunately I found someone walking toward me so I asked them where the bus stops had been moved to. She gave me a few directions so I could continue on my way. Her directions were terrible actually. She told me to go straight on but I wasn’t convinced. Ike is a little like Freddie. I’ve learned that I have to trust him because more often than not, I’m wrong and he’s right. Even though she said I could cross straight I don’t think I could have. Ike led me up to the tactile markings that defined the start of the designated crossing point but he veered way over to the right when crossing even though the lip of the crossing was straight. His walk was relaxed and confident but he wasn’t bouncing on his paws so I knew he wasn’t distracted by something so I trusted his persistence and let him take the initiative. I’m glad I did because we arrived safely on the other side at another tactile marking. She said I could go straight here but Ike couldn’t find the way and instead wanted to go left. I had no choice but to let him but after a few feet he found a right turn on his own which led to a part of the airport I am familiar with. Here he continued taking the initiative even though he has never been to Dublin airport before and he found every crossing point on the way. I encouraged this because I knew I didn’t want to use the main crossing point over to the departures area but I knew that there is a much smaller crossing point just after that that leads onto a very large island path where the Dublin city busses departed from. I needed him to find the crossing I was familiar with though so as I could orientate myself to recognise the smaller crossing. I was lucky. Just as Ike found the small crossing I was looking for I heard a bus pulling up to a stop. After reaching the island I pointed toward the sound of the engine and told Ike to find the way. He found the door like a pro! Unfortunately, Dublin busses no longer depart from this area however the bus I had found was actually not going anywhere for another fifteen minutes so the Driver offered to let me follow him to the new bus stop. For reference, it’s through what they call the mall. That’s the small area right in across the road from the main entrance to the departures area. The entrance to the multi-story car parks can be reached through this area as well.

Fortunately, the driver led me right up to the bus stop for the 16A and a bus arrived very shortly afterward.

The next bit of fun started while on the bus toward the city centre. I was starting to be a bit late so I was getting a little anxious that I was nowhere near where I needed to be. Thanks to the Sendero GPS iPhone app however I was able to look around to see where I was and what was nearby.

I can’t explain how much freedom having a dog again gives me. Imagine walking around that airport with a cane? I would have followed that woman’s instructions without knowing that she obviously meant me to follow the line of the crossing. I wouldn’t have found the small crossing to the bus stop and it would have taken me much longer to get where I was going. Ike has really stepped up to the mark in the past few months. He amazes me with the speed at which he can find objects and land marks. Last night I was walking through Georges street in Dublin. I was looking for a bus stop for the number 83. Freddie would have known it from using it for the past few years but it was Ike’s first time. It’s only a pole with some time table thing on it so it’s impossible to know where it is when using a dog. I had an idea though that it was one crossing past the sheltered bus stop and was a fair bit down on the right. By telling him to go very steady and pointing to my right he found everything he thought I might be looking for. Bins, cars, random poles and finally the bus stop. It was quite late at night so I wasn’t particularly confident with asking someone so this was just perfect. It took a little longer but I know when I’m back there next week he’ll find it again. His ability to remember land marks and places equals Freddie’s. I had planned to say that in three months he has also not over stepped a curb but he messed that up last night by walking me into the middle of a road. I know it was an accident though. I didn’t even feel it myself. There was obviously no step off the curb and I couldn’t detect any difference with my feet as I was walking so I’ll just put it down to him not knowing the area. I was lucky though. It could have been very dangerous but I heard a car pulling off on my left and I knew that we weren’t on the path any more. I quickly turned the both of us around and walked as fast as possible back to where I knew was safe. I probably could have kept going but I wasn’t sure how far across we had gone and I also thought it was a better idea to make him focus on finding the edge of the crossing again. This is the bad part though. He did find the edge of the crossing when we did it again. Or, at least I think he did. I couldn’t feel any lip to suggest that the road was starting anywhere! I’m a bit concerned about that. I’ll probably try to get a friend to walk down that road with me again before next Wednesday to make sure he’s found the right place to stop. It’s really unusual for him so the only thing I can think of is that the crossing is too hard to recognise. Don’t get me wrong though. That’s one minor hick up that I don’t even think is Ike’s fault. Everything is going so well that I can’t fault him at all.

