Getting It Straight

I have been told that watching a guide dog team on the street is pretty amazing. Folks see a dog and handler at a street corner waiting for their turn to cross the street. The light turns green and the pair set off and make it to the other side with flawless accuracy for the curb. I am told that it looks like the dog is the one doing all the work. In reality, it’s really a team effort.

Being a handler, it’s really my responsibility to know when it’s safe to cross the street and to know what direction we are to go. In fact, it’s something we have to prove we can do even before we are considered for a dog. The dog’s responsibility is to walk the straight line across the street and then stop at the corner to indicate we have crossed. Sounds simple enough right? In practice, not so much lol.

After I learned to follow the pull with Shasta, I had to then learn how to walk in a straight line with her. Even with some vision this was quite challenging. I had no idea I didn’t really walk in a true straight line until I had to follow Shasta. I would drift out away from her and or too close to her causing her to drift to the left. She did her best to hold the straight line, but I had to learn to catch myself from drifting.

I began to really notice the drifting when we moved away from the school and started training around the downtown area. The trainer kept on prompting me to go straight and asked me to tell the dog “straight”. On the residential sidewalks it was easier because I had the grass on both sides of the sidewalk to highlight the edges of the sidewalk. In the down town area, I didn’t have that. This forced me to rely on Shasta a lot more and she on me. To complicate this even further, there were obstacles in the way. Sometimes Shasta needed to weave me in and out of an area where there were objects on the sidewalk, like chairs or a bike parked along the side walk. I had to learn when to rely on Shasta and just follow along.

Curbs were a whole different ball game. There are no real markers to help me see when I am going in a true straight line, so I need to learn to feel when I am drifting. sometimes the dog can drift too so I had to learn to catch that. So basically, I used the residential areas to learn how to go straight and feel what it’s like to go in a true straight line. Then in the town areas I learned to feel the difference between a drift and a broken straight line when Shasta had to weave with me in and out of something. At the curbs I just put all that together and we learned to walk across a curb like pro’s after a couple of weeks of practice.

In class, at least I wasn’t the only one in the same predicament with the straight line issue. We all were going through it. At the end of each walk the trainer would give each of us pointers, both in private and in a group, so we would know that we were all in the same boat.

Some Firsts

Sometimes getting a guide dog can be very similar to having a baby. In the first 2 weeks, Shasta kept me up most of the night, whining and wanting up on the bed. The first week we learn how to manage and maintain a good consistent feeding/relief schedule and grooming schedule.

After getting Shasta, all the firsts began. We were guided on how to feed our dogs for the first time and relieve them. Feeding was no big deal, but relieving was. We had to wait in line at the relief area and wait our turn. I watched as each dog went before us and noticed some of them were having a hard time. Their being so nervous was starting to show. So this was just as hard on them as it was for us. The trainers were prompting the dogs to encourage them, but they still were not so sure.

The first night, I thought Shasta would just go to sleep being it was such a big, busy day. I was so very wrong, lol. I was having no trouble settling down for the night, but Shasta wanted to be up on the bed. This was a no-no. Not allowed for the first 6 months, at least. This turned into a battle of wills that would last 3 weeks. One thing I learned about Shasta the first night was that when she gets something in her head, she wasn’t gonna let it go.

When it came time to put the harness on for the first time, I was terrified that I was going to hit her on the head with it. I was a little sheepish handling it and bringing it near her face. Thing is once she could get her nose through it, she would use her muzzle to flip it behind her so I could do the belly strap up. I realized that all I had to do was just get it near her face and she would walk into it and flip it on her back.

The first walk with the harness was much more challenging for me. The trainer used a “buddy leash” on Shasta to help with control and to give Shasta confidence with a new handler at the helm. I was really leery about trusting a dog, so I didn’t take to the first walk very well. I was hesitant and shaky. I had no idea what this dog was going to do. Was she just going to dart off and chase a rabbit or was she going to walk beside me in a heel position. I was expecting the heel position so that was awkward when she would walk ahead of me.

