The final count down.

• Firstly, you should read this so you know what these posts are all about.
• The first day with Ike
• Day 2 of training.
• Day 3 of training.
• Day 4 of training.
• Day 5 and 6 of training.
• Day 7 of training.
• Day 8 of training.
• Day 9 of training.
• Day 10 of training.
• Day 11 of training.
• Day 12 of training.
• Day 13 of training.
• Day 14 of training.
• Day 15 of training
• Day 16 of training
• Day 17 of training
• Settling in at home
• Day 1 of aftercare

In the morning I will return to work. This is something I have looked forward to since starting this process almost a month ago or even more accurately, when I retired Freddie Eight months ago. I have done two dry runs or test walks from Drogheda to Dublin and I’ve walked to the train station and back again in Drogheda seven times since Monday afternoon. I have been on three trains and one bus, stopped for a coffee, worked through a difficult train station during a quiet time and again during rush hour. I have done countless hours of obedience work both while training in the centre in Cork and since returning home. Ike and I have also spent most of our free time playing or just sitting together. As I set out to do, I have put all my time and effort into ensuring Ike is ready for tomorrow and the shock this will bring. I said that it was very important that Ike is prepared to hit the ground running when training finished and I am delighted to say that I think we have reached this level. We of course have a few things to iron out. The most important issue is the spending problems that I have written about at length over the past three weeks. I can only hope these get better over the next week or two. For the most part however, his work is fantastic, he has no problem with public transport, he trusts me more and more while navigating around busy places so his confidence is good enough to allow him to make quick decisions and he is becoming more and more aware of me and what I expect him to do every day. This has been very hard work and there is still a lot left to do. Although I am not officially finished with training and aftercare, I have pushed myself on to a stage where aftercare is a tool that will help me ensure I don’t fall back into old habits and the dog is continuing to get the feedback and commands it requires. As I said, there is certainly a lot more to do but it will now happen gradually over the next six to twelve months. Unless something goes particularly wrong, Ike should now pick up on more and more as time progresses and the number of routes he works slowly increases.

Starting from yesterday, I hadn’t actually planned on independently traveling to Dublin with Ike for the first time. This wouldn’t ordinarily be a great idea in case the dog lost confidence or in case I gave particularly bad instructions to the dog and inadvertently rose his sensitivity in a particular area. It hadn’t really been my intention when I left the house originally but when I got to the train station in Drogheda a train was pulling in. I had been practising working he dog over to platform three so it made sense at the time to progress the route that little bit further. The dog had taken the route from the house to the train station in his stride so I knew that a trip to Dublin wasn’t going to faze him at all. While on the train I also decided that it was a perfect time to explore Pierce street station as we had nowhere to be in any particular hurry, Ike was in a great mood but more importantly, it was a very quiet time of the day in terms of public transport. We had very few distractions and it gave Ike the opportunity to relax while guiding me through this environment. Because it was so quiet I could also stop at certain places to praise him for finding the ticket machine, the steps and the exit for example. The entire experience for Ike was not rushed, full of praise and rubs and even a bit of fun at times. I have actually commented to someone that Ike was so relaxed while walking through Pierce street station that it would actually surprise me if he hadn’t gone through there before with his puppy walker. I doubt he could have found the exact ticket validation machine if he hadn’t been there before.

We left the station and walked the nice short route to Nassau Street to a fantastic little coffee shop called the runner bean. Sorry, I have to give this place a bit of a plug. They do the best coffee in Dublin and the staff are particularly good. I couldn’t recommend it enough. I will almost always stop here for a coffee in the mornings and Mark, the owner of the shop always gave Freddie a lot of attention. I knew he’d do the same to Ike and importantly, I knew that this would be a huge benefit as it would completely take the dogs mind off the trials of the previous routes. It is particularly important that a working guide dog is not touched by any other person other than the handler when in harness. I can’t stress this enough. If you touch Ike when he has the harness on please be warned that it’s not the dog you need to be worried about bighting your hand off, it’s me. I like to ensure my dog is not distracted or looking for distractions while he is working. By rubbing him while in harness the level of distraction can increase to unmanageable levels. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. If you ask first and I say it is ok then I don’t mind at all. In situations such as when I stop at the Runner Bean I actually encourage people to give the dog a quick rub because in my experience it’s a major positive on a very difficult route and I know that the people who rub him are very aware of the dogs purpose and would never jeopardise his required level of concentration.

After hanging around Dublin for a while I decided to return to Drogheda by bus. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, it was one of the longer outings the dog had been out on and secondly I needed to ensure the dog was comfortable in that kind of cramped environment. I couldn’t have been luckier when I got on the bus. A driver that I know quite well was there and when he saw that I had a new dog he waited until I was sitting and I had organised the dog so that he was under the seat. It is my personal preference that the dog is never allowed to sit anywhere else on the bus except where I specifically tell him. I always put the dog under the seat that I am sitting on. His front paws and head are between my legs and his back and hind paws are under my seat. Anyway back to the topic at hand. When I had the dog settled the driver then came down for a quick chat. Again, he asked if he could say hello to Ike so I had no objections at all. He put his hand on the dog for only a few seconds while he was talking to me and then he stood around for another few minutes while we caught up on what had happened in the past few months. I hadn’t met him since November. The point of all this is that I’m not sure if the driver knew what he had done or not but by simply talking to me for a few minutes he gave the dog a completely new focus. He no longer dwelled on being put under a seat. He now focused on the driver and his conversation with me. Like the train station it was nice and relaxed. There was no rushing and no messing around. The dog was under the seat for about five minutes before the bus started moving. It wasn’t that Ike was stressed or in any way bothered by getting under the seat but in the worst case scenario if we were in a rush to get in and get sorted Ike could have seen this as a negative environment and we could have had a few minor problems the next time we were on a similar bus. Because it was so positive for him we should never have any problems at all. That’s really my priority at the moment. Trying to make each new environment and experience as positive as possible. Drivers such as the one I spoke to yesterday, the staff in the Runner bean, the quiet train station and even the people who intermittently stop to ask about this new dog have all helped to break up routes and make new environments less daunting and more enjoyable for Ike. I think that is one of the main reasons why tomorrow is going to be a success.

