There’s a lot done but more to do.

• 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
• Day 2 of training
• The first day back at work

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The first of many.

• 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
• Day 2 of training

Ok. Let’s get the negative stuff out of the way first.

Right. Now that that’s done, I can get on to the important part. If I said that today was great or even fantastic or no. Even the best day I’ve had in over a year I still wouldn’t even come close to how happy I am with how it went. It could not have possibly gone any better.

Starting at 6AM, I got up, fed Ike, showered, gave him a bit of attention and let him out to relieve himself. This is where it started to go well. He actually did a pee and a Pu! This is such a fantastic accomplishment I nearly shouted good boy in the middle of the yard. I did a few things a little differently last night. Firstly, I groomed him at around 9PM. This let him relax and it meant that he had a good half an hour just getting a nice rub and a bit of a chat. After that we had a little play to get him feeling like he needed to go. When I let him out he needed very little encouragement and we had a nice solid spend. That was great because it meant that when he went this morning he had no pressure on his bowel while walking to the train station. I know I know I know. You are sick of reading about me talk about crap. I’m sorry. I’m looking forward to the day when I don’t need to worry about when Ike needs to relieve himself. It’s such a weird thing to have to consider before and even after every single walk. It’s actually quite frustrating and to be very frank with you, if it doesn’t get resolved very shortly I will have to take particularly unlikeable action. I think I’ve explained this before. The dogs spending routine is not something that can be considered lightly when you’re working from 9 to 5 and on top of that you’re commuting. It’s important that the dog does everything it needs to do when you give it the opportunity. If it doesn’t or it can’t do everything it needs to do then it will simply have to do it while walking. This is completely unacceptable. I simply cannot have a situation where I’m walking and I have to stop at some grass so the dog can spend. I do not believe that this is an unreasonable expectation. Of course, it would seem that this is now a reality and the only reason why I am putting up with it at the moment is because it’s a short term one. If it becomes long term or the solution poses too much of a problem then as I said I will need to look at my options. Right. Getting back to the positive stuff, we made it to the train station very comfortably. It is the most relaxed I’ve seen Ike in over a week and a half. Because he was relaxed I was really positive about everything. It was simply a pleasure to walk with him. I haven’t felt that kind of freedom in a year and a half at least. Yes. Your right, I retired Freddie eight months ago but for quite a while before that I had to be very considerate of his arthritis and his problems maintaining concentration during complicated routes. This morning’s walk was the first opportunity I had found to actually completely trust Ike. That might sound a little strange. Particularly because I actually don’t really mind the occasional knock by a pole or tree. It happens from time to time through no fault of the dog because I have a tendency to walk too fast. Still, it was really nice to be able to trust him completely.

Getting on to the train was reasonably straight forward as well. There was a small crowd getting on at the same door as me but a man near me told me to go ahead so they waited until I had given the dog the instruction to go forward before they started moving. Again, like the past few days he got under the seat without much hassle at all and he was very happy to lye still until we reached our stop an hour and a quarter later.

When we got to Dublin the route through the train station was quite difficult for him but he handled it well. Finding the steps off the platform to the ticket validation machines was very snappy for him. He seemed to just know exactly what I wanted him to look for as soon as he got off the train and he was delighted with himself when he got the praise for walking right over. I was actually a little confused at the start. I almost thought he had been distracted by something. I thought we were further down the platform and it took me a second or two to realise that we were about a half a step away from where I wanted him to find. It can be quite difficult to get decent orientation in a busy train station. It’s so noisy and there are so many people I find that sometimes depending on where the train comes in I have really no idea how far up the platform I am. This is one of the reasons why I love having a dog. They learn from repetition and routine what you’re looking for and they bring you right to it with a bit of prompting, encouragement and praise. It was just a little surprising this morning that Ike was able to find the steps when I gave him very bad directions in terms of my hand signals. After finding the steps we got caught up in a small crowd of people but they were moving in the right direction. I think the best thing to do in that kind of situation is to encourage the dog to just find the way and keep him nice and steady so he doesn’t try to find a clear path somewhere. Once he focuses on his next milestone or his next target or whatever you want to call it, it doesn’t particularly matter if he’s in the crowd or not. Sometimes, the worst thing to do is let the dog get out of the crowd because when there are people walking in the same direction at quite a slow speed there are a lot of small things that can distract the dog. This goes against my normal thinking when walking around the train station. As I said yesterday. Ordinarily, the dog will move around to the side of the crowd so that they are on his left. This way he can keep walking right to his destination without trying to walk through other people. The difference is that when in a crowd you have to refocus the dog on his destination or target when you get out of it because all of the other things around him can potentially grab his attention. We finally got to the ticket machine and the rest was plain sailing. We found the steps down and out of the station and although I’m not particularly comfortable with walking without the hand rail on my right he didn’t seem to have a choice but to bring me down the middle or on the other side. Fortunately, he didn’t pull on the harness at all so I didn’t have any problems. I will be the first to admit that things like open spaces, really noisy areas and steps down with no hand rails really irritate me. In situations like this I instinctually go a little behind the dog. I think I wrote this on day three of training. It’s something the trainer saw me doing and it’s something I almost fell back into this morning in the train station. I really have to be very careful of that. By moving behind the dog he is more likely to think that I want him to turn or veer right because body position and angle can be used for providing direction to guide dogs depending on the situation and the context it’s used in.

