Training day 16

8:00 AM

Alarm went off at 6:00 today, and I ended up bailing on my morning shower and reset the alarm for 7:00. Asking me to wake up at 6 would have been akin to asking me to wade through lead; it simply wasn't going to happen. I'm going to be so screwed when I head back east and have to get up at 7:00 eastern, which'll be 4:00 AM here.

It's freezing this morning, so I'm only sort of looking forward to going to Berkeley. Working my dog while I'm frigid isn't my idea of a good route, but we'll just have to see how it goes.

10:29 AM

I'm writing this segment at a starbucks in Berkeley! Arden and I worked a route here from another subway station, and overall, it went really well. One of the things I think we handlers need to keep in mind is that rather than "teach you and your dog how to ride the subway together", this is basically a route that will show you that your dog can indeed ride the subway safely, and safely navigate a subway station. As for showing them the specifics of targeting a specific set of stairs you'll be using, or which tracks you typically take, that's stuff you'll be showing your dog yourself. He worked well in the subway station, going either left or right when I gave him the forward command when the tracks were in front of us. The dogs are taught to actively disobey the forward command when tracks are immediately in front of the team, and so go either left or right. This is obviously to keep the team walking parallel with the tracks, and not on a crash course headed straight for them. He also wasn't anxious at all on the loud subway, which made me really happy. Our turns are still a bit uncoordinated, but that's likely as much my problem as it is his. We also had a few clearance issues, where we had to say, pass a pole. Instead of passing the pole on the left where there was more room, he'd pass it on the right where we had to squeeze close in order not to fall off the curb. we reworked those though, and he did wonderfully. All in all, I'm satisfied with the way the route went. His pace was perfect, and he remained focused. Those are two of the most important things, I think. The rest can vary, and sometimes comes with time, but pace and focus are just so crucial to a successful team. I'm just sitting here now, waiting for another of my classmates to work her way over here with the class supervisor. Then, we'll pile into the vans and head back to GDB's main campus for lunch, my meeting with Arden's trainer, and the vet consults! woohoo!!

8:31 Pm

One of my classmates joined me at Starbucks, and then we all headed back to GDB's main campus for lunch. Shortly thereafter, I got to meet and chat with A, Arden's trainer. As he'd done once before, he leapt off the ground, all feet in the air, and landed on her shoulders. I was so glad that he met her with such enthusiasm, not only because I hope he'll love me like that one day, but also because I'm just so impressed that a dog can love a trainer so much--a person who has actual expectation of its behaviour; someone who gives it physical corrections sometimes. The capacity for these dogs to forgive and move on is really quite astounding, and really sets them apart from dogs not suited to service work, I think. Anyway, she and I headed out to chat for a bit, and it basically turned into a joint bragging session about yellow Arden. She told me that she hadn't encountered any abnormalities or particularly noteworthy things in his training, and that he'd always been a hard-working, eager-to-please dog who had a calm and quiet disposition. Now, if only all males were like that! ;).

When I was finished talking to her, one of GDB's vets came into talk to us about our dog's overall health concerns. His biggest concern, and something they seem to see on a regular basis, is an overweight dog. It's never really been an issue for my dogs in the past, and the combination of general fatigue and the warm air in the room had me almost nodding off at some points. It was an informative lecture though, and he certainly kept us laughing with some of his stories. Oh, I forgot to mention that before lunch, we had some time to let our dogs run off-leash in the paddocks again. This time, my dog played with another classmate's dog, and they ran and jumped and played a whole bunch. I was convinced that his recall would suck in the presence of that very attractive other dog, but when I called his name, he was at my side in an instant.

Ok, so after the vet's lecture, we headed over to the veterinary clinic itself to learn more about our own dog's health history, and it was there that I learned that Arden had Parvo as a puppy. It was actually the first time I learned what Parvo even is, and it's a virus that's in the digestive system, and if not treated immediately, is often deadly. At the time of the outbreak, GDB was asking that no dogs be boarded at the kennel, as they'd already lost some puppies to Parvo. Arden, however, fought the yellow fight and came out a thriving survivor. Call me a sentimental fool, but when we got back to the hotel room after dinner, I lay with him on the bed, my body curled protectively around his, and I cried a bit into his fur. To think that some disease could have just taken him when he was a tiny, hopeful puppy is just heartbreaking. It also struck me how little I really know him, you know? How many secrets they can keep because they don't talk, how much they see and just can't share. It's really quite remarkable. After the vet lecture, we had another chance to let the dogs romp and play, and they took full advantage. Arden doesn't play too hard though, and was content to come back and lie down with me after a while. And that's just the way I like it!

He also has a bit of conjunctivitis in his left eye. That's a very very fancy word for "he probably just got some dust in it" and it's a bit red. We have drops for it though, so that should go away in no time.

The evening was spent in the aforementioned snuggling position, and I have a bit of a toothache, so I'm going to head to bed. Tomorrow, we're heading to the Embarcadero, which is Sanfransisco's Eastern waterfront. It's also the city's financial and business district, so should be teaming with pedestrians and cars. I think we'll be getting another chance to ride the subway, play on escalators, and navigate crowded sidewalks. We'll also be trying the gentle leader, just to see how he takes to it. We were going to do that today, but I ended up forgetting.

Goodnight, all of you! and thanks for reading! oh, and I also got a copy of the ID picture taken last Wednesday, and will post that shortly. Let me know what you guys think of it!