http://www.blindawareness.com/observations/ohpuppy.php
Check out this link. It has some do's and don'ts on what to do when you are around a guide dog. The writer seems to be a little rough....but it is the safety of the blind person at stake here. Enjoy!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
DAY 4 - Day 1 in Morristown Center
Tuesday, July 21
5:25 a.m. the loud speaker in my room starts playing a song. If i had a rock, I would have tossed it at the speaker mounted on the wall...haha.
5:30 Feeding time
5:30 "Park" time. It is raining. So I put Kia's harness on and my rain slicker and head out to the parking area. First thing is taking off the harness before letting Kia "Go". Then, convincing her to hurry up...cause it's raining. Kia did NOT go #2 again...so she is on the watch list and I need to know her whereabouts at all times.
7 a.m. Breakfast
7:30 Normally the next "Parktime" would be 11 a.m., but since Kia did not do her #2....we need to go out again (In the rain) and try again. So, harness on....encourage her to go, harness back on (Out in the rain( and then back inside. Success in the #2 thing finally....it had to be helped along...send me email if you want to know the trick!!!
8:45 - We were supposed to go into Morristown for our first walk about with our new dogs, but the rain is so bad, they postponed it until this afternoon. So, we had a lecture class this morning in the common room.
1 p/m/ we finally get to go to Morristown to walk and learn the 4 block route that we will be using for the first few days. Learning the intersections, which ones have lights, stop signs, traffic, etc. Well...it is still raining and the sidewalks and streets are flooded. I was ankle deep in water for the entire 10 block route. The step soen off the curbs were several inces under water. The shoes I had on, did NOT like some of the sidewalks..they were slate. I was slipping and sliding all over the place...trying not to fall. I did fall TWICE, but just back up and continued on. Kia was awesome. She stopped at every curb and intersection and went around poles and trees. Morristown likes to put little trees in the miccle of the sidewalks.
I was so exhausted by the end of that walk. After getting back to the Seeing Eye, I took a nap before dinner.
At dinner, we all exchange our stories on how it went the first day out in the rain. The dining at the Seeing Eye is awesome...I had some hot tea to help me feel warmer. Felt so water logged!
After dinner, we had another meeting. This tiem, it was about traffic patterns and safety.
So ends another day at the Seeing Eye....ZZzzzzzzz......
5:25 a.m. the loud speaker in my room starts playing a song. If i had a rock, I would have tossed it at the speaker mounted on the wall...haha.
5:30 Feeding time
5:30 "Park" time. It is raining. So I put Kia's harness on and my rain slicker and head out to the parking area. First thing is taking off the harness before letting Kia "Go". Then, convincing her to hurry up...cause it's raining. Kia did NOT go #2 again...so she is on the watch list and I need to know her whereabouts at all times.
7 a.m. Breakfast
7:30 Normally the next "Parktime" would be 11 a.m., but since Kia did not do her #2....we need to go out again (In the rain) and try again. So, harness on....encourage her to go, harness back on (Out in the rain( and then back inside. Success in the #2 thing finally....it had to be helped along...send me email if you want to know the trick!!!
8:45 - We were supposed to go into Morristown for our first walk about with our new dogs, but the rain is so bad, they postponed it until this afternoon. So, we had a lecture class this morning in the common room.
1 p/m/ we finally get to go to Morristown to walk and learn the 4 block route that we will be using for the first few days. Learning the intersections, which ones have lights, stop signs, traffic, etc. Well...it is still raining and the sidewalks and streets are flooded. I was ankle deep in water for the entire 10 block route. The step soen off the curbs were several inces under water. The shoes I had on, did NOT like some of the sidewalks..they were slate. I was slipping and sliding all over the place...trying not to fall. I did fall TWICE, but just back up and continued on. Kia was awesome. She stopped at every curb and intersection and went around poles and trees. Morristown likes to put little trees in the miccle of the sidewalks.
I was so exhausted by the end of that walk. After getting back to the Seeing Eye, I took a nap before dinner.
At dinner, we all exchange our stories on how it went the first day out in the rain. The dining at the Seeing Eye is awesome...I had some hot tea to help me feel warmer. Felt so water logged!
After dinner, we had another meeting. This tiem, it was about traffic patterns and safety.