I probably couldn’t have done the trip so comfortably on Saturday if I didn’t have the iPhone either. Sure. I could have kept asking people for directions, bus time tables and all that kind of thing but the independence and confidence the iPhone provides to me has made me wonder how I ever did without it. Unfortunately although it is inevitable that I will have to get assistance from time to time the need for this has decreased substantially. This is great! I don’t know how many bad directions I’ve been given or how many times I’ve asked someone to tell me when the next bus is due who didn’t speak a word of English. It’s very frustrating! Looking at last night again, I had to find a building on Chancery lane. I had never been to Chancery lane before so again, with the text descriptions in Google maps, some help from people and the GPS app from Sendero I was able to find it without much hassle.

One thing I am increasingly aware of is my need for a full GPS solution. It would be incredibly useful considering the amount of new places I regularly travel to.

An unplanned meeting.

New guide dog, Personal 1 Response »

May 092011

I was entertaining my niece yesterday so took her to Newbridge house in Co. Dublin. I had to bring Ike for a free run so it was a great way of doing both at the same time. There are plenty of things for her to do and Ike had plenty of space to run around. Because we were up near Freddie I sent a quick message to his family to let them know that I’d be near in case they wanted to meet up. There’s an outstanding football chalange that needed to be settled!
No. Don’t worry. I wasn’t playing. They tried talking me into it but there is that minor annoyance of never knowing where the ball is to contend with.

Anyway, it was a very enjoyable afternoon. So much so that I thought you deserved a few pictures from it. It also gives me the oppertunity to show off my fancy new gallery. What do you think?

[Show as slideshow]

It really made my weekend to see Freddie doing so well. He’s really enjoying retirement! Although, if I was living in such a nice place and I didn’t have to go to work every day I think I’d enjoy retirement too!

Ike after 12 weeks.

New guide dog, Personal 2 Responses »

Apr 282011

I’ve neglected this blog lately. It’s a shame! I enjoy writing in it.

Last Friday marked twelve weeks since I was in the guide dogs centre in Cork with Ike. It’s hard to believe that he’s been here for twelve weeks already.

Things have settled down substantially lately. I said in my last post about Ike that I was changing his food. He’s now on James well beloved. This is a food that is specifically designed for dogs with very sensitive stomachs. It’s also fully natural so it is still very good for him. When he started eating this it was like someone had pressed a button for him. His spending routine became much more reliable and in fact we haven’t had one incident where he has needed to spend on a walk in almost four weeks now. This is an incredible achievement for him. I am delighted that we’ve finally got there. It certainly took a lot of work and a lot of time but I think it’s been worth it.

Ike has been working really well it has to be said. I’ve kept him to reasonably regular routes as I said here before. The main routes he has are to and from work, around my local area, around the area of my office and a few places in Drogheda. I’ve been very careful not to throw too much at him too quickly. There are also places I just couldn’t consider going to yet. For example, I couldn’t walk from my office to Connolly station through the IFSC because I have no idea how to do it myself. There’s a shortcut through the Irish Financial Services Centre that cuts a lot of time off the walk but Freddie knew the way. I just followed him. That’s not something I’d like to get Ike to do yet. I don’t think he’ll be up to taking that kind of responsibility for a few months yet. As I’ve said a few times, his confidence is one of the main things that he needs work on. He’ll have to have a lot of confidence to walk around that area because there are a lot of open spaces and the straight line principal will basically have to go out the window in that area.

Of course, when Ike isn’t working he’s enjoying himself. There are a few people in work that make sure he remembers he’s still a pup from time to time. I don’t encourage that but at the same time, they don’t do it all that often and they know when to stop so I don’t have a problem with it either. It all goes back to my aim when I got Ike first. I want to make as many of his early experiences as positive as possible. That has been of major benefit actually. He enjoys getting into the office to get attention from people. He also enjoys the walk from the train station in the morning when we get to Dublin because again, he knows that on the way there, we’ll stop for a coffee and he’ll get even more attention. These little distractions from time to time keep his mind at rest. As we’ve progressed, he’s needed less and less distractions and less attention but I’m continuing to ensure that everything remains very positive for him. In some situations I’ve actually had to cut back on the positivity because it was having a negative impact on his obedience.