The idea was to have the dog walk ahead of me with some tension in the harness, so I would feel a little bit of pull. Through this pull I would be able to tell if she was turning slightly to the left or right, or a lot. It was a coordination thing. I didn’t need to worry about curbs or anything like that this first time. The goal was just to walk with the dog. It was a coordination thing. Shasta was having a little trouble, too. She was used to a handler just following her while she did the leading. I wasn’t as consistent as a trainer might have been, so it took some practice before we got in a short walk. It wasn’t a very good first walk. I was quite a distance from her when in fact I should have been just beside her.

The Big Moment Has Arrived

Sitting in my room doing my best to hear what was going on outside my door. I coudl hear laughter and excitement as other students were meeting their dogs for the first time. To bad I couldn’t understand what they were saying. If I had better hearing I bet I could hear the conversations. I could only imagine what was being said. I wondered what I would say when I would meet my dog. I kept saying her name over and over in my mind to etch it in there real good.

Finally I heard voices just outside my door and a little bit of comotion. then some laghter, then all was quiet. I heard the door open and then I was 3 people come in behind a very energetic yellow lab. Shasta came right on in and headed right for me and started licking me. then it was off to check something else out lol. The trainer handed me the leash and I called Shasta to me. She came and sat down in front of me and did this wiggle scoot up to me. I was elated. She was so pretty and so energetic. I was so focused on her that I lost track of the three folks that came in with her. they chatted and said a few words and then they went back out.

I was alone with this bouncy yellow lab. I didn’t know quite what to do lol. I was beside myself. I said her name and petted her on the head. she wriggled and gave a little whine. she then went to the end of the leash and looked in the direction of the door. she came back to me and tried to jump on me. I told her no gently and guided her back to a sitting positon.

After a bit of time alone with our dogs we were asked to come out and gather in a circle. It was explained that all the dogs knew each other so it would be ok. We sat on the floor next to our dogs for our next lecture. I had a hard time focusing because I was focused on who got what kind of dog. it was better then christmas to be honest. A show and tell of sorts. I was fascinated by the dogs and that we were in the middle of a circle of dogs.

We had a Shasta, Smokey, Sheba, Colnol, Megahn, and Jonzi. Three blac labs and 3 yellow labs. For the next month we’d all get to know each other quite well. even the dogs. It’s funny I have trouble remembering what I had for supper but I can recall each single dog in the first class.

There’s Always a First Time.

I can remember sitting on the plane wondering what I had gotten myself into.  I was on my way to Oakville Ontario to get my first guide dog.  I didn’t know what to expect.  This was the first with nothing to compare it to.  So many questions went through my mind and so many thoughts scrambled into one. Of course the first plane ride was going to be 3 1/2 hours long.  I could hardly contain myself.  I was restless and tried not to fidget.

Once the plane touched down and started to deplane I started to panic wondering how I was going to find the right people to get to the school.   A flight attendant escorted me to the gait where someone from the school was waiting for me. I was relieved that someone was there but I still didn’t know what I was doing.  I worried about every little thing like how I was going to recognize my bag at the luggage claim.  We managed to find all luggage and then piled into the van with 2 other students headed to the same class as I was.

Once at the school we were taken to our rooms which were big and bright.  I took the time to familiarize myself with the room and realized I had after noon sun.  I love the sun and was grateful to see I could have a good chunk of it to myself.   I didn’t get to much time to myself before someone came to get us to give us a tour of the building.  Then it was supper time.  At supper was a hub bub of excited voices and lots of chatter about this being the first time for many of the students.  I was glad to know I wasn’t alone in that department.

After supper we got started.  We did a little trivia about guide dogs and dogs in general.  then we got our fist instructional class on guide dogs.  Then it was our first “juno” walk so the trainers could see how we handled the harness handle and leash.  This is where a trainer holds the body piece of hte harness and the student hangs onto the harness handle and they walk in front of us simulating a guide dog walking with us.  I paid close attnetin to how the handle felt in my hand.  I wondered if this was going to feel the same as when I walked behind a dog.

