Day Nine

After spending the dogs, we all met at the van and with the trainer at the wheel we set off to a location nearby ─ it looked a nice area. I went out with the trainer first and after a short walk we came to some shops and I noted that one of them was a cafe. We went in the café and found an empty table near the window. Ishka immediately disappeared under the chairs. Oh yes, I wondered how many cafes Ishka has been in because you could see that she was no novice and knew exactly what she doing. The trainer went to get me a fruit drink and then told me that she was going to fetch Simon and his guide dog, Ascot.

Ishka attracted a lot of attention from the other customers who asked if they could stroke her while others asked me what it was like having a guide dog. I explained that it was early days for me to answer that question as I was on a guide dog training course ─ throughout all this. Ishka behaved very well and I was proud of her. It was not long before Simon and Ascot arrived and after bringing a drink over for Simon the trainer set off to fetch Kevin and his guide dog, Danny. Once again, some of the customers started to come over asking if they can stroke the guide dogs.

Eventually, Kevin and Danny arrived and now it was time for Ishka and me to depart ─ we walked along the street and eventually arrived back at the van, I really enjoyed that walk. When the others arrived back, we returned to the hotel for a light lunch.

In the afternoon we did some off kerb obstacle training, this is when a guide dog cannot get their owner safely round an obstruction while on the pavement and so means going on to the road which could be dangerous for the owner and guide dog. Situations like this could happen when there are some road works, or a car parked on a pavement or a group of wheelie bins. The trainer had set up some barriers which forced the guide dog to take their owner on to the road ─ it was simple but clever. 

A free day!

Today was a free day and the day when my family came  to visit me at the hotel in Nottingham. My youngest daughter, Sharon and her four children came and my sister, Rosalyn and her husband, Paul came over from Stoke; I was really looking forward to seeing them, probably because I wanted to show off Ishka. The call from reception came to inform me that my visitors had arrived so I went down to the reception to meet them. My grandchildren were delighted to see me and were eager to meet Ishka. We went to the lounge and after explaining what I wanted them to do, I went to fetch Ishka from my hotel room. I returned to the lounge with Ishka who by this time was very excited; on entering the lounge she wanted to make a fuss of everyone! I made her sit beside me for about ten minutes and then I allowed her to walk around the room while on the long lead to meet everyone ─ it was a successful way of introducing Ishka to my family.

We had a lovely afternoon and they all wanted to know what I have been doing and the children told me their news too. It was a lovely break from the training though I must admit that I was enjoying the course.

Seventh Day

Today, Simon and I had a very wet trip out; we went to a local street to test our skills of indenting. Simon went with the instructor first while I stayed in the van. It was not long before Simon and the instructor returned to the van and then it was my turn. We set off and to be honest, I did not think that Ishka and I were doing too badly in the wet conditions but then it happened ─ I fell in marvellous style! Even though I hurt my right knee I wanted to carry on but I could not stop laughing. Eventually the instructor and I returned to the van. The knee was sore for a few days but I did not want to miss any of the training so persevered with the pain ─ taking some pain-killers did the trick.

In the afternoon after lunch, we headed to the hotel basement and did some obedience work. This work was done in front of the other dogs and this added numerous distractions but all the dogs did well. It was a bit dark in the basement but I enjoyed the experience!

Sixth Day

Today, we returned to the street with the wheelie bins in the morning and to the kennels in the afternoon for some more obstacles practice. Here are some photos that were taken while we were

at the kennels.

This is the car that we used for travelling to different places, our GDMI was the driver.

In the cage on the left you may just see Ishka and in the cage on the right is Danny.

Kevin

Jean having a five mins break while she can!

Ishka

Laraine (GDMI) and Simon

Kevin, Laraine (GDMI) and Simon

Simon

Fifth day

After doing our morning chores regarding the dogs we met our instructor at the van and Simon and I including our two guide dogs, Ascot and Ishka headed out for a training session at the Nottinghamshire Kennels. After arriving at our destination, it was suggested that I went first while Simon remained at the van to groom Ascot.

Our instructor had set up a course that had many obstacles en-route; it looked very interesting! There were lots of cones and other obstructions blocking our way but not completely. We walked to the other end and then Ishka and I tackled the course; we did it about three times in all. Eventually, we returned to the van while Simon and his guide dog, Ascot had their session. I groomed Ishka using the platform at the back of the van.

We returned to the hotel for a light lunch which was followed by a meeting with our District Client Rep who explained that if we had any problems she was the one that we should contact so that she could sort it out for us. It was a very interesting meeting and being a guide dog owner was able to tell us some funny stories!

For the afternoon session, Simon and I went with the instructor to a small area where wheelie bins were littered all over the pavements! Simon went first and it was not long before he came back. I was looking forward to this exercise as this was obviously the follow up to the obstacle course that we did that morning. Ishka and I started well but it was not long before I walked into a wheelie bin and I grabbed hold of it. The instructor told me that I should have let the wheelie bin go over but I replied “No way, I am not going to end up putting the rubbish back in the bin”. The real reason why I walked into the bin was because I did not follow Ishka when she moved out towards the kerb however the instructor and I had a good laugh about it.

Fourth Day

I went out with the instructor and one of her colleagues on my own this morning. Simon and Kevin and their dogs went earlier while I groomed Ishka in the lounge. The work this time involved ‘corrections’ and swapping the lead from the harness to my right hand while walking with Ishka. Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it ─ not to me, it wasn’t! For some reason I was finding it difficult to swap the lead from the handle on the harness to my right hand while walking. I admit that I did not feel comfortable with the lead between my forefinger and middle finger while holding the handle and it was noticeable that I was not holding the handle correctly ─ this was proving a problem. I tried holding the handle and lead a different way and although it was an improvement, it was not really satisfactory; however it was eventually time to return to the hotel for lunch.

 We arrived late for lunch to find Simon and Kevin talking to the Fundraising Representative of Guide Dogs. While Simon and Kevin went off with the instructor, I had an interesting conversation with the Fundraising Representative. Following lunch, I did some obedience work with Ishka.

Later in the afternoon, the instructor asked me if I wanted to go out again and my answer was a definite ‘yes’. It was essential to sort out my difficulties with the harness and lead. The instructor showed me a different way to hold the handle with the lead and all of a sudden the problems were quickly solved ─ it was more comfortable and much easier for me to transfer the lead  from the handle on the harness to my right hand by using this new method.

By holding the handle, the guide dog owner receives tactile information letting them know what the guide dog is doing and if necessary the owner can then correct the dog with the lead.

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.