After the train station we very comfortably walked down Pierce Street. We have one problem on this street. Actually, I’m not being fair to Ike. It’s not a problem; it’s a tiny issue that we will probably overcome in the next few days. Firstly, he stops too far away from the traffic light pole on that crossing at Pierce station and secondly, when he crosses from pierce station to the other side of the road, he really does not want to go left. It’s not like there’s something there he doesn’t like, he just thinks that going right would be so much more interesting. I have no idea why this is. Yesterday and the day before, I did what I will call an official left turn. This is where you make the dog stop, you take half a step back and you instruct the dog to come across you to your right. As the dog does this you continue prompting and encouraging the dog while you move in a 270 degree turn around to your right clockwise. The result is that you are facing left of your original position. The benefit of this is that the dog will almost always be completely focused on the turn it has just performed and it is also facing directly in line with your intended direction. It may look a bit silly from a distance but as a trainer told me years ago, when you want your guide dog to do something, you’ll shout, sing, dance, clap or role around the ground if it does it for you the way you want it to. He was absolutely right. Sometimes you just have to acknowledge that you’re going to look or sound completely stupid because at the end of the day, once you get to where you want to go it’s most likely worth it.

When we finally got to work I was very conscious not to just fall back into my normal routine. I had been warned about this a few times by a number of people. The priority was to get in safely, keep really positive and keep Ike as happy as possible. With that in mind, when I got to the office I sat with him for a moment just giving him loads of praise and a lot of attention. I then prepared his bed so that it was in a decent location near my desk and made sure he was resting comfortably. At that point a few people came over to say hello. They had loads of questions about the training and they were very interested in meeting Ike. Again, everyone who came over asked because they knew from my time with Freddie that I have no problem if people want to talk to the dog while he’s not in harness. I just ask that people let me know beforehand. For the entire morning I caught up on mail, minutes of meetings, project plans, new outstanding tasks and other work that I have to get done and work that was completed while I was away. I therefore had very few reasons to leave my desk. The one time I had to go into a different office I just put Ike onto the lead and took him with me. It was only a few seconds down the hall but it was out of sight so I was a little concerned that Ike would take advantage or at worst start barking or crying. I know that this is something he’ll get use to with time but today wasn’t the day to start working on that. This little distraction was also a perfect opportunity to begin to teach Ike about what I will and won’t except in terms of his interaction with people in the office. I am particularly strict. I’m very aware of this. It’s not that I’m strict on Ike; I’m stricter on other people. I expect that they’ll recognise the dog as a working animal and treat him accordingly. I am very fortunate that the people I work with are all fantastic so I have no concerns at all. What I need to teach Ike is that although he may want to sniff, people won’t pay any attention to him unless he’s in his bed beside my desk. This means I can walk around the office freely and I should never have to be concerned about him looking for attention.

Lunch was the next challenge. I was actually quite nervous about this. The main objective was to bring him to a park called Stephens green to let him relieve himself. I walked up and down along one patch of grass for twenty minutes at the start. He just would not venture from my side. Even though I let him use a flexible lead that extended about fifteen feet he didn’t want to leave me at all. I walked a little further down the park to another area and almost as soon as I extended the lead he had a nice long pee. Now, why he wouldn’t do it in the first area I have no idea. In fact the first area should have been better for him. He’s just a strange animal. That little description doesn’t really go into enough detail. It doesn’t talk about how I walked up and down that path telling the dog to relieve himself. There is a specific command for this. No, I’m not telling you what it is! I really wanted him to do something. Firstly so he got into the routine of knowing that he could expect to have this opportunity half way through the day and secondly because I knew that if he didn’t go I was going to have to stop somewhere on the way home because there was no way he would be able to walk from the train station back home without relieving himself for the entire day.

Anyway, after we took care of that, I grabbed a sandwich and went back to the office. There wasn’t anything particularly interesting during that route. Ike had done it before as it is a hop on the route to the train station. On the way back I didn’t have my right hand free to provide prompts for him if he wasn’t certain of where I wanted him to go but fortunately he had no problems understanding my verbal commands.