For the first 2 days we attended lectures and then did some “juno” walks to practice our commands and how to follow the harness handle.  The second day was a pretty big day in some ways.  we got ot meet some of the dogs that would be in class.  we weren’t given any names or any details on the dogs.  We just got to spend some time with them and just play with them.  It was explained that there are 2 dogs per person just in case something didn’t work out with dog number one so what we saw didn’t necessarily mean it was the dog of choice.    I was so excited by this notion of having a dog I didn’t care who it was at this point.

That evening we were given our equipment.  One very stiff leash and one very stiff harness that we had to suffle to soften the leather on them.   I was fascinated by the leash and harness.  This was tangible evidence that this was actually going to happen.  I coudln’t get enough of handling the leash or the harness.  I too in the smell and everything about it.  We were also given a bowl, brush, and a could other goodies for the dogs.

The next day was the big day.  “D” day or known as Dog Day.  We had our lecture in teh morning then we were taking to our hall way to our rooms and sat down.  We were given one by one the name of our dogs, a brief history of them and the names or our puppy walkers.    After lunch would be the time we meet our dogs.

 

The Bonding Process

When I first get my dogs they don’t know that I am their charge at the beginning.  There is a lot of work to be done to gain their trust and their loyalty.  It goes both ways though.  I need to see a few things before I can trust and bond with the dog as well as the dog bonding and trusting me.

When the dog first comes to us and we meet, regardless of how they react, their loyalties still lay with the trainer.  The trainer is the one that has been working with them and they have developed that “bond” through working and training over time.  We need to do the same things.

All of my dogs have been cookie hounds and labs so that means everything is made better with food.  The first few hours with our dogs they are still looking for the trainer.  Once we start feeding the dogs they start to understand that this is where good things come from.  We start grooming the dogs over a few days and working with them and then the dogs start to understand that we are their charge.  They start looking to us for approval and for the pets and treats instead of the trainer.

Shasta and Zora both had the toughest transition.  Shasta was because she had been through a number of handlers and didn’t really trust that I was going to stick around, and Zora was just really bonded with the trainer.  Through time, repetition, and consistance they both learned to look to me.

Pet and Guide Dog Differences

I get asked a lot of questions about what a guide dog can and cannot do versus a pet dog. I figured I go over this a little bit. Above are pictures of Buzz and Beamer who are pet dogs on the left.  Below is a picture of Felice guiding in a store.

The obvious difference is a guide dog works and wears a specially designed harness for their job. They have a bit of a higher standard of behavior while working so they can focus and get tasks done. A pet basically doesn’t have to work and generally is not trained in any special human assistive skills.

Guide dogs while wearing their harness can take cab rides, go on the buss, can ride in the cabin of a plane and ride trains with their handlers. Pets can’t go on public transportation and must ride in cargo on planes and trains.

After looking at the differences how about I talk about some similarities. Guide dogs and pets do have some commonality too. For instances once the harness comes off they can be just a dog. Like the pets they can race around the back yard, chew bones, play with toys and even get into the odd spot of trouble like rolling in anything smelly they can find. Here is Felice munching on a bone next to her buddy Beamer.

Felice was never much for getting into trouble. My other dogs did have a passion for the garbage can. One of them, Kendal, even taught Beamer how to get into small garbage cans.

All of my guide dogs have had an off harness routine too. They get up, get fed, get let out, have some play time, get groomed, they even get the odd treat from time to time just like a pet would. They get involved in what’s going on around the house or they go off and nap in their favorite spot. After all at the end of the day they are dogs!

Learning to Trust

When I first was approached about getting a guide dog, I had no idea if I would even quality. I have some useful vision and I thought I had to much.

A lot of folks, like I did, believe that guide dogs are only trained for people who have no vision at all. That is not true as we know now. I am what is known as visually impaired, meaning I can see some but not all. I have 6% vision with correction and 3% without. To get a guide dog you need to be considered legally blind which is 10% vision or less.

Even though I have some useful vision I was still terrified of trusitng a dog. I can see objects but can’t tell how far away I am from them. That’s where the dog comes in. The dog lets me know when a curb is right there and weaves me around objects so I don’t run into them. To trust a person is hard enough, to trust a dog was even harder.