Today was like a practise run. It was the second day of aftercare with the trainer from Irish guide dogs. We had planned to go from Drogheda to Work in Dublin at the normal time. This would ensure we worked through the same kind of rush hour traffic that we will encounter tomorrow morning. I left the house just after 7AM for the 7:34AM train from Drogheda to Dublin. I was actually quite grateful that a man in Drogheda train station recognised that I had a new dog and gave me a few directions when Ike got a bit confused but that was to be expected as we had never got on to a train from that platform before and there were over a hundred people getting on at the same time. It is something that will take Ike some getting used to. That was actually the only minor hiccup though. Not bad when you consider everything? When we got to Pierce street station in Dublin I got off the train just like I would have with Freddie. I expected Ike to do the same thing that Freddie did within reason. I was right! Ike remembered the say to the ticket validation machine that we found yesterday and with a lot of prompting and some directions he found it. I find that the best way of working a dog through rush hour is to just keep moving. The dog will find the clearest path. This usually ends up to the right of the crowd in Pierce station. By walking on the right of the crowd the dog seems to have clear access to the steps and also can move past people queuing at the very last ticket machine in the row. This is actually wider than the others to allow access by people using wheel chairs or buggies but fortunately it also leaves you almost directly in line with the steps down toward the exit. This is how Ike was able to navigate around this very busy environment and I would say that it’s reasonably likely that he will continue to do it like that.

The route to work from the station was very straight forward. Ike had done it yesterday so it wasn’t anything he hadn’t done before. Of course it wouldn’t be fair or practical to expect him to remember it at this stage so he needed a lot of prompting but he was very comfortable even while walking through areas with quite a lot of pedestrians going in the other direction. Again, I stopped Ike at the coffee shop just to make a point that he would need to find that particular door in the morning. Again, it was no problem to him. He stopped where I thought he should and continued to find the turns that needed him to find. There weren’t any places where I lost my Barings or where my orientation wasn’t great which was very nice. The one thing I do notice though is with Ike he is not a dog that tends to walk on the left at all. Freddie drove me crazy by always hugging the wall on the left or even the curbed edge on the left. There were a few reasons for this but I continue to smile to myself when Ike freely walks in the centre of the path or even nudges me over to the right. It’s really comfortable walking like that.

The only area that I had a problem in was the one I thought was going to be really simple. I was walking up Dawson Street on the way up to Stephens green. I will bringIke up here to relieve himself at lunch time every day. For some reason I forgot there were two sets of traffic lights on my right and I told the dog to stop at the wrong one. That in its self isn’t too bad. It’s been eight months since I’ve walked up that road but the major mistake I made was not providing the right commands to instruct the dog to find the next crossing. That began to cause a bit of a dint in his confidence that showed it’s self on the way back to the office. I seriously need to be very careful with this. I know it’s a simple mistake and I know it’s something I have warned myself but when there’s a lot happening on all sides of you and your trying to find the right crossing at an intersection that has really terrible tactile markings and a very dodgy shape to it it’s almost impossible to think of the right commands and hand signals to show the dog the right way to go. On a separate note, it would be really nice if the audible indicator beacons on these lights were at different intervals or at the very least didn’t sound at the same time. It’s very off putting.

That’s about all of the highlights for today from what I can remember. I got the train back to Drogheda today and walked back from the train station as you’d expect. I also did this route to the train station and back another few times during the day. It kept the dog active and out of the house for a change.

I’m really hopeful and optimistic for tomorrow. Both Ike and I have put a lot of work in since the 11th of January. This combined with the fantastic work of Irish Guide dogs should make tomorrow a very successful first day back.

Come back tomorrow evening for an update to find out how this first day back at work has gone.

Breaking new ground.

• Firstly, you should read this so you know what these posts are all about.
• The first day with Ike
• Day 2 of training.
• Day 3 of training.
• Day 4 of training.
• Day 5 and 6 of training.
• Day 7 of training.
• Day 8 of training.
• Day 9 of training.
• Day 10 of training.
• Day 11 of training.
• Day 12 of training.
• Day 13 of training.
• Day 14 of training.
• Day 15 of training
• Day 16 of training
• Day 17 of training
• Settling in at home

Today we did our first major walks in Drogheda as we were under the supervision of the trainer. By major I don’t mean particularly difficult, I am mainly talking about routes that are longer than Ike would have been use to while he was in training in Cork. The routes we did were from the house to the train station and from the train station back again. I have to say he did particularly well. The trainer fortunately agrees and has in fact said that he seems to be settling in over all very nicely.

Again, and believe me, I’m as tired of writing about it as you probably are of reading about it, Ike’s spending routine is still all over the place. He seems to find it impossible to relieve himself before he starts working. This has become so frustrating that I have consulted a local vet. The spending routine seemed to become harder to manage from the trainer’s perspective when the organization changed Ike’s food at the start of class. This was done because he suddenly decided to stop eating the food he had been on prior to that. The trainer and the vet seem to agree that Ike could be finding it a little hard to relieve himself with this new food. Hopefully the issue is just temporary so for tonight he is on a different food that should help him flush out his system. This problem won’t be solved in one night or even one week but I’m hopeful that with the more defined routine and the assistance of the vet he will become more reliable in time for me returning to work in a few days. Even a small improvement would be enough to allow me to get back into my own routine.

