Dog Day - Part 2

I am in love with this dog.

The boy and his trainer arrived right on schedule. The Guide Dog Mobility Instructor (GDMI) dropped off a few bags of dog food and treats, then we harnessed up and went down to the nice path along the East River near my apartment. The section I like to walk is a straightforward 3.5 miles total, a good route for our first day working together as a team. This path is popular with cyclists, people on scooters, runners and walkers, so there were many moving obstacles my new partner had to maneuver around. There were also pigeons, squirrels and a barking dog he had to ignore, and he did a great job.

The experience was wonderful and I think we both learned a lot about eachother during the walk. This dog is FAST, he took off like a rocket and didn't lose any momentum on our walk. We could cover a mile in 17.25 - 18.12 minutes on average, definitely a good clip. Yes, I'm wearing a fitness watch to track my mileage and speed. That is certainly a lot faster than I walk with my cane. We were also using the new Ruffwear Unifly harness that was specifically designed for guide dogs. It definitely has a different feel than the traditional leather harness, but I'm really liking it so far. I'll write more about it in another post.

Once we returned home, the trainer gave us a rundown of what she observed (all positive) and then she left for the day. Time to start bonding! I took the boy back to my room and sat with him on the floor. Alone at last with the German Shepherd I always wanted; it was hard to believe that the moment had finally come. He didn't seem interested in any of the toys I presented to him, so I just spoke to him to get him used to my voice. About an hour later, I took him out to the living room so I could grab something to eat from the kitchen. For the first month, the guide dog should be on leash or on tie down with you at all times, except during playtime when you're throwing a ball or something. It's literally like having a 2 year old connected to you all the time. We did a little obedience training and then I brought him back to my room with the frozen Kong I had retrieved from the freezer. That is a durable rubber dog toy shaped like a snowman with room inside to stuff treats. This morning I had made a parfait of sorts with canned pumpkin puree, kibble and freeze dried lamb lung, filled the Kong, and froze it. The boy thoroughly enjoyed his frozen treat and it took him about an hour to finish it. While he worked on it, I continued to pet him and talk to him. A big part of the bonding process is building trust, so showing you can be a kind but firm Alpha goes a long way. 

This post is getting kind of long and we have another full day ahead of us, so I'll just summarize the rest. We played fetch in the hallway. Balls are his favorite toys I would say. He ate his dinner with gusto. Shepherds are known to be picky eaters - not this dude. He relieved well, both no. 1 and no. 2, a good sign that he is settling in and not too stressed. Introduced him to the family individually, on leash, and using very calm voices. He's knocked out and I'm about to be too.