If for example we drove to my parents’ house I’d let Ike out of the car and let him run up the driveway to the front door. He loves being able to walk from room to room getting people’s attention but the lack of control was starting to become a problem. When I called him back or gave him another command it took him a long time to listen. Instead of coming back to me he he wanted to play instead. This wasn’t his fault. In Ike’s mind this was his free time. Listening to me wasn’t that important. I’ve had to start consistently keeping control of him. As a policy when I’m somewhere I know such as my parents’ house I won’t keep him on a lead because I don’t think it’s necessary or fair. Instead I’ve begun telling him to come. When he begins to walk ahead I say no in a relaxed but firm tone. I also hold my left hand out slightly with my palm toward him so he knows to stay behind it. I use to do that with Freddie. My palm was basically a stop sign for him. If we were out somewhere and someone told me he was getting up when across the room all I had to do was open my hand in his direction then point down. I don’t know what it is about it but he always got the message. Ike is also instinctively doing the same thing.

Of course, my family think I’m being very strict by keeping more control over him and they continually give out about it however my firm opinion on this is Ike is my guide dog. I entrust my safety to him every day of the week. This means that I need to rely on his obedience and attention. Letting it waver even in one situation could impact other environments where his attention and obedience is absolutely vital. I make the rules that he follows. I say what he can and can’t do. I feed him, I let him out to relieve himself, I walk him, I play with him, I praise him when he’s done something well and on the very rare occasion where it’s required, I correct him when he’s done something that isn’t acceptable. I am Ike’s one stop shop for what is and isn’t allowed because Ike is my one stop shop for mobility. That’s just as simple as it gets. I admit, when I got Freddie first I was probably somewhat susceptible to others opinions of the way I interact with my guide dog however now I completely ignore them.

I’d also just like to summarise a few other problems that I’ve had with Ike that just took time to sort them out.

He hated his bed. Even in the centre he wouldn’t get into his plastic bed. With the mat on the floor he was a little more comfortable but even with that he was a bit hesitant. When I got him home I really wanted him to sleep in his bed. I wanted him to be comfortable in it and importantly, I wanted him to recognise that this is his space. It’s a space that I don’t interfere with at all when he’s in it. He however got really nervous and anxious while just sitting in it. I sorted this out over about a month by spending a certain amount of time every day just sitting beside his bed talking to him while he was in it. I also gave any treats such as bones when he was sitting in it. I did everything I could think of to make him more relaxed. As time went on he became more settled. Now he’s quite happy to go there to relax in the evenings and I actually have to go over to him in the morning to give him a bit of a rub before he’ll bother to get up.

The other problem I had with Ike is in cars. He really didn’t like them and in fact got quite travel sick. I am a little frustrated that the centre didn’t make me aware of this during training as it was something I could have prepared for to make this particular experience even more positive for him. I didn’t give it a second thought. Freddie had no problems jumping in and out of cars and because I admittedly have limited experience with dogs I never really considered that Ike would be uncomfortable in them. It was only through a brief conversation with his puppy walker that my suspicions were verified. The way I got around this was quite simple. When Ike was in the boot I sat in the back seat so that I could reach my hand across to give him a rub. This always calmed him down. I reduced the attention I gave to him over time. I also ensured to correct any crying or any excessive walking around so that he understood what I expected. E rarely use taxis but for the first few times I arranged to have a friend pick us up. This was great because he loves dogs and gave Ike a lot of attention. I also made sure that we weren’t in a hurry and when we got out I had a few minutes to play with Ike. This was a little strange. When traveling to the train station in Drogheda for example I got a taxi early one morning so that I had some time to play with Ike after we got out of the car for a moment. It wasn’t particularly crazy playing. It was just a case of letting him run after his toy for a minute or two. This kind of rewarding destination approach was suggested by his puppy walker and has worked wonders for Ike. It has now got to the stage where Ike travels in cars with no problems even though we probably have only used a taxi once in the past month. At least now I can depend on him to behave properly and remain reliable when traveling in cars. I couldn’t do that twelve weeks ago.