Going home could have been terrible! As any train user in Dublin knows, waiting for a train at 5PM is crazy. The stations are really crammed and getting on is like a fight for survival. It’s every man for himself and you’ll only grab a seat if you’re willing to push as much as you’re being pushed. Freddie had a knack for handling this kind of situation. He wasn’t at all fazed by it but Ike had never experienced it until today. Because of his sensitivities it could have gone really badly. I really wanted the end of the day to go smoothly so I asked a few people who worked in the station to make sure that the crowd trying to cram onto the train provided me with the opportunity to get on without anyone trying to push against the dog. I also spoke to a few other passengers who were getting on that I recognise from getting the same train as me every day. I have spoken to a lot of them before while waiting for the train so it wasn’t particularly difficult to let them know that Ike was a new dog, he had never done this kind of thing before and I would really appreciate it if they would give him some space when the train came. With my cautions and the assistance from the staff in the station people were very good about it. They stood back for the few seconds that I needed to provide Ike with the right commands to find the door and get on safely. This is something I will need to do another few times while Ike gets use to this kind of environment but I’m reasonably confident that Ike will find his own way of dealing with it just as Freddie had to do when it was his turn to fight the battle.

The hardest part of the day was actually the part that I thought was going to be the easiest. When we got off the train we began the walk from the train station back home. The first thing that went wrong was I found that Ike was particularly agitated. He was really stressed about something. I thought it might be the high volume of traffic passing quite close to him or the fact that there were a lot of people walking behind us but nothing I did made a difference. We got five minutes into the walk when Ike needed to relieve himself badly. There was nothing I could do about it. He gave me no time to react. Before I could even consider stopping him it was all done. I am actually quite surprised. It’s strange that he didn’t need to spend all day but then he need to do it in the evening. If he could have just held on for another twenty minutes we would have been great! I’m hoping that this change marks an improvement in his solid spending routine. So, although it shouldn’t have happened, I’m trying to be positive. The next thing was that the wind really picked up. I haven’t experienced that kind of wind in quite some time. It really was very powerful. There’s one thing about the wind that you don’t really think of when you are not using a guide dog. That is that it blows leaves, paper, trees and even gates around. This posed a major distraction for a few moments until Ike settled down. It was quite a reasonable distraction I think. If he’s going to get distracted he may as well get distracted by leaves and other things blowing around the path. I have to admit, if I was looking where I was going I think I’d be distracted by that kind of thing too! The next thing to hit us was the torrential rain. Again I hadn’t experienced that kind of rain in about a year. It was really strong and by the time I got home I was completely saturated. My shoes were flooded and the water was just dripping off me. It took me almost twenty minutes to dry Ike. This is not something I particularly like doing. He loves it though. If he wasn’t trying to play with the towel he was trying to play with me. In one way it was a great end for him. Coming in and getting dried and having a good play was a nice way for him to unwind. It also let him be a pup again. He’s very funny when playing with the towel. I noticed this yesterday. When you hold the towel up he puts his two front paws up to try to pull it down so he can grab it with his mouth.

Funnily enough I felt quite guilty about letting him get so wet while we were walking home so I actually dried him and had a bit of a play as well before I got out of my own wet clothes. I couldn’t have left him there while I got changed. I’d have felt terrible thinking of him standing around with so much wet hair. He’s a particularly long haird dog. It must be very uncomfortable for him when he gets so wet. I’m dreading grooming him in a while. His hair is going to be all over the place!

Again, I couldn’t have asked for our first day back at work to go any better. It was one hell of a challenge and I’m quite tired after it all. I’m looking forward to tomorrow but I just hope it doesn’t rain as much. I would hate to get into work with him as wet as he was tonight. I actually think I’d have to go and buy more towels just to dry him off. I used an old towel that I had from when I had Freddie. It is a big beach towel. Even with that massive thing it was soaked after drying Ike. I only have a normal shower towel in work. It would never get him dry if he was as wet as he got tonight.

Sorry if I’ve rambled.

Tomorrow is another aftercare visit from the trainer. It could actually be the last visit that I will need. Of course there is more for Ike to learn and there is more for me to do as well but in terms of what the trainer can do for us I think tomorrow will be the end.

Just one more really quick note. I said earlier that was very conscious of not falling into my old routines from when I had Freddie. I should say that this is really easier said than done. I hope I didn’t fall back into any old habits while working Ike today but there were times when I needed to remind myself that I had to spend more time doing certain things. Even something as simple as telling the dog what direction to take when we get to our floor. Because it’s something that Freddie needed no prompting for I found it really hard to remember to give comprehensive and detailed directions and commands to Ike for finding the lift, finding the door, finding left etc.

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.