Training day 2

10:34 AM

We only have a ten minute break, so I'm going to try and write as much as I can. Whatever I miss, I'll add in later.

After eating a delicious breakfast, we loaded up in the GDB "caravans" and headed to the downtown San Rafael lounge. They still own the gDB bus, but they've purchased these new caravans so that each instructor actually has flexibility in terms of taking students to different types of routes. That actually leads nicely into the lecture we had this morning. It seems as though gDB has changed its approach in some ways, one of which being that the training program is highly customized to the types of environments you'll expect to travel in back at home. So for people who live in urban environments with heavy traffic, many of the training routes will reflect that--same with people who, for instance, travel in areas without sidewalks.

Our class supervisor also talked a lot about the different methods of correcting undesired behaviour from your dog, and how to increase instances of desired behaviour. he also talked about the use of food reward, and how that's actually new at gDB. When deciding to give your dog kibble, rather than acting as a pez dispenser, you ask yourself one simple question: "Is this a behaviour I want my dog to do again?". If the answer is yes, food will often be a good thing (well, food is always a good thing with the dogs haha). He said that although dogs certainly feel happy when you praise them, your praise (a higher tone of voice that sounds cheerful) is not something they are primed from birth to look forward to. Sure, in time, they learn that when humans speak and coo and carry on at them, it means they've done well, but food is a built-in reward right from birth, so capitalizing on that makes reward much easier. I came from a school that used food rewards, so I'm really glad gDB is doing it as well. Now, in terms of curbing undesired behaviours, GDB actually uses what's called the "time out" method. If you're like me, I know what you're thinking. I instantly flashed back to being in grade two, misbehaving, and having my teacher tower over me as I cowered in fear.

"Shermeen," she would say, "You've been a bad, bad girl. Now, do you know what happens to girls like you?" (In retrospect, that actually sounds perversely kinky...either I'm remembering things wrong, or that particular teacher may have had a secret, like, rubber pant fetish or something)

"Um, bad things?"

"Yes! you're getting a time out! now, young lady, you stand out in the hall, face the wall, and you think about what you just did!"

Thankfully, this isn't similar. There are specifics to how the time-out is administered, but the bottom line is that you completely withdraw any attention from the dog. You stand still, hold the leash very close to the collar, and wait about ten seconds. I wondered out loud if this wouldn't actually unintentionally reinforce the bad behaviour. If the dog gets distracted by a yappy puppy, by stopping and standing still, aren't we implicitly encouraging the dog to just stand and watch? but the good thing about the food reward is that once the dog works past the distraction, once it has some pep in its step again, you immediately reward with food. It sounds interesting, and I'll be really glad to actually try it out. Speaking of trying things out, we actually won't be working with live dogs today. although there is still obedience work here at gDB, they're trying to focus on practical obedience--say, getting the dog to learn to lie still under a table at a restaurant, or waiting patiently next to you while you sort your life out--stuff like that. They did do the whole "doggy push up" sequence in the past (where you get the dog to do alternating sits and downs in order to refocus the dog's attention on you), but they found that it just wasn't as practical.

"How many of you retrains actually went and did obedience every day like we told you? Come on, be honest!"

Complete and shameful silence pretty much abounded. Yeah, that's what they thought. So this will all be really interesting. They also talked to us about how the handling methods have changed at gDB, in that they're producing "softer" dogs that don't require as much physical management as they may have in the past. From my understanding, this is actually an industry-wide initiative. I think it was largely driven by a) the handlers' desire not to toss the dog around in public; and b) the public's response to some of the firmer or harsher corrections out there. It just doesn't look good to be sitting there, bashing your dog this way and that, or yanking the leash around until your hissy fit settles and you regain your composure. I think the softer dogs are overall a good idea, but with the good always comes the bad. The increased sensitivity can also lead to the dog wanting to "shut down" a bit more easily, or the dog may have more fears, or be more traumatized by a certain incident than a more robust dog. Still though, I think I personally would do well with a softer dog, so I'm looking forward to it.

We also got to meet the admissions staff in person, and it was sort of like meeting a celebrity. Realistically, they were involved in selecting us to train here at gDB, so it was great to meet them. I also signed my guide dog user contract (agreeing not to sell, lend, disfigure, or pawn the dog), as well as a publicity release form. Basically, if GDB wants me to become famous because I came here, I'm fine with that!

Wow, I typed all that out so very quickly. I think we'll be resuming a lecture shortly, so I'm going to stuff my face with some of the snacks I brought along, and I should probably chime into some of these social conversations taking place around me. I'll update again soon!

