Third day

It was an early start this morning ─ 5.30am!  This was so that the instructor could assist in the feeding of the dogs. When a bowl of food was placed on the floor, the guide dog sitting nearby would wait for the owner to blow three short blasts on the feeding whistle before starting to eat the food ─ they are trained to do this from an early age. The feeding whistle is also used to recall the guide dog during a ‘free run’;  as the dog has learned to link the feeding whistle with food it encourages the dog to return to its owner knowing that it will receive a reward.

After the morning feed it was time to learn about grooming. Grooming is very important and helps to build a strong relationship between guide dog owner and guide dog.  Ishka loves it when I rub my fingers through her coat against the lay of the hair.  I would then brush her coat against the lay of the hair and then comb the coat in the direction of the growth. Finally, I would brush her coat in the direction of the hair growth. Job is accomplished after the equipment has been cleaned. This is followed by a mini health check and then by a working lunch when we were given a lecture about ‘Dog Welfare’ in the lounge.

Later in the afternoon, I went out in the van with the instructor ─ it was only a short ride out but it was to an area where there was a small street block that was ideal for doing some harness practice. The commands that I used were mainly ‘Forward’ and ‘Right’ but the instructor did work a bit on my voice control! This is a weakness of mine but the instructor kept on telling me to talk louder as Ishka could not hear me. Praise your dog, Jean the instructor would say! I tried ─ I really did and I believe that was the day when I started to make some progress.