So ends another day at the Seeing Eye....ZZzzzzzzz......
Friday, September 4, 2009
Monday, July 20 - "D" (Dog) Day!
Thank you all for being patient as Kia and I adjust to life being home. I am FINALLY getting around to telling you the day KIA came into my life.
Kia, like the other 20 dogs in my class, has been raised by a "Puppy" raising family for about 18 months. Kia happened to be raised by a young girl...about 6-9. The young girl had an older brother, parents and some cat and dog pets, other than Kia.
Monday, after lunch is when we were promised our dogs. It has been since our arrival Saturday that we all (Students) have been awaiting this moment. We have no idea what breed we will be getting or anything else about our friend to be.
There is a main lounge for both male and female students upstairs, but on my floorm which was a "Female" floor, there was a smaller lounge for us girls to meet and hang out. The lounge has a few chairs and a couch. It also has a kitchnette and a TV.
A knock came at my door around 1 p.m. or so, it was my instructor, who told me that it is my turn to meet my dog, down in the lounge. I was a bit nervous and excited, but we were told ahead of time to try and be calm and easy when meeting our dog for the first time. The dogs have been through an adjustment already from "Puppy" raiser to 4 months with a trainer at the Seeing Eye, and now they will be handed off again to their new owners. That is a lot of changes for one dog.
I walked down the hall and into the lounge where my instructors were with my dog. They told me her name, breed and color and asked me to call her. I did and here came KIA, just calmy wagging her tail. I hooked her up to the leash I brought and was told to take her to my room and hang out to bond for awhile. So Kia (Heeling so nicely) and I walked back down the hall to my room. I sat on the floor next to the bed by her mat. I calmly pet her and talked to her. Kia kept looking towards to door, as I think she expected the instructors to come and take her back to the kennels. But they didn't. Kia was mine forever now! Kia and I had all afternoon to relax together, so I had her tied down by her mat and I flopped on the bed, with arm hanging over to pet her....and we both fell asleep for awhile. It was a big day for both of us.
The first activity was at 4:30 p.h. and that was to feed and take our dogs out to "Park" (Go potty) out in the designated area. There is a knock at the door and Kia's food bowl is presented. I put a little water in and give her her first meal. She eats IAMS mini chunks-Chicken. 1 1/2 cups 2x a day. After feeding, The harness goes on and we head down the hall and a flight of stairs to go outside. The fenced area i concrete and there are 21 students with 21 dogs, all coaching their dogs to go "Park". Beofre you tell your dog "Parktime", you have to take the harness off out there, as they are NOT allowed to go potty in harness. This will encourage them or let them know that while guiding us...it is OK to stop anywhere and go. We must keep a close eye on their daily routines and constitution. The dogs go out 4 times a day: 5:20 a.m., 11 a.m., 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. is the last call. Keeping a regular schedule will help us NOT to have unexpected stops to "Go".
The second activity for Kia and I was to get her into ter harness and go to dinner. The trick comes in learning how to get the dogs under the table in a safe position, so the servers do not step on them and we also have to leave enough room for the other dogs uunder there. So, you lead the dog head first uner the table and turn them around, so their head is facing out...this way, we can better know if they are sniffing or licking or doing other bad behavior under there. This is important, as in a public dining place, you don't want her to do these bad things to strangers. Even now, if Kia licks someone's foot...they say "It's OK....I tell them that it is NOT, as she may try it when someone may object and this is not good. I ask my do-workers to let me know if she bothers them during a meal....I may not "See" or notice all bad behaviors.
After dinner we had a class with our dogs at 6:30 and it got over at about 7:30.
We have 1/2 hour back in our rooms before the "Lat Call" parktime at 8 p.m. Kia, I guess could not wait for that, she "Pee'd" on the time floor in my room. I just cleaned it up and did not get mad, as it has been a HUGE day for both of us and who could blame her? When I took her out at 8p.m of course she did not have to go. She also di not "poop" all day, so I sure hope she would go the next day.
Kia settled onto her mat and we both slept real good the first night!
Kia, like the other 20 dogs in my class, has been raised by a "Puppy" raising family for about 18 months. Kia happened to be raised by a young girl...about 6-9. The young girl had an older brother, parents and some cat and dog pets, other than Kia.