You may remember when I wrote about a conversation I had with the trainer where he insisted that if I do not find a way to see Ike as a companion or pet as well as being a guide dog then I would find it difficult to create that bond with him. I completely agree with this assessment. It has been difficult to create the bond with Ike and it’s continuing to be particularly difficult. As I said before, it will be very difficult for me to change this mind-set and again, to be straight with you all, I’m not sure it is in my best interest however for the sake of building a lasting working relationship I’m certainly trying. When I say it is difficult to create that bond I am speaking from my perspective only. It is very challenging to have a dog that is as stubborn as a mule, as sensitive as a three year old girl and with a major lack of confidence. It is making it particularly hard to reinforce obedience and to show the dog what I expect from him. I personally think that these combined attributes of stubbornness, sensitivity with a lack of confidence are crippling and not entirely suited to me as a handler. Again, being more honest than I possibly should be, I have regularly wondered if Ike is the right dog for me in the past few weeks. Please do not see this is a call for reassurance. This is far from what I am looking for. Nora should you see it as a message that I am giving up. This couldn’t be further from reality. What I am saying is Ike has potential. He’s really going to push me to the limits of what I can tolerate. At the moment, this isn’t what I want. I need to hit the ground running on Thursday and if the spending issue isn’t better by then I’m going to have some problems. Again, being brutally straight and honest with you all, If I wasn’t very conscious of the hard work, dedication and money that goes into training these dogs and from my personal perspective the time I need to take off work in order to train with a new dog, I don’t think I would put up with Ike for much longer. It’s possibly good then that I have given myself no choice. Ike has to work out. There just isn’t any other option. I have to work. I have to get around independently. The Cain doesn’t give me the confidence, speed or efficiency that I need to get where I need to go to. A Guide dog is therefore my chosen mobility aid. I knew this process was going to be very difficult and more than anyone else I know that I need to remember that there were problems when I got my previous guide dog. With that in mind though I know there weren’t as many problems in building up his obedience and even just simply getting to know him. It’s a pity that things are continuing to be so frustrating with Ike.

So, because I know there was a lot to take in in that last paragraph, I’m not giving up but Ike certainly isn’t making it easy on me.

Just to finish, I wouldn’t like you to see this is a negative post. I try to be very practical when I’m thinking back on things and when I’m attempting to plan ahead. When I am objective when I write about Ike I am simply ensuring that I see things from every angle. I have always said that if the reasons for not having a guide dog outweigh the reasons for having a guide dog then my decision will be easy. I will not continue to have a guide dog. For me it’s as simple as that. Now, again, I should clarify. At the moment, my reasons for having a guide dog far outweigh the reasons for not having one and it is for this reason most of all that I remain objective. This may sound completely heartless and as I have said before. It may not necessarily be the right way of looking at it. For the moment though, it’s what is driving me to ensure my working partnership with Ike is as effective as it possibly can be.

Who let the dogs out!

• Firstly, you should read this so you know what these posts are all about.
• The first day with Ike
• Day 2 of training.
• Day 3 of training.
• Day 4 of training.
• Day 5 and 6 of training.
• Day 7 of training.
• Day 8 of training.
• Day 9 of training.
• Day 10 of training.
• Day 11 of training.
• Day 12 of training.
• Day 13 of training.
• Day 14 of training.
• Day 15 of training
• Day 16 of training
• Day 17 of training

Wow there’s a lot to write about today. First of all, sorry for not writing on Friday. I got distracted by simply being home. It has been really nice getting back.

Starting from the beginning, we left the guide dog centre in Cork reasonably early on Friday morning. Ike travelled quite well it has to be said. The car we have has plenty of space in the boot and Ike enjoyed using as much of it as he could. He regularly got up to look out the windows and only lay down when he decided there was nothing particularly interesting to watch. As you can imagine, I was a little nervous on the way home. I knew that Ike would probably find this new environment strange and he could encounter a few problems settling in. I also had a spending area built while I was away and I wasn’t entirely sure if the builder had done a good job. Although I had a lot to be nervous about I had more to be relieved and happy about so although it took us a very short time to travel from Cork to Drogheda it felt like I was in the car for a week!

Fortunately, when I got home everything worked out well. Ike went straight to the spending area and to my relief the size of the area I had picked was just about perfect. The builder had also done a great job by creating a custom metal fence and gate that locks so that when people come over with children I can ensure that they can’t venture near that area. The metal fence is exactly what I needed as it ensures the dog does not feel trapped or enclosed while spending and it gives him a great view of the rest of the yard.

The rest of the day was spent doing very little. By very little I mean nothing at all. From 2PM until 11PM we played a lot, let Ike sniff the house freely, got him comfortable with walking around unhindered and reintroduced him to his bed and his new sleeping area. It is important to recognise that guide dogs are not like a normal dog. They are much more sensitive due to the work that they are trained for. Making sure they are happy is therefore vital. The smallest hint of anxiety or stress will almost always filter through to their performance while working. For that reason, the first few days while the dog is settling into a routine is usually spent getting it use to its new surroundings. This is especially true when the dogs spending and feeding routine changes. As Ike is finding it particularly difficult to spend on a schedule, this is even more crucial. I can’t understate how important a smooth transition is to our success in the next few weeks.

The first challenge came on Friday night. I left Ike down stairs in his bed and I went to bed at around 11PM. Very shortly afterward he started crying and barking. To ensure he hadn’t become over stressed or at worst hurt in some way I went down to check and reassure him. This happened another few times during the night and at around 1AM I went down again to give him more reassurance. At about 4AM I went down one more time and took him up stairs with me. This was a mistake. It’s a constant balancing act with Ike. Be aware of his sensitivities and ensure they do not lead to decreased confidence but at the same time don’t let him take advantage by pandering to his crying I was pandering to him and he kept doing it to get attention. By bringing him up stairs I made another mistake because he then got everything he wanted. He was beside me again so he was delighted with himself.