So. There you have it, a quick summary of Ike after twelve weeks.

Introducing Ike to Freddie.

New guide dog, Personal 3 Responses »

Apr 182011

Freddie and ike are lieing on the grass side by side.

Dumb and dumber

Yesterday was my third time seeing Freddie since retiring him in June last year. I’m very fortunate that the family he is with don’t mind meeting up with me from time to time. Of course, I wouldn’t want to be a burden either and it’s always something I’m very conscious of. I actually don’t know how people retire guide dogs and never see them again. That’s more of a question than a statement. Their obviously better able to handle the transition than I was.

Now that I have Ike and I’m able to independently, freely, easily and confidently get around the country once again I have to admit that not having Freddie around is much easier than it was while waiting for Ike. Of course it’s obvious that Freddie meant a lot to me for a lot of different reasons but truthfully, retiring him was a massive blow to my ability to do simple things like walk from where I work to O’Connell Street. That’s only a ten minute walk but there are a minimum of three difficult crossings on the way there. Of course I made sure that I did it with the cane. I wouldn’t let it stop me but because it was a lot harder I lost all motivation to go over there unless I absolutely had to. That’s just one example. I’m quite sure that anyone with a guide dog understands where I’m coming from.

Yesterday we met up with the family that has Freddie in Newbridge house in north county Dublin. It’s a huge place that caters for families so it was perfect for the day that was in it. The weather was fantastic. The sun was out for most of the day as well so there were a lot of people out enjoying themselves. There are loads of green areas around there and a very relaxing path that brings you around the grounds.

When we got there I left Ike in the car for a moment and I said a quick hello to Freddie. As usual on these visits he had a moment of uncertainty but then it all came back to him and he became his usual bouncy self. I forgot how he felt compared to Ike. He’s much more firm and strong! His hair is also a lot shorter, there’s not as much hair on his tail and his ears are a lot shorter as well. I’ve been told a lot that he’s getting very gray around his face but you wouldn’t think he’s getting on in years by the way he was acting yesterday. After giving him loads of rubs I went back over to the car and let Ike out. Of course, to be safe I kept Ike on a lead until he was introduced to everyone but there was probably no need. He said hello to Freddie and Banjo, the family’s younger dog and was happy to just stand sniffing around for a few minutes. Freddie was let off the lead first because he wanted to go for a sniff. That is something I’m really missing with Ike. Freddie was let off; he went over to whatever it was that was interesting him, had a sniff then came back. There was no silliness about it, he just did what he had to do then came back and he was perfectly happy with it. No prompting or praise was required either. Now, I’m reasonably confident that Ike will settle into that kind of thing as well but still, it’s encouraging to see Freddie still has that awareness to come back when he’s done without any hassle. I let Ike off next and he did his usual puppy routine. He ran around the place like a dog that hasn’t seen the light of day for an entire month, barked once or twice at nothing at all then settled down. I actually like that about Ike though. He just goes crazy and blows off lodes of steam. I use to worry about Freddie. He was always so calm and reserved. I thought he should probably want to go mad every so often. I know I certainly do. Ike makes me laugh. In the mornings if he seems a bit stressed for any particular reason I let him out in the front garden. He runs around a small tree over and over again, stops for a second, barks at nothing then runs around it in the other direction. After he’s done that he plays with me by walking towards me then running away again so I can’t catch him but when he’s had enough he’s happy enough to start the day as normal again. It’s just his quirky personality. He has to be allowed do it a few times a week because he’s such a sensitive dog he needs to just let it all out a bit more regularly than Freddie needed to. That said, Freddie was very sensitive as well. In fact, I didn’t think there could be a more sensitive dog than Freddie until I got Ike.