When I was learning to work with a dog I would stop at shadows thinking they were solid objects. I needed to learn to just let the dog guide me and trust them to walk through a shadow and not stop. Basically I was learning to trust the dog over my own sense to see. It took quite a bit of time before I learned to just lay back in the handle and just feel the dog move and follow that instead of my eyes.

Without a dog I have very little confidence going from poitn A to point B. I am constantly trying to guess how far I am away from objects, things like walls and fances are confusing. Doors are more so especially glass doors. I can’t always tell if htey are open or not.

Shopping is exhausting. To many people and objects on the move for me to make heads or tails of. My body goes tense and my attention to what I am doing fades. Just to much sensory over load.

Some blind people with good hearing can use their ears to help them out. I can’t do that. I am also hearing impaired so I can’t compensate. It’s all through guess work according to what I think I can see.

After many arguments in the beginning with the dogs I have learned to Just pay attention to the harness handle and let things fly by me as we walk. I trust the dog will take me around objects and even watch for over hanging branches. All I have to concentrate on is what direction we are going and directing the dog to go where I would like to go. We make a pretty good team this way.

Guide Dogs, Service Dogs and You

What’s a service dog you ask? Well it’s a dog that has been professionally trained to provides a service like a Hearing Ear Dog alerts it’s handler to sounds that they don’t hear like a door bell or phone ring. Guide dogs are service dogs because they have been professionally trained to guide a blind or visually impaired handler.

What can I do when I come across a service dog?

The first thing is greet the handler, not the dog. The dog is quite busy doing it’s job and really shouldn’t be distracted by a petting, or coo’s and oos and awws thrown in thier direction. Distracting a service dog by reaching out for it while the dog is actively working can put the team at risk so focus on the handler.

A lot of people have a natural desire to pet a service dog. Each handler has their own way of handing this. The best thing to do is ask first. Some handlers will ask you to wait until they get the dog seated quietly before you can pet them. This way the dog is not having to focus on the handler and can focus on you for the petting. If however they handler says no not right now please don’t take it personally.

There are many reasons why a handler may say no. In my case it’s often when I am in a hurry and don’t have the time to properly spend for a petting session. Other time’s I will say no because the dog is being disciplined for something and I am trying to get the dog back on track by taking away a distraction. Sometimes dogs have bad days just liek we do and they themselves don’t like to be petted so it’s up to me to know this as the handler.

If people ask me first I am more likely to grant a petting session. If they don’t they are told quite bluntly that they are not to pet the dog while it’s working. I need to be blunt sadly because, often a no is not heard when it comes to the dog. If you touch the dog you are actually touching an extention of me and I will let you know it’s not welcome. Petting a guide dog or any oter service dog is not a right, it’s a privilege.

Sadly I have had some close calls due to people petting my guide dogs while they are actively working, even when we are on the move. One person felt it was ok to step in front of me while I was walking and my guide was guiding and reach down to pet her. Of course I ran into them. Guess who got in trouble. Me! for running into this person.

What should I do when I come across a guide dog team when I’m driving?

Treat the team like any other pedestrian.

One common thing I come across is drivers who wave me on.  Think this through lol. You have a blind person at the street corner and you are waving them on. I”m not going to see the hand or any other gestures when being waved on. Honking is also fruitless or yelling through the window. I”m busy listening for traffic to flow so the horn will get ignored while I assess traffic.

Can Guide Dogs play with any other dogs?

Not while working or in harness. It’s a good idea to not bring your dog up to a guide dog while it’s working. My biggest pet peeve are the little dogs that get out of the house and start jumping all over my guide dog and the owner says ” aww isn’t that cute.. she really likes your dog”. Or bigger problem yet are puppies not on a leash doing the same thing and the owner has no clue that hte dog should be under control at all times like being on a leash.

This is serious business when dealing with other dogs. Dogs don’t always like each other and attacks are sadly common because the proper care isn’t taken to keep them apart while out in public. Three of my Five guide dogs have ben attacked by other dogs. I”m a little guarded around other dogs near my service dog. It’s not a laughing matter. Attacks are on the rise now with the introduction of fake service dogs out there who are not properly trained to deal with other dogs or to even do a job yet it’s inssited they be allowed where ever other service dogs are at. I”ll write more about this at a later date. It’s a heated topic with many sides to it.