I asked for advice from a discussion group that I manage called IrlGuideDogs. This group is made up of over a hundred very experienced and new guide dog users in Ireland. Within no time at all I had received over ten responses confirming that I had actually made a mistake in my dealing of the situation the night before but also giving me really great ways of ensuring the problem was resolved. Armed with this new knowledge I left Ike on his own a few times during the evening. After an extended period of time I came back and gave him a lot of attention and assurance. This hopefully built up an idea that although he was being left alone I would come back. I also removed his plastic bed and just put the fleece on the ground. This is something he seems to be a little more comfortable with. When I finally went to bed last night he started crying and barking after an hour but by getting up and firmly saying “No. Be quiet and go back to bed” without going down to him he seemed to get the message. That didn’t solve it completely. He still did it four other times throughout the night but this was a huge improvement compared to the first night. I have also being doing the same exercises today. I’ve left him periodically to build up his confidence and he gets loads of praise when I return. Hopefully this will make a big difference again tonight.

Going back to Saturday for a moment, we didn’t do a huge amount again. The advice from Irish guide dogs is usually to keep the first weekend very relaxed and quiet for both the handler and the guide dog. This gives them time to adjust to being out of the centre as I explained earlier. With me things are a little different. I have had issues with Ike’s spending routine therefore I have had to walk him short distances to help him relieve himself. Yesterday I walked around the block a few times using a sighted guide. This helped him relax and gave him the stimulus to do what he needed to do when he got back home. Later that day though I worked him independently for a route that took no longer than five minutes each way. On this route there were five very small crossings and one busy crossing with traffic lights. On this walk his work was flawless. On the way there we didn’t come across anything particularly difficult. There were two narrow gaps on the foot path that he avoided but that was as complicated as it got. On the way back though we encountered a woman with a few kids and a buggy and a car reversing out of a driveway. When we encountered the woman with the kids he moved in to the wall and stopped for a moment. He must not have been able to work around or through the kids and they were quite noisy so it was possibly a bit daunting for him. When the car pulled out of the driveway he was equally as good. He stopped and waited for the car to pass. Come to think of it, there were also a few dogs across the road going for a walk when we were almost back at the house but although he looked over he wasn’t particularly bothered by them. The walk went really well. It was a very short route but it was just enough to let him stretch his legs, concentrate on a few indented crossings, find a traffic light and also find the shop door. I am glad to see that from that limited view his confidence doesn’t seem to have dropped much if at all. Tomorrow and Wednesday will really tell more.

The plan for tomorrow is the first long walk. The trainer will come to Drogheda in the afternoon and I will work Ike to the train station. This will have a total of five crossings. Two will be quite busy, one will have a traffic light and the three others will be very quiet. He will have one main road, lots of very narrow roads and plenty of poles and other obstacles in his way that he will need to navigate around. This will be a nice challenge for him.

Today I introduced Ike to my mother and father. Not the best thing to do so soon because again the priority should be getting him settled in to the routine here but I think one of the reasons why he hasn’t been able to relieve himself as he should be is he hasn’t been moving around enough. I had no choice though. I had a few things that I had to do and it wouldn’t have been a good idea to leave him alone.

I’m absolutely delighted with Ike’s progress at the moment. Since bringing him home he seems to have come out of his shell a little. He’s wagging his tail a lot more and he’s trotting around the house like he owns the place. He of course shows the usual things that you’d expect from a new guide dog. He follows me around like my little shadow and he needs a lot of attention from me. He also needs a huge amount of reassurance and praise for even the smallest little things but this is as much to keep him from being stressed and to keep his confidence up as to help him settle in. I would say that he was a very happy little puppy as the home environment seems to suit him a lot more than the environment in the centre did. I’m also guessing that he was never allowed up stairs when he was in his puppy walker’s house because he doesn’t really want to come up with me here. I don’t mind him coming up stairs because my computer room is up here and I’m sure he’ll spend a lot of his free time in the house around this area when he’s not sleeping, eating or playing.

Tomorrow will really be the test of his level of adjustment to his new home. I’ll report back with another post tomorrow night.

I want to break free!

• Firstly, you should read this so you know what these posts are all about.
• The first day with Ike
• Day 2 of training.
• Day 3 of training.
• Day 4 of training.
• Day 5 and 6 of training.
• Day 7 of training.
• Day 8 of training.
• Day 9 of training.
• Day 10 of training.
• Day 11 of training.
• Day 12 of training.
• Day 13 of training.
• Day 14 of training.
• Day 15 of training
• Day 16 of training

This is the last day of class. The mood among the others who have trained with guide dogs with my self is a little nervous, apprehensive, excited relieved and happy.

The last day of training here is usually taken up by one or two walks, signing the contract, going over some of the more important guidelines for working and taking care of your dog and finally a discussion with the head of client services to provide feedback on the class, the centre, the staff and the overall experience.

The first walk was just around a small town. We’ve walked through it a dozen times so it was nothing new for Ike. His work was fantastic as always. Unfortunately, again we had another problem. He wanted to relieve himself again. This is the third day this week that the morning walk was hindered by this but there is nothing more I can do while in the centre to reduce this. At this late stage, all I can do is wait until the new routine is established at home and hope that the same issue does not arise there. If it does, at the very eats I will have some experience to work from to work toward resolving it.

Since the walk this morning we have done very little. Signing the contract and meeting with the head of client services took longer than expected so I had to cancel the afternoon stroll. On the up side though, I had a great meeting with the training team lead and when speaking to the head of client services I provided some feedback that I hope will really help others in my situation in the

All that is left to do now is wait until the morning. Emma has graciously offered to drive me from the centre in Cork to Drogheda so we will leave here between 9 and 10AM in the morning.

Before I leave here I would just like to write something to say a huge thanks to everyone at Irish guide dogs for the blind. All the staff, trainers, puppy walkers and fund raisers do a fantastic job and I seriously couldn’t do or say enough to come close to what they deserve to thank them.

