Day Six: A shorter Handle on Things
Last night, after I wrote and posted my entry, we went out to relieve for the last time, and when we came in, Vrona and I
played a little bit of fetch on leash with her kong. It really excites me to see her playful side coming out, because I
really think that affection and play are the best ways to bond with these dogs and to make them want to work for us.
We just finished lunch, and I am actually stretched out on my bed while Vrona rests in her kennel for a little bit. It is
hard to believe that a short week ago, I was still at home, and I was dreading the departure of all of my dogs to their
various care takers while I was gone. Now I have this quirky and beautiful little dog in my life, and the thought of ever
being without her in my life simply makes me sick.
This morning, she did a little better about waiting for permission to eat her breakfast, though she was more than eager to
dive in. She is getting onto a more stable relieving schedule, which is awesome. It always takes the dogs a little bit to
readjust from being in the kennels where they get tons of run time in the yard and can relieve pretty much whenever and
wherever they want. They are now consolidating into four chances to empty, and they are now leashed to this person making
them go in circles until they do so.
I am happy to report that I am beginning to anticipate what situations will make little Vroom sniffy, and just by talking to
her and telling her how swell she is before she can even begin to sniff it is usually prevented it from happening.
When we came in from the first relieving time this morning, she picked up her bone for the first time and began to chew a
little bit while I was in the shower. When I came out and brought her out of her kennel, I showed her the bone once more, and
she carried it out and laid down. I was expecting her to settle in for a good chew, but then she flopped onto her side and
rolled over and onto my lap for snuggles and belly rubs.
We went down to the lounge for our practice solo route this morning. I worked doubles with another student again, and both of
our dogs did quite well. Vrona was mildly distracted by a bird, but with a slight verbal correction, she was more than
willing to pick up the pace and move on. We passed several dogs, and she didn't react. That is such a wonderful thing,
especially coming out of a partnership which ended with many many fearful reactions to other dogs. I still find myself
wanting to react when I know there are other dogs nearby. We received a traffic check by the quiet car, and of course, she
was wonderful!
I spent the rest of my morning at coffee break and then curled up on my bed listening to a recording of a talk from Morris
Frank, the founder of the Seeing Eye. At one point in his speech, he talks about when his first Seeing Eye dog passed, and I
just laid in my bed and cried like a baby.
At lunch, we had a new seating chart. I don't like change, but that's okay. Vrona was pretty cooperative about going to a new
seat. I think we are going to learn how to do targeting at some point this afternoon. For now, though, a couple of other
students and I are headed out to the courtyard to enjoy the warm weather.
We just started target training. We use a clicker, which is a small box with a tab that emits a click noise when it is
pressed. Each time the dog hears the click, he or she receives a piece of kibble. The clicker can be used to shape all sorts
of fantastic behaviors. The proper timing of the click can be viewed as the moment when you would capture a perfect picture
of the behavior you wanted if you had a camera. These dogs are taught to touch an object with their noses. The target has a
bell on it so that when the dog noses it, the blind person is able to hear the ringing of the bell to reward the dog. Vrona
loves it, and I am so excited to do a lot with it.
I also received her stats. Her parents are Rosina and Wayne. She is 22 inches at the shoulder, and she is 46.5 pounds. Her
birthday is July 26, 2011...exactly two weeks after I retired Kirby. This puts her at just over 20 months. She is the
youngest Seeing Eye dog I have received, but that also means I can only expect more maturity and growth, and I am incredibly
excited to watch her continue to mature into a brilliant little Seeing Eye dog.
We switched her to a shorter handle this afternoon, and I feel like I am reading her and moving with her much better. I like to be snugged up close with my dogs, so I am very happy.
It looks like the rest of the night is mine, other than one more run outside for my little one. I am going to go snuggle the heck out of her and play some fetch...as much as I can on leash, at least.
played a little bit of fetch on leash with her kong. It really excites me to see her playful side coming out, because I
really think that affection and play are the best ways to bond with these dogs and to make them want to work for us.
We just finished lunch, and I am actually stretched out on my bed while Vrona rests in her kennel for a little bit. It is
hard to believe that a short week ago, I was still at home, and I was dreading the departure of all of my dogs to their
various care takers while I was gone. Now I have this quirky and beautiful little dog in my life, and the thought of ever
being without her in my life simply makes me sick.
This morning, she did a little better about waiting for permission to eat her breakfast, though she was more than eager to
dive in. She is getting onto a more stable relieving schedule, which is awesome. It always takes the dogs a little bit to
readjust from being in the kennels where they get tons of run time in the yard and can relieve pretty much whenever and
wherever they want. They are now consolidating into four chances to empty, and they are now leashed to this person making
them go in circles until they do so.
I am happy to report that I am beginning to anticipate what situations will make little Vroom sniffy, and just by talking to
her and telling her how swell she is before she can even begin to sniff it is usually prevented it from happening.
When we came in from the first relieving time this morning, she picked up her bone for the first time and began to chew a
little bit while I was in the shower. When I came out and brought her out of her kennel, I showed her the bone once more, and
she carried it out and laid down. I was expecting her to settle in for a good chew, but then she flopped onto her side and
rolled over and onto my lap for snuggles and belly rubs.
We went down to the lounge for our practice solo route this morning. I worked doubles with another student again, and both of
our dogs did quite well. Vrona was mildly distracted by a bird, but with a slight verbal correction, she was more than
willing to pick up the pace and move on. We passed several dogs, and she didn't react. That is such a wonderful thing,
especially coming out of a partnership which ended with many many fearful reactions to other dogs. I still find myself
wanting to react when I know there are other dogs nearby. We received a traffic check by the quiet car, and of course, she
was wonderful!
I spent the rest of my morning at coffee break and then curled up on my bed listening to a recording of a talk from Morris
Frank, the founder of the Seeing Eye. At one point in his speech, he talks about when his first Seeing Eye dog passed, and I
just laid in my bed and cried like a baby.
At lunch, we had a new seating chart. I don't like change, but that's okay. Vrona was pretty cooperative about going to a new
seat. I think we are going to learn how to do targeting at some point this afternoon. For now, though, a couple of other
students and I are headed out to the courtyard to enjoy the warm weather.
We just started target training. We use a clicker, which is a small box with a tab that emits a click noise when it is
pressed. Each time the dog hears the click, he or she receives a piece of kibble. The clicker can be used to shape all sorts
of fantastic behaviors. The proper timing of the click can be viewed as the moment when you would capture a perfect picture
of the behavior you wanted if you had a camera. These dogs are taught to touch an object with their noses. The target has a
bell on it so that when the dog noses it, the blind person is able to hear the ringing of the bell to reward the dog. Vrona
loves it, and I am so excited to do a lot with it.
I also received her stats. Her parents are Rosina and Wayne. She is 22 inches at the shoulder, and she is 46.5 pounds. Her
birthday is July 26, 2011...exactly two weeks after I retired Kirby. This puts her at just over 20 months. She is the
youngest Seeing Eye dog I have received, but that also means I can only expect more maturity and growth, and I am incredibly
excited to watch her continue to mature into a brilliant little Seeing Eye dog.
We switched her to a shorter handle this afternoon, and I feel like I am reading her and moving with her much better. I like to be snugged up close with my dogs, so I am very happy.
It looks like the rest of the night is mine, other than one more run outside for my little one. I am going to go snuggle the heck out of her and play some fetch...as much as I can on leash, at least.