11:28 AM

We were given our leashes and bate bags shortly after writing that last entry. The leash is nice and thin, which is a welcome difference from the thicker leash I'd been given at my former school. It's also a bit stiff, and smells of fresh leather. The bate bag is a handy little bag that goes about your waist. You can easily reach around, open the magnetic flap, and bring out the dog's favourite thing in the world: food! (Because it has an adjustable waist strap, you can also monitor your weight loss or gain..just saying!)

We then headed out on the patio at the back of the lounge, and did some healing and obedience work with wheeler, a rolled up carpet with a leash attached to it. I'm going to have to get used to some of the different leash grips and hand signals that are used here, but I'm sure it's just a matter of muscle memory. I'm sure I'll screw up epically at least a dozen times before getting it right.

1:04 Pm

after I wrote that last entry, we had a bit of a class discussion on how to get your dog to basically do what you want it to. after that, we broke off into smaller groups, and worked with our instructors.

We did some work with Juno--learning how to heal the dog, how to get it to sit, and how to make it lie down. We also learned the various grips you can have on the leash. After that, we worked with "wheeler" which is basically a juno dog on wheels. I learned how to put the harness on the dog, which gave me pause to brag briefly about my last school. At that school, the dogs walked right into harness themselves! anyway, perhaps I can eventually teach my dog to do that, but it's not a big deal. And of course we learned about the three Ps.

When your dog stops, you are to do three things:

Position: take a step forward, and put your left foot out. This helps keep the dog from swiveling in front of you like they are known to do from time to time.

Probe: feel around with that foot. Has your dog stopped for a curb? Stairs? do you feel nothing? perhaps probe a bit with your hands. Is it a mid-body or overhanging obstacle?

Praise: Praise your dog for stopping. Maybe reward with food.

These are definitely the basics that are used most at the beginning. After several years of travelling with your dog, the three Ps may sort of begin to blend into one--at any rate, it'll seem a lot less formal by the time you get used to it. We then had a delicious lunch, and are now waiting for our afternoon to begin. Because it would have taken a while to drive back to the hotel for lunch, we're eating all lunches right at the lounge. This afternoon, we'll be doing real juno walks with the instructors. One step closer to getting the dogs! less than 24 hours now!

3:25 Pm

I just got back from my first juno walk. The main purpose of the walk was to just confirm things like my preferred walking speed, but it also gave me a chance to practise some of the stuff we learned this morning: the footwork involved in turns, the time-out method (which we had to use), and the three different reasons one would use the "hop up" command.

1. To speed the dog up.

2. To encourage the dog to reach something, like a down curb, for instance (Note that you never ever use it for the finding of the upcurb, however. You tell them "curb" instead-apparently this is new).

3. To encourage it past a distraction.

Our walking pace was pretty relaxed, which is going to be a bit of a different experience for me, I think. I used to have dogs with a pretty quick gate, but ultimately found that it led to me feeling out of control. Although I'm a relatively confident person, I'm a pretty anxious traveler. My instructor confirmed that the dog they chose for me walks at the pace I was walking at, so that's something to look forward to. Now, I'm just sitting in the lounge waiting for my group members to finish their juno walks. There's a yoga class tonight, and I'm not sure if I'll be going to it or not. I think our day is winding down, so I'll next update when something worth writing about happens. I'm kind of disappointed we couldn't practise on live dogs today, but hey-we can practise everything we learn on our real dogs...which come tomorrow morning!

7:53 PM

I ended up deciding not to go to yoga. I probably should have gone to stretch out my fat body, but I decided to call friends and loved ones back in the eastern time zone and binge on beef jerky instead. I suppose my body will just have to deal with it.

So, we get our dogs in about twelve hours now. I'm trying not to let my nervousness dominate, but I can't help it. I just hope that despite my shortcomings, despite my own fears and worries, that I'll be everything this dog wants and needs. I wonder what my dog's doing right now. Probably sleeping or barking up a storm in the kennel or something. It has absolutely no idea how it's life is going to change so dramatically tomorrow; how it likely won't ever be in formal training in a kennel ever again, and how it'll have a new owner for hopefully the next million years or so. And despite the fact that it's likely going to be a very friendly, happy dog, I bet it's going to be nervous at first, too. And there are no verbal words I can ever give it in order to comfort it, to put them at ease, to let them know that I'm just as scared as they are, but that we'll do our best and hope for even better. I guess that's where consistency and love come in. I just hope I am equipped to deliver.

So, here's to hoping that tomorrow plays out the way I hope it does. I'm thinking I may update the actual blog more frequently tomorrow, just because I know people will be eager to know who I've been matched with. If the technology gods are rolling dice in my favour tomorrow, and if I have time, I'll try and do that. Thanks again to anyone who actually reads this. It means a lot to me that there are people supporting me, and who are interested in my journey.

From gDB on dog day eve,

Goodnight.