Tomorrow will mark the start of the next stage of training. After care is where the trainer visits the local area of the guide dog and handler and begins to give advice to ensure the dog is given the required encouragement and commands. It is important that when training with a dog the routes that they work are restricted at the start. This allows them to get use to taking all the commands from the new handler in an environment they are unfamiliar with. The number of routes can be built up slowly over six months to a year.

Next week I will document my progress on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Come back around these days for more updates on my progress with Ike, my new guide dog.

Thanks again for all the comments, tweets, Facebook comments, emails, phone calls and text message. Your support over the past two and a half weeks has been empowering.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There’s light at the end of the tunnel.

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

Today, we had an assessment walk. This is where another trainer accompanies us on a route to ensure we are working our dogs to a decent standard, we are able to resolve situations on our own and most importantly, we remain safe while walking with the dog. There have been a few of these walks on class but this is the last one before we officially qualify on Thursday. These are usually a good opportunity to get a fresh perspective on how we’re doing and even our trainer gets a few tips as well if needed. In one way this walk was exactly what I needed, I learned that my pet needs that absolute assertiveness or else they rebel.

After just ten minutes into the walk Ike needed to relieve himself badly. This has happened before but over the past week the trainer thought that his spending routine was a little more reliable so these kinds of problems were behind us. As you have probably gathered from my previous post I have not been as certain of this. I have been very concerned that the dog was not stimulated enough to go on the concrete run. This stimulus is either a lack of scents or a lack of exercise but either way, I’m convinced that this is partially or completely the cause of it. It was good in one way that it happened today as more attention was given to it and more suggestions were provided that could potentially begin to make a difference.

On the other side, it was a terrible walk because we were going so well then the walk went to hell because he needed to relieve himself. Now, granted, after he did it he was fine but still it was a little frustrating. I think it annoyed me more because we were doing so well. It overshadowed the entire morning. For me anyway.

Anyway, we’ll hopefully start to improve this with the suggestions I was given today.

We unfortunately only had one walk today. This afternoon we attended presentations for topics such as things to be aware of when visiting the vet, health care for the dog, insurance, vaxinations, weight management, fund raising, equality or awareness / accessibility and finally the pet passport. I was actually dreading them as an afternoon sitting in a room listening to people talk sounded less than appealing however I found it very interesting. Although I was aware of many of the topics they covered, it was really nice to get reminded of a few things that I had forgotten over the past few years. There are also a few new things as well that were great to hear about in more detail such as the pet passport so guide dogs can now travel in the cabin of an air plane. I would of course have loved to go for another walk and I think I would have as well but overall, the day wasn’t as bad as I had expected it to be.

Something is kind of on my mind at the moment. Ten minutes after finishing lunch the trainer came up to my room to discuss the issues with this morning’s walk. He commented that Ike seemed particularly distressed. I had thought this but I assumed I was just over analysing. The thing that is getting to me is I have really no clue what made him get this way. From when we left the dining room until the trainer arrived the only thing Ike did was play for a moment. You might think that I’m dwelling on his sensitivity and confidence far too much but it would be impossible to stress how significant this is to Ike’s personality and effective work. I feel that this increased sensitivity was caused by something that was very minor but I’d love to know what! If for any other reason than just to make sure that it wasn’t something that I did.

I knew I would finish this training with a few extra valuable life lessons. The one that comes to mind at the moment is: Instead of fixing a problem, fix the underlying cause. For example: fix the reason why the dog has lost confidence at a particular area instead of just fixing the problem that it causes. In other words, why is the dog not finding that crossing? Why is it stopping to sniff? Once it is determined that the dog isn’t finding the crossing because it is not confident enough to break left and it is sniffing that distraction because it is looking for a way of taking its mind off the stress it is experiencing it becomes easier to fix things that could impact the dogs work long term. I think that’s why I have been concerned at the dog’s excessive licking, salivating and issues with spending. Ok I appreciate that there are a number of possible underlying causes but instead of just saying no when the dog is licking a wall for no reason or simply cleaning up after it drools a puddle on the ground or even working on the spending routine I’m more inclined to look for commonality with the aim of determining a cause and its associated solution. . Spending, from the limited experience that I have had with one other dog is not likely related to confidence or stress however I am aware of stress related signs that involve excessive licking and salivating. Of course, if the dog feels stressed in its spending area then it would obviously have problems relieving it’s self but I don’t recognise any signs of stress in the dog when he’s out there and I don’t think there is anything I am doing that would cause this. I have acknowledged time and time again that I am far from an expert on this kind of thing. I have a lot to learn about this dog and even the generic handling and understanding of working animals. I am very certain that these issues can be overcome and my trust and confidence in Ike has not wavered. Nore am I at all frustrated with him. What I am frustrated by however is the lack of progress. This is not due to any fault of the organization I am training with. That’s very important to point out. The frustration is due to something I wrote about the week before last. When I am confronted by a problem my first instinct is to work on it until it is resolved. This is something that is required in my line of work and even to a large extent in my hobbies as well. It is a major readjustment to wait for problems to sort themselves out. This kind of attitude is probably driving my trainer crazy but because I have benefited from this attitude and way of doing things for so long it is in my nature. It’s hard to change!

If at first you don’t succeed, try try Try again.

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

This morning’s walk followed the same route as last Friday. This was the route that initially caused me a lot of problems and as I said back then it posed major doubts for me as to if Ike was suitable for me. I was particularly worried that he would lose confidence at a crucial moment while navigating through the dense crowds and busy streets of Dublin city centre. Today though I was delighted to find that he was much more comfortable. The speed at which we walked the route was very impressive and although he had minor laps in confidence toward the end of the walk it was actually something that I had learned to correct quickly so within a fraction of a second his confidence had returned and he was back on track again. It was funny. Now that I have a better idea of what to look out for in terms of what body language can be felt through the handle of the harnis signifying this drop in confidence, I was able to determine when it dipped so I was able to come right in as soon as possible with the encouragement he needed. I didn’t think that would have been possible the week before last. It was really nice to see that we have made a lot of progress together in the past week.

