guide dogs in and out of harness. The differences.

Yesterday, I had a long day of working in various places and ways. i left the house early in the morning and got back near dinner time. My guide dog Tulia was in harness most of the day. when she is in harness, she is calm and professional. at one point yesterday, someone asked if they could pat my dog. about 6 or 7 people were in the room at that time. I took her harness off and she instantly became her off duty self. Wagging and rolling about. Wanting her stomach rubbed. the people were amazed at the change. not that our guides do not like working. They love it but they are working. so they are more serious and focused when working. And here is another myth. Our guides do not work when we are in our houses. They are loose and playing and sleeping and doing what dogs do. my dog is currently sleeping at my feet. And, there is nothing more comforting than a dog sleeping on your feet.

Great things about being blind. The guide dog who taught me the most.

Today is the birthday of my second guide dog yellow lab Margaret.  She is no longer with us.
She is the guide dog who was the hardest to work with but probably taught me more than all of the others.
I received her six weeks after losing my first guide to cancer.
In class, she started going crazy for other creatures.  Dragged me out across the floor to see a dog.  Interested in squirrels, dogs, a chicken.  Any creature that moved.
I was offered a dog switch but said I wanted to try working with her.
Even though we only worked together for 3.5 years, I'm glad I did it.
As a dog, Margaret was a real one person dog.  She stuck right beside me all of the time and was very loving and effectionate.
She had excellent house manners and was generally calm and quiet except when she saw other creatures.
Then, she would jump at them to play.
Once she got in one sniff and got them excited, she would stop and pretend she had nothing to do with the situation.
I worked and worked to minimize the animal distractedness of her.
It did improve somewhat but never went away but I learned so much about training methods and obedience and my guide dog school was so supportive and helpful.
Margaret had chronic ear infections.  We found out they were caused by food allergies.  Through this, I learned what is in dog foods.  How to analyse good ones from not so good ones.  A lot about allergies.
Margaret was a worryer.  If she bumped you into something one day, she wouldn't want to walk past that place the next day.
So, that needed some work too.
She started showing me in no uncertain terms, that it was time to retire.
She didn't want to get on the bus.
She didn't want to cross certain streets.
After retirement, I tried keeping her but it didn't work out so I gave her to a friend and she had a wonderful life as a very spoiled pet.
I thank her for all she taught me that has made me a much better dog handler.
Happy birthday Margaret.

Great things about being blind. That dog is working.

The public continued to amuse me yesterday.  A little bit of our interactions were infuriating but mostly amusing.  I can't believe this happened three times in one day.  Since it did, I figured it worthy of a blog post.  Tulia and I were walking along the sidewalk when a dog on our right (not too close to the sidewalk) started barking excitedly and jumping.  I could hear the nails clicking and the collar rattling.  Tulia looked over.  I told her to continue and she did.  All the time, the man is saying, "Now Jasper.  That dog is working.  You can't go up to that dog."
I always wonder in these cases, how does you dog understand you telling him/her that the dog is working?
And how does the dog know what to do when encountering a working dog?
Not sure why people say this.
Maybe to tell me there's a dog there.
Anyway, Jasper didn't get the concept.  He strained on his leash, made choking noises, barked and bounced.  We were carrying on getting further from him.  The man kept saying,  "Now Jasper.  That dog is working.  You need to stay here."
Okay.  He did stay there but didn't seem happy about it.
Next, there was a dog tied to a post.  It jumped forward and barked at Tulia.  A more aggressive bark.  The man with the dog said,  "Don't bark like that.  That dog has an important job to do."  The dog was running forward and was about a foot away.  Tulia was distracted.
She too is a dog by the way.
I stopped her and got her to sit.   Then I asked if the man could hold onto his dog and maybe get it to sit.
"I'll try," he said sounding a bit doubtful.
Then, he proceeded to explain to his still barking dog, that my dog was special and working and not to be bothered.
A simple, "No.  Quiet.  Sit." or something would have done better I think.
I decided Tulia was focused and we proceeded on.  She looked at the dog a little but was good.
Then, last night, just as it was starting to rain and when we were coming back from our last walk, this man approached with a dog.
He says to me.
"Now I have a dog here."
I knew he did.  You could hear it huffing and pulling and bouncing.
"I have a dog here and my dog doesn't know a seeing eye dog from a hole in the ground.  Can they say hi."
I explained not when my dog was working in  her harness.
So then he says to his dog,
"That dog is working.  Be good.  That dog is working.  We are going to walk past that dog."
Again, the dog had not read the memo on how to deal with working dogs.
The man had to pull his dog up the street.
Tulia does not like rain and was more focused on getting us home all dry than on the last dog we met.
So, any thoughts as to why these people tell their dogs, "That's a working dog?"
Maybe I should start saying to Tulia, "Oh Tulia that's a non-working dog.  It isn't as well behaved as you?"
Bet that would earn me a few enemies.

Great things about being blind. Which dog is best?

Over the past couple of days, two people, both total strangers, talked about my guide dogs.  They have both seen my last two guides in action.  Tulia (my current guide who is a tiny black lab) and Gia (my retired golden retriever guide who lived with us after her retirement last fall until  she died of cancer this past winter).
One woman came up to us on the street.  There was a lot of construction.  It was hot.  Tulia was having some difficulty figuring out the way.  So was I.
Tulia does not always like strange surfaces under foot and was hesitant to cross this surface of bricks and go past the machines.
I had stopped to listen and figure things out.
This woman came up and said, "Your new dog isn't very good.  Not as good as your old one is it?"
I was incensed.
I hate when people ask me to compare guides.
All of my guides have been different and similar in some ways.
It is like people comparing kids.
Besides, it was a complex siutation and I was trying to figure it out too.
I said very nastily to her that all of my guides have been wonderful.  They've all had quirks and personalities and which of us people also hasn't made a mistake or had a rough day?
She thought about it and said, "I never thought of that.  I just thought they were perfect all of the time."
I said, "They're dogs.  They're not robots.  NOne of us is perfect."
"That's true," she said, and then she said,  "I like goldens better than labs.  YOur other dog was so beautiful but I guess this one is good too."
Okay!  Now we get to the bottom of it.  She prefers long golden fur.
The next day, Tulia was guiding me through a crowded local building.  She slowed down, was very careful, and found the door outside without hesitation.
A man came up and said, "That dog is so much smarter than you're other one isn't she?"
"No." I said and then asked if he had a lab preference.
Turns out he did.
I gave him the same speech I gave her.
He seemed happy to converse about it.
He too thoughts guides were always perfect.
I smiled as we left the building.
I'm so glad to have met and worked with these four wonderful doggy souls who each give me so much and teach me a lot.
Each one has been different and unique with strengths and weaknesses and it has been and continues to be a pleasure getting to figure these out and work together.