Day Eight: What A Relief!
This morning, I spent about an hour sitting on the floor with my little girl while I got some work done
on my computer. She asked for a few belly rubs, and I was completely content sharing time together.
We started Elm Street this morning. This route is longer than the first one and is a little more complex.
We have long blocks, short blocks, lights, uncontrolled intersections, stop signs, t intersections,
standard intersections and slightly angled crossings. Vrona did very well. She needed to rework the
sidewalk barricade once. They had it set up this time so that as we approached, the sidewalk was blocked,
and so was a stretch along the sidewalk. The barricade is shaped like a capital letter L, and we end up
sort of trapped inside of it if the dogs don't notice right away. The purpose of this is to show us that
our dogs know how to backtrack and figure out a way around said barricade. She had to take me out into
the street and back up onto the sidewalk. She seemed a little off to me, and I took off her harness and
gave her a chance to relieve. After she peed, she was much more focused. I am so glad I am beginning to
be able to read her so that we can get our communication slowly to that point where others can't even see
it happening.
I have been very quiet about it, because I was worried sick. Vrona has a funny little bulge just below
her ribs on her stomach. I was so so worried that it was something. I found it Friday evening and had to
wait until this morning when they were able to take her over to the clinic to be checked out. My
instructor took her right from our route this morning, so I rode back to the hotel dogless. Let me tell
you...it is quite the sad feeling to not have your dog while everyone else is loving on and rewarding
theirs.
We had a talk from the class supervisor this morning about traffic. He talked about how students rush
their dogs into the street at times, which undoes the intensive training they have been given to show
caution when entering the street. Dogs tend to slow down while in the street, because they have to be
more watchful, and the worse thing we can do as handlers is to rush them across.
While we were waiting for the lecture to begin, I kept thinking all of the what ifs about Vrona. What if
it is something serious? Will they let me say goodbye to her? Would that be harder on her? Yes, of course
it would. If something is wrong, I will say I don't want to see her again, because she already had to go
through the stress of being taken from me once today. I will ask if I can still take her home and love
her, even if I have to pay to adopt her. Will they even give me a chance to say goodbye? Will they pull
me from this lecture and take me back to my room and tell me and bring in some new creature who isn't my
little Vroom dog? As I thought all of these terrible and sad thoughts, the tears started creeping down my
cheeks a little bit. I was very quiet and was trying very hard not to draw attention to the fact that I
didn't have my dog, because I was so worried I had just seen her for the last time. I was sitting in a
chair up in the common lounge. I had my feet tucked up under me, and I was turned sideways away from the
door. I had my head resting against the chair back, and I was trying really hard to look tired and hoping
no one would notice my tears. Right as the tears began to fall, a certain little shephergirl with a
crooked ear pounced on me from behind. My instructor had stealthily crept up on me with Vrona and let her
pounce me! Nothing is wrong! What I was feeling is her spleen, which I still find a little strange, but
they did x-rays, and nothing is wrong with her!!! The vet said that it is completely normal and is just
so apparent because of how thin she is right now. As soon as she pounced on me and my instructor said she
was okay, I burst into tears. I let her keep her front paws in my lap while I cried a little bit. My baby
girl is okay, and we aren't losing each other and I am just so so happy!
This afternoon, we practiced the same route again, and little miss did very well. She was a little pokey
in places, but I am not concerned. We are entering the second week of class which is the point at which
dogs begin to test a lot more. Vrona almost missed a move around a latter set up in the sidewalk, but at
the last moment, she made a very quick move around it. Thank you little one for not destroying us both!!!
We are now back at the hotel. I'm not sure if we have a lecture this evening. I am considering going
outside to groom little Vroom, and then it will be time to feed the dogs and then the humans. I am
starting to switch her food over to what I feed at home, so hopefully she does well with the switch. We
also just started picking up after our dogs today, so that's one more step to them being completely our
dogs! Picking up poop shouldn't be exciting, but what can I say?...
The lecture tonight is on dog food. I don't really remember what they tell us, but I do know that I am
completely put off by the ingredient list for Iams and Eukanuba. Yuck to the fifth power! They are
unfairly expensive, and I swear that the majority of what one pays for the cost of those foods is to
cover advertisement, because I feed a premium food with no corn, no wheat and no fillers, and I only
spend twenty-seven dollars per forty pounds. I do have to pay for a Costco membership, but that
membership costs the amount I would be spending on one bag of food elsewhere.
I never did get to grooming earlier, so I still need to slip that in at some point tonight. The benches
are set up outside in the relieving area, so maybe I will take her right before or right after our last
time out for the night.