This afternoon’s walk was where we got to play with traffic. We practised traffic avoidance in a very quiet estate. It would take far too long to get into the technical side of all of this and I don’t think it would be a great idea to explain how it works for Ike and me because it could potentially be different for every guide dog and handler. Basically what happens with exercises with traffic in this organization is a staff member drives around the area to simulate different realistic issues that you and your dog could experience. For example. If you walk out onto the road and a car suddenly approaches in the far lain what should you do? Or, if you are about to cross and you think the road is clear but it is not. What should the dog do and what should you do to praise this without over stating it or encouraging it too much. On this walk we also had an off curb obstacle to negotiate. I wrote about how this works on Friday. Their very challenging for the dog so it was really hard for him to do the traffic controls and the off curb obstacle in the same walk at this stage of the development of his training and indeed more importantly his confidence but he negotiated it all far better than I would have anticipated. He even managed to only brush me past an overhanging bush and from what I gather, if he hadn’t compensated I would have hit it with a lot more force head on instead of only brushing past the outer edges.

The trainer has said that we are in a perfect place for returning home. If I can manage to continue to keep his confidence topped up over the next few days I am very hopeful that it will only take a slight knock when we return home so it won’t take as much time to build it back up again. I’m quietly satisfied though that with the tools that I’ve learned in the past week I will be able to compensate for this laps in confidence when I get home even if the worst happens and he suffers a regression I should be able to begin to rectify it before the aftercare starts next Monday.

I am also starting to find that my consistent approach is starting to pay off with Ike as well. Without being strict in any way he is beginning to figure out what I expect from him. Simple things like staying lying down all the time when traveling on the bus is now something he is doing comfortably. When I started training he wouldn’t even sit for any amount of time. Keeping this consistency is a lot of work but it really does pay off in the long run. I have said it to the people who are training with their first dog as well. I don’t claim to know a lot about guide dogs but the one thing I can say for sure is that if you want the dog to do something it’s best to do it consistently. If you do it one day and not another then the dog won’t know what it’s supposed to do.

Just one more quick observation. Up until today Ike followed the line of the buildings a lot of the time even when it wasn’t actually necessary. Today he ventured out into the middle of a very wide foot path. I think he was doing it because it but him in a straight line for the next crossing but either way, I think it was a nice sign of his confidence returning. I know I speak of his confidence a lot but it is seriously the most important thing for this dog. You would really not believe how much everything revolves around this at the moment. I think it will get easier with time when his routine has been established and he knows where he is and where he has to go but for the moment it doesn’t take a lot to knock him down. I have to be very aware of what he needs to keep him working well. This extends in to all my interaction with him. Believe me, it’s very hard but it should be worth it.

I’m really looking forward to Friday and going home. Just think. I only have three days of training left! Then the fun will really start. For any of you following this entire process, I will blog when I get home on Friday the 28th, the following Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I will then provide one or two other updates the following week but I am hoping that the first week home will mark the end of the harder parts of this entire process. The posts starting on Friday the 28th of this month will focus on getting home, the settling in process for the dog, the aftercare visits on the following Monday, Wednesday and Friday and of course the most significant day of all, the Thursday that I return to work. These should be particularly interesting.

Taking it sneezy.

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

I was the priority today; This entire process is particularly difficult so although Ike needed to be taken care of, I needed to ensure I did a few things that helped me relax so that I was prepared for the week ahead. I asked on Twitter this morning if anyone could suggest sessions in Cork for this afternoon and the response was overwhelming! Within an hour I had well over fifty replies and the plan for the day was set. I went to a pub called Charlie’s for around three O’clock. The session was very nice. The instruments there were two Banjos’, one accordion, one guitar, one fiddle, one flute four pipers and three Bodhran players. Yes. You read that right. Four pipers! This is very strange but it was very nice. That kind of situation has the potential so being a bit loud and harsh but it seemed like everyone enjoyed it. It was exactly what I needed. After four hours of playing music and meeting loads of new people I was relaxed as I could possibly be.

Before going to the session I took Ike out for a while. I didn’t go far. Obviously I was restricted to the grounds of the centre so I took him to the garden at the front. I seriously think this would have been a lot more difficult if this simple facility wasn’t there. This was great for him. It gave him the opportunity to blow off some steam and he had a nice play as well. I was happy he had the opportunity to stretch his legs at some stage today. For a big dog such as Ike it’s a little unfair to keep him inside for the entire day. Especially considering he’s so full of energy when he actually decides to get off his behind.

Today has been particularly quiet so that’s all I will write for the moment. We are taking it easy tonight in preparation for tomorrow’s work. We have a lot to do over the next four days.

Thanks again to everyone who has commented on the blog, twitter, Facebook and Email. Your feedback is very appreciated.

Lazy bones.