Anyway, back to yesterday. Both dogs were happy enough to explore separately for a while. When we were all together and everything was sorted out, we walked over to a large green area where I could encourage the dogs to interact more. Banjo, the families only dog before Freddie arrived on the scene was quite happy to go hunting around the bush areas so Freddie and Ike had a lot of time to get to know each other. It was fantastic getting descriptions of what they were up to from Emma. Both dogs also hung around my side a lot so I could be aware of what they were doing. That wasn’t intentional on my part. I was equally as happy when they went off doing whatever it was they wanted to do. It was very funny at times. I use a whistle to call Ike back just as I did with Freddie. Ike’s recall is fantastic but it’s not as quick as Freddie’s. Ike just couldn’t be bothered running as fast. He prefers trotting around. Seriously, that dog is so lazy you need a rocket in the mornings to extract him from his bed. When I called Ike back Freddie rocketed toward me and Ike trailed behind plodding along. I obviously hadn’t intentionally called Freddie back. He just associated the whistle with coming back still. “Ike, you should be ashamed that a ten year old dog is still stronger, more agile and faster than you! Ha-ha”. Actually, let’s recap. Ike should be ashamed that a ten year old dog with arthritis in his hips and his front paws is stronger, more agile and faster than he is considering Ike is not even two yet! I’m quite pleased with that actually. A few times Ike tried to become the more dominant dog over Freddie but Freddie was still well able to put him in his place. I think the family who have Freddie were a bit worried but I’ve been around Freddie when he did that a few times and I’m not at all worried. If either of them were in any danger I would have stepped in straight away. Emma gave me a running commentary once or twice as well which was very entertaining. At one stage Freddie had his mouth around Ike’s neck. It’s harmless enough. He wasn’t bighting. Ike used his paws to push Freddie off and Freddie came back to me for attention. Mainly because although Freddie is stronger than Ike, he’s still a huge wuss. Ike is a much harder dog. Ike has been stood on while out, he’s got under my feet more times than I can count at this stage but it never bothers him. He simply doesn’t care. That’s very useful actually and it’s just one of the many reasons why Ike makes a fantastic guide dog.

For the entire day they got on great. It was nice to see Freddie so full of energy. It was also lovely to see Freddie interacting with his new family so seamlessly. Even Banjo the other dog seems to get on great with Freddie. They chase each other around a lot but they’re both very easy going. I think it’s actually banjo that has Freddie so fit. I doubt he’d be as willing to get up and move if he was just being walked every day.

Freddie is feeling great! He’s put on a lot of weight which is a little concerning considering this will very likely intensify the arthritis in his hips if it isn’t handled but it was kind of expected and it’s no reflection on his new family. Freddie was doing twelve hour days and a hell of a lot of walking when he was with me. It stands to reason that now that he’s taking it easy he’d put on some weight. I’m just hoping that his weight relaxes soon because I’d like to see him continue with this new found energy for a long time yet. Aside from his weight though he’s doing really well. His coat feels fantastic and I don’t think his tail stopped wagging yesterday. I miss the level of interaction he gives compared to Ike. He lets you know what’s bothering him and what he’s enjoying by his very straight forward body language. I find Ike a lot harder to read. He’s getting easier. Not because I’m getting use to him but he’s starting to show the same kind of body language that I understand such as simply wagging his tail or putting his ears up.

It was lovely to see Freddie again yesterday. It was also brilliant to introduce the two dogs, remember why Freddie was such a good dog and recognise why Ike is going to be equally as perfect for me. The two dogs are very different. They have their own quirks and sensitivities but their also very alike in a lot of ways. People tell me a lot that the two of them look very similar. They also respond very well to commands and hand gestures. They both like to keep me within a certain range, they’re both very loyal, they both love playing in a very specific way and their both tortured because they have to put up with me.

Commands used for guide dogs.

New guide dog, Personal 2 Responses »

Apr 042011

In the last post I asked what you would like me to write about next. Elly asked a very interesting question. She wanted to know how I teach the dog new routes.

This is a bit different for everyone and in fact I have a few different ways of doing it depending on where I’m going or how fast I have to get there.

