Training day 5

6:23 AM

I fell asleep shortly before 9:00 last night. I read like, four pages of my book before I was passed out. they really work you very hard here, and you think you'll have all this free time in the evenings when it's all you can do to keep your head up after dinner.

Arden and I played a bit last night while he was on his mat. We would make lip smacking noises at each other, and then he'd lean forward and try to make lip smacking noises right at my face, I'd lean back, he'd roll over and snort gently, pawing at me with his front legs. It was very cute. He eventually settled himself so that his head and paw were on my leg, and the rest of his gigantic body was on the mat. I wanted to hold that position forever. I sat there until my but was numb and my ankle bones were digging into the floor, willing us to bond some more. I finally got up quietly and went to bed. He got a wee bit restless this morning shortly before my alarm went off. Of course, restless for him just meant shifting his position on the mat--there was no wining or thrashing about--something tells me he's not much of a thrasher (at least not yet anyway). I hope today goes really well, and that I don't confuse the heck out of him with my rather unclear turn commands haha!

1:56 Pm

This morning, we did the same route we did yesterday. I think we'll be doing that route repeatedly until we're doing it with little to no interference by the instructor. Before we headed out for our route, we did some clearance work with juno. This involved holding onto Juno's harness, the instructor intentionally plowing you into an A-Frame (don't worry, it didn't hurt, but it was very funny-all blind people can attest to how funny it is to hear a fellow blind person clumsily crash into something!). We then had to stop immediately, drop the harness handle, and ask the dog to sit. If the object we hit is in the dog's line of sight, we are to tap it and tell the dog "careful". We then back up about three steps, pick up the handle, and resume our line of travel, hoping that we don't re-bruise ourselves or acquire a new one!. That worked with juno, but fortunately I haven't encountered a troublesome obstacle with Arden yet.

Now, onto our route. It could not have gone better. The ergo handle is far more comfortable in my hand and on my arm, though it does take a bit of getting used to (it makes you feel as though the dog's head is cranked to the left even when it isn't). Still though, his crossings were spot on. We even had one crossing where there was another team kitty-corner to us.

"Your classmate and her dog are kitty corner to you, shermeen, and Arden has seen them. Whatever happens, don't let your dog angle right in front of you when you cross."

"Gotcha." I held my breath.

"Arden, forward."

Perfect, straight shot across the intersection, resting his paws gently on the upcurb on the other side. I basically emptied my kibble bag into his mouth at that point. There was also another crossing where I was slightly miss-aligned, but he straightened us both out as we crossed the road. This tells me that he's an independent thinker, who doesn't necessarily follow my own incorrect line of travel. I could not have been more proud of him. We're becoming more confident as a team, and the rest will only come with time and repetition. I've spoken with a few of the class instructors about how they decided to match Arden with me. All of them independently said that they knew, as soon as they'd finished talking to me, that I should be matched with Arden without a doubt. I asked if they had back-up dogs in mind, and they were like "Well, technically we had to, but no dog even came close to Arden for you. There was no doubt in our minds." Hearing that helped so much. I already love him and think we're a great team, but it's so validating to hear that professional trainers and dog-matchers feel the same way.

After lunch, we had a brief workshop on brushing the dog's teeth. I'm going to go ahead here and admit I've never brushed a dog's teeth--I always got someone else to do it for me! (yes, I've been a bad, bad girl...maybe I need a time out? oh god. Leave your judgments at the door!). anyway, Arden basically licked all the toothpaste off the brush, and then just licked my fingers. I occasionally bumped into his teeth, but those moments were few and far between. after regaining my composure (as I had a fit of the giggles), I used the finger brush, and had a marginally more successful experience. We had so much fun together! Speaking of together, one of the instructors who worked with him told me that he does have a playful side; it just doesn't come out right away. She said his silly side is also a lot of fun! I just can't wait to get to know him: what makes him uncontrollably happy, and what makes him upset or afraid. I just love what I'm knowing so far. I asked for a dog who was very easy to handle, and I could not have been given a better dog. LOL, don't I keep closing with that line?

After attempting to brush his teeth, I groomed him. He didn't mind the zoom groom so much, but was not a fan of the slicker brush. he'd keep inching forward, being like "I'm yellow. Is this really necessary?" So he's a bit less hairy now, though I think he'll actually like the furminator a bit better--it's less stiff and scratchy. I'm just waiting for my classmates to finish up, and then we get to do our route again!

4:50 Pm

This afternoon was a scorcher. The first few people took their dogs out with booties, because we didn't quite yet know how hot it was outside. But when paws were dancing on curbs, we decided that it was time to whip them out. As my classmates trickled back, reports were pretty standard for the first walk out in booties: ranging from complete strike-mode on the part of the dog, to mild discomfort for the first block or so. Those who know me well (or even at all) will know that I instantly panicked. I imagined us walking along, Arden refusing to pick up his paws, and we'd somehow find ourselves pinned beneath the wheels of a massive garbage truck. I'd take my last breath dramatically and think to myself, "I knew it."

All too soon, it was my turn. We had a bit of fun putting the boots on him, though he didn't resist us putting them on him at all. We got out of the lounge.

"Arden, forward."

Not only did he walk perfectly, he guided me around the barriers they'd put up on the front path as well (all while ignoring a dog who'd been tied up outside the front doors). And the amazing pace and consistent good work only continued. we trotted happily through our route, pausing only once or twice to sort out a turning issue (which was probably my fault as much as his). My instructor even said that my turns were looking a bit better, which is loads of progress for me (the way I was doing my turns before, the dog would have needed additional training, and I'd need a chiropractor for my back). We breezed back to the lounge, and aside from continuing to praise him, there's really not much else left to say. I can't believe how patient he is, and how tolerant he is. Come on! it was stinking hot out, and dogs never really feel "at home" in boots. But he took it like a champ: blind bumbling companion at his side. When I got back to the lounge and heard that some people had had a rough afternoon, it was hard for me to comfort them without it sounding fake or insincere. We all know how annoying it is when someone who's done well at something is comforting you when you've had a hard time of it. Or maybe that's just bitter insecure old me, who knows. But if I've gotten, say, a bad mark on a paper, and then a friend who got a 90 tries and comforts me, it only pisses me off more. Not that Arden's boot-amazingness reflects at all on me--I had absolutely nothing to do with it. I know my time will come, though. It'll probably come when the instructors back off and make me do the route without their constant presence. My anxiety will ratchet up a good eighteen notches or so, and I know it'll only travel from my arm right into the harness handle, and then Arden will pick up on it and there we'll be, under that same old garbage truck again. dramatic much? Haha.

I'm going to enjoy the amazing times when I have them, and address the challenges as they come. That's pretty much all we can do, right?

I'm heading to dinner soon, and then I'll probably go swimming with some of my classmates. we'll be leaving our dogs in the room while we're gone, so it'll be interesting to see how Arden handles it. Somehow I don't imagine he'll chew his rug to bits while I'm gone, but I suppose you never know. It's been an excellent day.