Monday, after lunch is when we were promised our dogs. It has been since our arrival Saturday that we all (Students) have been awaiting this moment. We have no idea what breed we will be getting or anything else about our friend to be.
There is a main lounge for both male and female students upstairs, but on my floorm which was a "Female" floor, there was a smaller lounge for us girls to meet and hang out. The lounge has a few chairs and a couch. It also has a kitchnette and a TV.
A knock came at my door around 1 p.m. or so, it was my instructor, who told me that it is my turn to meet my dog, down in the lounge. I was a bit nervous and excited, but we were told ahead of time to try and be calm and easy when meeting our dog for the first time. The dogs have been through an adjustment already from "Puppy" raiser to 4 months with a trainer at the Seeing Eye, and now they will be handed off again to their new owners. That is a lot of changes for one dog.
I walked down the hall and into the lounge where my instructors were with my dog. They told me her name, breed and color and asked me to call her. I did and here came KIA, just calmy wagging her tail. I hooked her up to the leash I brought and was told to take her to my room and hang out to bond for awhile. So Kia (Heeling so nicely) and I walked back down the hall to my room. I sat on the floor next to the bed by her mat. I calmly pet her and talked to her. Kia kept looking towards to door, as I think she expected the instructors to come and take her back to the kennels. But they didn't. Kia was mine forever now! Kia and I had all afternoon to relax together, so I had her tied down by her mat and I flopped on the bed, with arm hanging over to pet her....and we both fell asleep for awhile. It was a big day for both of us.
The first activity was at 4:30 p.h. and that was to feed and take our dogs out to "Park" (Go potty) out in the designated area. There is a knock at the door and Kia's food bowl is presented. I put a little water in and give her her first meal. She eats IAMS mini chunks-Chicken. 1 1/2 cups 2x a day. After feeding, The harness goes on and we head down the hall and a flight of stairs to go outside. The fenced area i concrete and there are 21 students with 21 dogs, all coaching their dogs to go "Park". Beofre you tell your dog "Parktime", you have to take the harness off out there, as they are NOT allowed to go potty in harness. This will encourage them or let them know that while guiding us...it is OK to stop anywhere and go. We must keep a close eye on their daily routines and constitution. The dogs go out 4 times a day: 5:20 a.m., 11 a.m., 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. is the last call. Keeping a regular schedule will help us NOT to have unexpected stops to "Go".
The second activity for Kia and I was to get her into ter harness and go to dinner. The trick comes in learning how to get the dogs under the table in a safe position, so the servers do not step on them and we also have to leave enough room for the other dogs uunder there. So, you lead the dog head first uner the table and turn them around, so their head is facing out...this way, we can better know if they are sniffing or licking or doing other bad behavior under there. This is important, as in a public dining place, you don't want her to do these bad things to strangers. Even now, if Kia licks someone's foot...they say "It's OK....I tell them that it is NOT, as she may try it when someone may object and this is not good. I ask my do-workers to let me know if she bothers them during a meal....I may not "See" or notice all bad behaviors.
After dinner we had a class with our dogs at 6:30 and it got over at about 7:30.
We have 1/2 hour back in our rooms before the "Lat Call" parktime at 8 p.m. Kia, I guess could not wait for that, she "Pee'd" on the time floor in my room. I just cleaned it up and did not get mad, as it has been a HUGE day for both of us and who could blame her? When I took her out at 8p.m of course she did not have to go. She also di not "poop" all day, so I sure hope she would go the next day.
Kia settled onto her mat and we both slept real good the first night!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Front Page News! http://tinyurl.com/nwkc9b
Kia and I made the front page of our local paper. See the link here in the title.
Next post will be "D" day...the day Kia came into my life!!
Next post will be "D" day...the day Kia came into my life!!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Day 2 at Seeing Eye
July 19th Sunday
Wake up time: 7 a.m. (We should not get used to this late time...haha)
Breakfast 8 a.m.
8:45 meet in lobby to take a van into Morristown centerfor a
JUNO walk (Instructor pulls and empty harness)
NO dog YET...THIS IS KILLING ME...HAHA
Return to center for a firedrill. (Just like on a cruise...lol)
Lecture/meeting
1 p.m. LUNCH (I have not done this much activity before lunch in a long time)
2 p.m. DOGS! Don't get excited, not OUR dogs. Several dogs are brought over from the kennels for us to learn how to handle them. We got to see the different personalities and temperment of the different breeds.