I’ll generalise for a moment first. Some people like to have a sighted person go with them the first time they do a route. This is especially the case when it’s a new dog. By having a sighted person with you you can get very comprehensive details about the area you’re in so in turn when you walk that route with the dog you can provide him or her with very specific and accurate instructions. This gives the impression to the dog that you’re very confident and in turn the dog will replicate this by being focused, comfortable and observant. This is actually crucial as I’ve said before. If you’re not confident when giving commands to the dog it won’t be confident when following them. It takes quite a lot of time before the dog will mature into having the skills necessary to pick up the slack when you can’t. I said in my six week review post that Ike had already started to demonstrate this ability but it’s not something I’d push just yet as to do so could actually have the opposite effect.

When I got Freddie I certainly used a sighted guide for areas where I wasn’t particularly confident in. I also used a few other tricks though. For example, there was a lecture room in college that was in a corridor with six other doors. Aside from counting each door by touching them on the way past I had no way of knowing when to get the dog to find the door. The solution I used that time was to ask one of the caretakers in the college to temporarily put a mat across the corridor a few feet away from the door that I had to find. Therefore when I hit that mat I could start giving the dog the command to “find the door”.

I lived in a house in Dundalk after finishing college. It was in a row of houses and again, without actually counting the drive ways by hand there was no way I could figure out where the house was. Luckily by this time I was confident that Freddie would learn where the house was after a few days but to make it easier I used a small amount of sand and sprinkled it on the path just in front of the house. It only lasted a few days but it gave me a clear indication as to when to give the dog the command to “find the way”.

When I moved to Drogheda I had gas installed in the house. While working they had to pull up a small section of the path across the road temporarily. This coincidently gave Freddie a specific marker that he had to stop at. I then gave him the command to “Find the curb” while sweeping my hand across to the left. By the time they had finished working on the path Freddie had known that the house was right across the road.

Now that I know that area very well I know what to expect before I get to that point. I pass a pole that always emits a low hum and directly after that there’s a really wide drive way that is properly sloped. Once we get over that drive way I stop at the next crack in the path. Specifically the cracks higher on one side. That will line me up exactly with the gate to my house. Knowing this was perfect when I got Ike because he tried to predict when I wanted to stop but he was coming up a bit short. By knowing that crack was directly in line with the gate I was able to tell him to “hop up to the curb” to signify that it was a little further. All of these commands had to be given in a very positive and encouraging tone so as to show him that he was still very good for finding the area that we wanted to cross at but he needed to go a little bit further.

Now, for routes that I don’t know anything about, this can be tricky. In fact, at this early stage, I probably wouldn’t do them with Ike on my own. When we were in Belfast Emma was with me so she was able to give me pointers when we needed to turn. It’s worth mentioning here that because Emma knows me so well she knows that giving me directions isn’t just as easy as saying left, right or straight because the dog listens to her. Ike hasn’t got to this stage yet. He will though eventually because if Freddie is anything to go by, he’ll hear someone saying left or right and he’ll try to pre-empt it by taking the direction before I say it to him. For that reason Emma will usually use some other way of relaying the next direction. This isn’t vital of course, it’s just a nice alternative because again, it allows me to be fully confident in the directions I’m giving him and he’s getting all the directions, encouragement and praise from me so it remains a very positive experience for him.

When in new areas it’s hugely important that you give definitive hand signals to follow up every verbal direction you give the dog. These hand signals are given with your right hand. The table below summarises these:

Straight on.	With your arm reasonably straight and your hand outstretched by your side move your arm straight ahead of you pointing forward.
Find right.	Tap your right leg with your right hand and point to your right using the same slightly over exaggerated motion of moving your arm to your right.
Find left.	Tap your right leg with your right hand. This gets the dogs attention. Sweep your hand forward then around to the left.
Left.	Used when standing at curbs. It’s safer in this instance to turn like this because the dog comes in front of you instead of you going in front of the dog. In other words, the dog is closer to the traffic than you are. Take one step back from the normal guiding position. Say left repeatedly to the dog while tapping your right leg with your right hand. Do this until the dog is facing to the left. Finish the command by using the straight on command in conjunction with the hand motion as explained above.
Back.	Similar to the left command. Take a step back, tap your right leg and say back. When the dog is facing the right way, confidently follow up with a straight on command and give praise. Dogs usually hate going back the way they came. If they go back expect them to try to find something that you may be looking for. They start to learn over time that if they go back it’s because you’ve missed something. Or maybe that’s just me.
Find the door.	Tap your right leg and point in the general direction of where you think the door is. Continue by saying find the door in an encouraging tone until the dog eventually finds it. Give plenty of praise when you get there.
Find the steps. No real command here, point in the general direction of the steps and if the dog isn’t slowing down, give the steady command.