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

It really speaks volumes that the main issue I have with Ike at the moment is his spending routine. I’m very luck in this regard even though the issue is particularly frustrating as it impacts almost everything else for the day. That said, it seems to be working it’s self out slowly. It is a common saying by kennel staff and trainers that with retrievers, you need to count to three every time you give a command. It is said with humour and it is meant to explain their stubborn tendencies and their relaxed and even sluggish attitude to life. Their actually not far wrong either. I say this because a moment ago I was moving to a different room so I could write this update. I spoke to Ike for a moment to ensure he was awake etc. Seriously, it’s needed! He tends to fall asleep at the drop of a hat. I said before on the blog, he’s an old man trapped in a pup’s body. Anyway, I eventually told him to get up. He didn’t budge! I tried again. Still no movement. This time I said it louder and put his name in front of it. “IKE UP!” This time, he stretched, groaned a bit but returned to his comfortable lying position. It was only when I bent down and gave him a light nudge that he decided to take me seriously. I know it’s not disobedience. It’s just that he’s comfortable and he doesn’t really care what I say. He’s happy to stay lying there. That’s all well and good but I have no intention of returning to that room tonight so he really couldn’t stay there. I find that this is a common thing with Ike and if I am to be completely honest, it’s something that I am finding very hard to get used to. I hate to make comparisons but with Freddie, all I had to do is move an inch and he was up beside me. He was just so incredibly alert! I’m not sure if this is something Ike will develop in Time. I don’t think it is. His personality is just so different. I don’t get as much feedback from him when he’s not working. It’s very disconcerting, even frustrating and a little sad at times. I can’t work him out for most of the day. Is he board, depressed, chilled out, comfortable, and not interested or just simply a sleep. I am finding it very hard to no when he’s actually happy as well as unlike Freddie who gave a lot of body language; Ike seems to give very little. I wish I could work him out! Don’t’ get me wrong. I think the bond between us is building and getting stronger every day. It would just really help if his body language was a small bit easier to read. There is one thing I know for sure. If he’s that comfortable after a half an hour, I’m going to need a supply of rockets to move his behind off the floor in the mornings!

The first walk this morning was to a train station. This was perfect as I will be using this form of public transport very regularly. We were lucky as well as a train pulled in just as we were at the platform. The trainer gave me some advice to ensure the loud noises don’t startle Ike and it was kind of interesting to see what I have probably doing wrong for so many years. For example. When the train is coming in, I should have been dropping the handle so that the dog had space to move away if it was feeling threatened. I don’t think this made any difference to Freddie as that kind of thing never fazed him but it’s still good to be aware of. I’m delighted to say that it doesn’t seem to faze Ike either. Obviously, he hasn’t been around all that many trains so the noise caught his attention but it wasn’t a negative experience for him. I was also delighted that he had no problem finding the door for me. This is something I had to teach Freddie to do so it’s nice that Ike has had this experience already. It would actually seem that over all, Ike has been introduced to more of the environments that I will need to work in. This is really nice because they will all be new places, he will have some frame of reference to work from. I also got some interesting reminders as well while trying to get the dog to find the ticket counter. When walking through a station and you begin to try to get the dog to find something like this, it is best to stop the dog first then give the command and the estimated direction. This gives them a well-defined goal that they can recognise as resulting in praise afterword when they’ve found it. It also helps to refocus the dog’s attention on the new objective. I’m not sure if this is something I originally learned when training with Freddie but it was really helpful for today.

The afternoon walk was completely uneventful. That’s really all I can say about it. It was on a straight road with three or maybe four crossings. There were a lot of obstacles for the dog to work around and as always his right shoulder work was absolutely fantastic. See one of my earlier posts for explanations of right shoulder work if this concept makes no sense.

Now, it’s the weekend. Tomorrow we have no walks and the excellent trainer takes a well-deserved break for the day. My aim is to go into Cork city tomorrow to play some music and more importantly get out of here for a few hours. I mean absolutely no disrespect to this centre or no negativity however I am sick of sitting inside. I am not use to it so it is driving me completely crazy. The staff have made it bearable and I’d just like to take this opportunity to say how brilliant they all are. They consistently go well above what’s expected of them.

I know the posts are getting shorter and shorter at the moment. This is because each walk is becoming a little more uneventful and the activities in each day are unchanging therefore it would be repetitive to explain everything. On the up side, if a post is short it means that issues that I experienced last week are not experienced this week so things are getting better!

On that note, I was much happier with Ikes straight line work. He stopped with great definition and confidence at crossings and his ability to take directions is really improving a lot. I also introduced some corrections into the work today. They weren’t given at every distraction but they were very effective. I found that when a small correction was given he acknowledged it right away and didn’t attempt to do it again. In relation to corrections I find that I need to relax my control over Ike. With Freddie, if I didn’t keep him in line he’d start pushing his luck. It really was a case of give an inch take a mile. With Ike, I need to remember not to be so strict. When he looks around he’s being aware of his environment. This is a good thing from the perspective of the trainer and now that I am relaxing with him more I am beginning to agree. It is taking some time to get use to this approach though and sometimes I need to second guess my self. Is he distracted or is he just having a look. Will this escalate to him doing something he’s not supposed to or is he just curious? As the trainer puts it, once he doesn’t interact with the distraction it’s not too bad. It will take a lot more time to assess the degree as to what I can permit but so far his curiosity is only shown when he’s waiting at crossings and he’s not guiding me so it’s not a problem. I write this kind of thing to show you that although the dog has a lot of work to do during these three weeks of training, I as the handler have a lot of work as well.

I wonder. Is it easier to train with your third dog than training with your second? I don’t think I could do this kind of thing again.

Steady as she goes!

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

Today continued to be a very good and positive day. It posed major challenges for both Ike and I but we both tackled them head on and the results were very promising.

I have yet to satisfactorily resolve the issue that I have written about for the past week in relation to the dogs spending at lunch time and this is something that I am quite nervous about for the long term. It still requires work but I have a few ideas that may help over the next day or so.

Because of the confidence issues that Ike experiences I have to be particularly careful about correcting him when he’s distracted or when he makes work errors. These issues are always manageable and have never put me in harm’s way so I am not particularly worried about them however his distraction has increased quite a bit in the past day, The trainer is quite satisfied though as he is of the belief that this demonstrates an improvement in the dogs comfort and confidence. He also has suggested that I can begin to firm up on the corrections that I need to give in a few days to rain back the dog’s attention so it’s focused on me more and not on the hundreds of distractions that can potentially grab his focus. As I say, I’m very aware of Ike’s tendency to lose confidence so although the distraction level can sometimes be frustrating I’m quite happy to give him whatever time and space he needs at the start to help him get past this. I also understand that this may be required when I begin after care when I return home with the dog and it may even happen from time to time in the future when situations cause the dog’s confidence to temporarily drop or waver. There is always one issue with a dog that is as technical and as hard working as a dog such as Ike. I’m just fortunate it’s something that is actually reasonably easy to diagnose and resolve.