The lecture wasn't terribly interesting. I just got in from grooming Vrona, and now it is time to post this, give her some water, take her out and then try to squeeze in at least two hours of work for the evening.
on my computer. She asked for a few belly rubs, and I was completely content sharing time together.
We started Elm Street this morning. This route is longer than the first one and is a little more complex.
We have long blocks, short blocks, lights, uncontrolled intersections, stop signs, t intersections,
standard intersections and slightly angled crossings. Vrona did very well. She needed to rework the
sidewalk barricade once. They had it set up this time so that as we approached, the sidewalk was blocked,
and so was a stretch along the sidewalk. The barricade is shaped like a capital letter L, and we end up
sort of trapped inside of it if the dogs don't notice right away. The purpose of this is to show us that
our dogs know how to backtrack and figure out a way around said barricade. She had to take me out into
the street and back up onto the sidewalk. She seemed a little off to me, and I took off her harness and
gave her a chance to relieve. After she peed, she was much more focused. I am so glad I am beginning to
be able to read her so that we can get our communication slowly to that point where others can't even see
it happening.
I have been very quiet about it, because I was worried sick. Vrona has a funny little bulge just below
her ribs on her stomach. I was so so worried that it was something. I found it Friday evening and had to
wait until this morning when they were able to take her over to the clinic to be checked out. My
instructor took her right from our route this morning, so I rode back to the hotel dogless. Let me tell
you...it is quite the sad feeling to not have your dog while everyone else is loving on and rewarding
theirs.
We had a talk from the class supervisor this morning about traffic. He talked about how students rush
their dogs into the street at times, which undoes the intensive training they have been given to show
caution when entering the street. Dogs tend to slow down while in the street, because they have to be
more watchful, and the worse thing we can do as handlers is to rush them across.
While we were waiting for the lecture to begin, I kept thinking all of the what ifs about Vrona. What if
it is something serious? Will they let me say goodbye to her? Would that be harder on her? Yes, of course
it would. If something is wrong, I will say I don't want to see her again, because she already had to go
through the stress of being taken from me once today. I will ask if I can still take her home and love
her, even if I have to pay to adopt her. Will they even give me a chance to say goodbye? Will they pull
me from this lecture and take me back to my room and tell me and bring in some new creature who isn't my
little Vroom dog? As I thought all of these terrible and sad thoughts, the tears started creeping down my
cheeks a little bit. I was very quiet and was trying very hard not to draw attention to the fact that I
didn't have my dog, because I was so worried I had just seen her for the last time. I was sitting in a
chair up in the common lounge. I had my feet tucked up under me, and I was turned sideways away from the
door. I had my head resting against the chair back, and I was trying really hard to look tired and hoping
no one would notice my tears. Right as the tears began to fall, a certain little shephergirl with a
crooked ear pounced on me from behind. My instructor had stealthily crept up on me with Vrona and let her
pounce me! Nothing is wrong! What I was feeling is her spleen, which I still find a little strange, but
they did x-rays, and nothing is wrong with her!!! The vet said that it is completely normal and is just
so apparent because of how thin she is right now. As soon as she pounced on me and my instructor said she
was okay, I burst into tears. I let her keep her front paws in my lap while I cried a little bit. My baby
girl is okay, and we aren't losing each other and I am just so so happy!
This afternoon, we practiced the same route again, and little miss did very well. She was a little pokey
in places, but I am not concerned. We are entering the second week of class which is the point at which
dogs begin to test a lot more. Vrona almost missed a move around a latter set up in the sidewalk, but at
the last moment, she made a very quick move around it. Thank you little one for not destroying us both!!!
We are now back at the hotel. I'm not sure if we have a lecture this evening. I am considering going
outside to groom little Vroom, and then it will be time to feed the dogs and then the humans. I am
starting to switch her food over to what I feed at home, so hopefully she does well with the switch. We
also just started picking up after our dogs today, so that's one more step to them being completely our
dogs! Picking up poop shouldn't be exciting, but what can I say?...
The lecture tonight is on dog food. I don't really remember what they tell us, but I do know that I am
completely put off by the ingredient list for Iams and Eukanuba. Yuck to the fifth power! They are
unfairly expensive, and I swear that the majority of what one pays for the cost of those foods is to
cover advertisement, because I feed a premium food with no corn, no wheat and no fillers, and I only
spend twenty-seven dollars per forty pounds. I do have to pay for a Costco membership, but that
membership costs the amount I would be spending on one bag of food elsewhere.
I never did get to grooming earlier, so I still need to slip that in at some point tonight. The benches
are set up outside in the relieving area, so maybe I will take her right before or right after our last
time out for the night.
The lecture wasn't terribly interesting. I just got in from grooming Vrona, and now it is time to post this, give her some water, take her out and then try to squeeze in at least two hours of work for the evening.