When walking using a GPS you have to show confidence even when you don’t feel it. If you get an instruction to turn left after twenty metres then you walk about twenty five steps and start to tell the dog to find left. When I was walking to Dublin castle a few weeks ago I had no idea where my destination was but I knew the general layout of that area. I at minimum knew that if I was completely lost I could use the sindero app on my iPhone to find the nearest street names and points of interest. That gave me enough to fall back on to allow me to remain confident.

A few key things you want the dog to find in new areas are crossings, curbs, doors, and turns. For example if taking directions from someone you try to determine what turns you need to take. By knowing that you know when to get the dog to find the crossings. If it’s not a city area then you may not have controlled crossings so in that situation I use curbs to differentiate to the dog that he is looking for something different.

Finding a specific door to a shop in a busy street can be difficult. There are a few tricks to it. Let’s take boots on Grafton Street as an example. By knowing that area now, I know that if I smell the coffee from McDonalds I know I’ve gone too far so I need to turn back. Unfortunately sometimes it’s just a matter of cancelling out the shops before finding the right one. There’s a photography shop that I go into sometimes on the top of Grafton Street near the shopping centre. It’s very hard to find. Up at that side of the street the shops have very narrow doors so it’s really hard to hear where the openings are. By that I mean, shops with big doors usually have fans blowing air into the shop. Or they have music playing. Sometimes you can just feel the heat or you can feel the lack of solid space on one side if you’re walking beside a shop with a big opening. For this photography shop I know that directly inside the door there are steps going up. The shop before it has a ramp. The doors feel similar though so I only know that I’ve gone into the wrong shop when I encounter the ramp. HMV isn’t too far away from that shop either so I know when to slow down to start feeling along the wall. When I say I feel the doors I try to do this as inconspicuously as possible. I won’t exaggerate though. It’s a really hard place to find so when all else fails and I’ve misjudged the distance away from it I grab a passerby and ask them where it is.

In Drogheda I could walk around there on my hands and still know where I am so shops that have small doors don’t pose as much of a challenge. It’s also quieter in Drogheda so it’s easier to use other noises as land marks. For example, an electrical shop is very near to a part of West Street that gets considerably narrower. When I start to try to find the door into that shop I know that the shop before it has a wide door or coming from the other side, the shop before it has round plaques on the wall outside it. I also know that on the other side of the road it’s between two crossings. There are a number of land marks that are easier to hear and because I’m originally from there I’ve kept up with the small changes that have been made over time.

Giving commands to a guide dog is kind of funny in a way. You have to be consistent and logical while remaining very positive and encouraging. For everything it does right you have to give loads of praise. On the other hand, Different dogs require different levels of interaction. I would consider Ike as a dog that requires more than the average level of interaction. Of course this will become less necessary as time goes on but I’m aware of dogs that started out that required much less praise and encouragement. As I always say to guide dog owners and even people interested in guide dogs. Every guide dog and handler is different. As well as this every partnership is also different. What works for one will unlikely work for another. Every command that I use works well with Ike but may be completely counter productive for another dog. Equally, my method of finding places may also be unsuitable for some and just completely silly for others. I know people who have fantastic awareness of obsticles in their environment. I have great spatial awareness. Different people use different strengths to their advantage.

Older Entries

The dodgy domain of DigitalDarragh

It should be easier.

A year on. How life changes.

Slán Ike. I’m back to the cane again.

A year ago without Ike

One year on. acknowledging Freddie and looking forward with Ike.

Mixing the old with the new for the best results.

An unplanned meeting.

Ike after 12 weeks.

Introducing Ike to Freddie.

Commands used for guide dogs.

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