The walk this morning was in Cork city again. I had asked to work through some really wide paths to ensure I was able to rely on the dog to guide me around areas where I had no land marks and to ensure I was able to give the dog the instruction that he required to determine the route he needed to take. As I said yesterday, this kind of environment is already quite disconcerting to me but yesterday it was ten times worse! The pats were very slippy so it was very hard to walk on them and confidently give commands to Ike. It was great though. Ike didn’t mind slowing right down. I had a few added issues with distractions but this is expected as I know that when their walking at such a slow speed it’s very hard for them not to get put off by more sights and smells as simply, they have more time to look! Once we got onto the busier paths of Patrick’s street though we were able to walk at a much more comfortable pace. I really let Ike speed up even when we were weaving around people and what were plenty of stationary objects. If there were plenty of them, I hadn’t a clue. It was lovely to walk through that kind of environment again while feeling the dog move left and right to avoided whatever it was that was in the way. Even after two weeks, I couldn’t have walked through that kind of environment so fast or so effectively using the Cain. It just isn’t possible. I won’t walk around areas like that so fast all the time depending on the volume of people and how well Ike and I know the place but this morning it was a very relaxing walk. We went over one crossing here though that I wasn’t particularly happy with but to be fair, it was a very flat crossing and it was probably very hard for Ike to recognise it. I’ll explain why in a moment. It wasn’t so bad though. It was just a very quiet pedestrian alley way anyway so it’s not vitally important. The next time we walk down Patrick’s street I’ll slow the dog right down and ensure he recognises it. As I’ve said before though, it’s a balancing act with Ike at the moment. Firstly and most importantly it’s vital that he enjoys his work so if something is just a technical mistake that doesn’t really cause any danger to me or Ike then I’ll do more harm than good reinforcing it at the moment. Secondly, if it is something that requires an immediate correction then it’s important that it’s followed with encouragement and praise for even the most mundane successes.

I’d like to pause for a second to explain why it’s so hard for a dog to assess road crossings on a road like Patrick’s street in Cork. Firstly, the dog is trained at a basic level to walk from A to B in a straight line with the exception of avoiding obstacles. A is the start of the straight line and B is the end. I.E. A is the start of a block or a road and B is the next down curb or the end of the block or road. This is what the dog tries to do in Patrick’s street. It stops at all the crossings to give me the handler time to ensure there is no traffic. The dog will not progress past this point until I issue the command to instruct him to keep going. In a street like this, there is no down curb and instead the crossing is denoted by a tactile marking the problem is the dog should not stop at every tactile marking as some denote crossing points to my right or left depending on what side the road is. For the dog to efficiently do this, it needs to have done this route quite a few times and should have stopped these defined crossing points. As the dog becomes more experienced it becomes a lot easier to determine these points even on roads they have not walked on before but at the start it’s really not very easy. In areas that I know it won’t be as difficult as in O’Connell Street in Dublin for example; I will be able to forewarn the dog on the approach to these crossing points therefore he knows that he should start looking out for them.

Ok. Back to the first walk. After Patrick’s street we cut through a reasonably large shop. It was great for Ike because he got to walk through a reasonably busy area and his mind needed to be much focused to weave in and out while following the shape of the isle. After this the walk was very uneventful. I should have probably slowed down a little more when walking through the side streets on the way back because the dog missed a few other very minor crossings. Again, they were crossings with just a tactile marker and no down curb but I think it was more that he was in a hurry to get back and he wasn’t concentrating as much as he could have been.

The afternoon walk was in a much quieter residential area. The objective of the walk was to avoided obstacles that required us to actually go onto the road to pass them. These are called off curb obstacles. When you walk up to one with the dog, it will stop so that you can prompt it to find the way. At this stage, it will bring you up to the edge of the curb. With some encouragement and a few specific commands you can then instruct the dog to navigate around this obstacle while allowing it to guide you onto the road for the minimum time it takes to pass the obstruction. These are very hard for the dog and again require practise however he did a great job. It didn’t help that the obstructions placed there held a lot of scents from other dogs so Ike was particularly interested in stopping for a bit of a sniff but again, this is something I will be able to prevent to a large extent over time when his confidence remains at a reasonable level. I felt sorry for poor Ike. He had an offal lot of work to do and the obstacles were regularly placed in strange configurations or in difficult areas to walk around. Still, he seemed to be ok with it. I walked into a branch of a tree that didn’t seem to have any leaves on it which was actually quite painful because that kind of branch seems to always be at just the right level to give you a good smack in the face In fairness to Ike, it’s not something Freddie could often avoided either. I think these trees that are on face level that don’t have leaves must be difficult for them to see so although we made the dog do it again, I wasn’t particularly bothered. It’s this type of thing I can forgive. I understand that the dog has a hard enough job to do and these branches that hang on face level are just a little too hard for them to see as they are just above their field of vision from what I’ve been told by various trainers. The one thing that I found on this walk was that Freddie required very little encouragement for finding the best way around these off curb obstacles. I fell back into my old habits of giving very unambiguous directions and commands. This is just something I have to constantly keep in mind. After eight years of doing it one way, I often find it hard to remember to revert to the really obvious hand signals and commands when working Ike. I know that Ike will pick up the subtle commands over time. It’s no reflection on him. I just need to remember that Ike doesn’t know me well enough just yet to know that when I move my hand a little I mean he should go straight on. Give me time. I am aware of it and it’s something I actively correct myself about so it will get better.

Unfortunately, that’s pretty much it for Friday.