In the mean time it’s wise to keep the dogs seperte when a service dog is actively working and they have thier working gear on.

Guide Dog Facts

At the time of writing this I have been handling guide dogs for over 20 years now. In my travels I have been asked a lot of questions from the public. Here I”ll address some of the most common questions I get asked.

What is a Guide Dog?

A guide dog is a dog that has been professionally trained to guide a blind or visually impaired person from point A to point B through the use of a harness. The dog walks slightly ahead of the person and moves along a straight line around objects to a destination. The person (handler) uses the harness to feel the dogs movements and follows the dog.

Can guide dogs read traffic lights and signs?

No. It is the handlers job to know when it’s time to cross a street. the handler listens for the flow of traffic and gives the dog the cue to cross.

How long does a guide dog work for?

That all depends on the dog and the situation that it’s in. The average working span is about 8 years give or take a couple of years. Each dog’s situation is different. and it’s health, work circumstances and environment can play a role in how long a dog works for.

What happens to the dog when they can no longer be a guide dog?

Guide dogs retire after they have been working. They can either stay with the handler and live out their retirement or they are placed in retirement homes where they get to be a pet dog for the rest of their lives.

Why don’t you keep your dogs when they retire?

Many guide dog handlers choose to keep their working dogs after they retire but a larger number do not. People are quite surprised by that. I choose not to keep my dogs for several reasons. The most important one is financial. The cost of two large dogs can be high especially when you have an older dog and a younger working dog in the house. I don’t have the space for 2 large dogs. The other important factor is loyalties. When you retire an established working dog and then bring a new one into the house, the older one can have trouble watching the new dog go out with the handler and enjoy all the attention that a guide dog requires. Imagine you worked at a job for 30 years and then all of a sudden a newer younger coworker comes in and fills your shoes and you have to stay and watch that. Kinda the same thing. I think my dogs deserve the best life can offer in a retirement home that can give them all they need and then some.

When does a guide dog get to be a dog?

When the guide dog is at home and the harness is off, they can play and run and have fun like a regular dog. Play time is encouraged when off duty. A guide dog like any good pet dog must also mind proper house rules though to help them stay well rounded for work.

Can the guide dog go with you where ever you go?

Yes. a guide dog can go every where I go. As long as the dog is wearing it’s harness and I have our Identification car I can take the dog anywhere the public has access to. There are some common sense places I don’t take my dog though, like to a zoo or an open air kitchen or certain wards in a hospital for obvious reasons.

How Did I Get My Guide Dogs ?

Deciding to get a guide dog is one thing, actually going about getting one is an entirely different matter and it can be a very long process. You are going to need patience and diligence to keep going with it and be willing to wait.

When I first decided to get a dog the process took about 6 months to about a year. In some cases it took longer. Why so long you ask? Well it depends on a number of factors like; current waiting lists at the various schools for dogs, dog availability at different schools, and how quickly I could get the paperwork in accurately.

Where does one start to get a dog?

First, I did my homework. I did a lot of research into different schools. I started locally and then I went online and did google searches, went to forums and talked to folks who have gotten a service dog, I talked to folks I knew that got a dog and asked how they got thier dogs. I asked about the schools they went to and what it was like. I also asked questions about what it was like to have a guide dog and what it means to have one. Getting a guide dog is truly a life altering event so the amount of work you put into the research and the effort into learning about what it means to have a guide dog will benefit you as you move through the journey to getting one.

Second, after narrowing down which schools I liked I made some phone calls to the schools to ask questions about their process for enrollment and about the training process.

Third, I filled in a number of applications to the schools I and followed their protocol to apply. Pay close attention to what the school requires because they can be different

Fourth, I waited and there was a lot of waiting involved. Waiting for phone calls, for forms to come back, and for the next steps in the protocols.

While I waited I learned about the laws in my area and my country. Each country and even provinces/terrirotires within a country has it’s own access laws so it’s wise to learn about them early.

I also started exercising. Living a Guide dog lifestyle requires you to be in shape so start right from the beginning and keep going even long after you get your dog.