. We then were brought a huge wooden lab to help train us on how to put on a harness. We would not want to be clumsy when we get a real live dog on this process!
. Learned where we are going to be taking our dogs out to "PARK" (Go potty) and how to do that. It was a bog courtyard with a cement like surface and you get your dog to circle you and stay in one small area...this way, you will hopefully know where it went and to clean up. More on this later. So for now, "PARK means taking the dog out to go....
. We were informed that the next day we will have a 6 a.m wake up.....We are in boot camp now folks!!
A lot of work so far and no dog until tomorrow!! I'm POOPED!!
Wake up time: 7 a.m. (We should not get used to this late time...haha)
Breakfast 8 a.m.
8:45 meet in lobby to take a van into Morristown centerfor a
JUNO walk (Instructor pulls and empty harness)
NO dog YET...THIS IS KILLING ME...HAHA
Return to center for a firedrill. (Just like on a cruise...lol)
Lecture/meeting
1 p.m. LUNCH (I have not done this much activity before lunch in a long time)
2 p.m. DOGS! Don't get excited, not OUR dogs. Several dogs are brought over from the kennels for us to learn how to handle them. We got to see the different personalities and temperment of the different breeds.
. We then were brought a huge wooden lab to help train us on how to put on a harness. We would not want to be clumsy when we get a real live dog on this process!
. Learned where we are going to be taking our dogs out to "PARK" (Go potty) and how to do that. It was a bog courtyard with a cement like surface and you get your dog to circle you and stay in one small area...this way, you will hopefully know where it went and to clean up. More on this later. So for now, "PARK means taking the dog out to go....
. We were informed that the next day we will have a 6 a.m wake up.....We are in boot camp now folks!!
A lot of work so far and no dog until tomorrow!! I'm POOPED!!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Day 1 at Seeing Eye
July 18, Saturday
Chris and Karissa from Stony Point drove myself and Gary (Hubby) from Stony Point, NY to Morristown, NJ to the Seeing Eye. We arrived just after 11 am. and were greeted by Erin, one of my instructiors. Today was Erin's birthday!! This also was Erin's 1st class. She has been in many other capacities at the Seeing Eye and seems to really be enjoying this part.
After doing a little unpacking, Erin came to introduce herself and give a few notes on what we will be doing the rest of the day.
Lunch was first on the agenda...which is wonderful! The kitchen staff is so helpful and after getting to know what you like...continued to bring your beverage of choice to meals.
More unpacking after lunch and went on a JUNO walk with Erin. At this point they know whaich dog they have in mind, but are still evaluationg your personality and strengths. The JUNO walk is with the trainer pulling/guiding you with a empty harness. They can tell how fast or slow you like to walk and how much "pull" you can take with the dog.
Dinner next...Yum,,,,
7 p.m. meeting in the "Common Lounge" and we received a leash, a tie down, a comb and brush for grooming. We learned more about the facility and what to expect. After the meeting I got a tour of the computer/tech lab. No tech people will be available til Monday....so I can ask questions then. It seems that the PC's are all set up with talking software, which I do not use.
Very exciting day and I was exhausted by the end. I also found out the there are 4-5 students per instructor. Erin has 4 of us: Stacy,Arthur, Seth and me! Thesecond instructor is Shawn, who is a "Shadow Trainer", as this is Erin's first class. So we got 2 instructors for the price of 1!!!
Chris and Karissa from Stony Point drove myself and Gary (Hubby) from Stony Point, NY to Morristown, NJ to the Seeing Eye. We arrived just after 11 am. and were greeted by Erin, one of my instructiors. Today was Erin's birthday!! This also was Erin's 1st class. She has been in many other capacities at the Seeing Eye and seems to really be enjoying this part.
After doing a little unpacking, Erin came to introduce herself and give a few notes on what we will be doing the rest of the day.
Lunch was first on the agenda...which is wonderful! The kitchen staff is so helpful and after getting to know what you like...continued to bring your beverage of choice to meals.
More unpacking after lunch and went on a JUNO walk with Erin. At this point they know whaich dog they have in mind, but are still evaluationg your personality and strengths. The JUNO walk is with the trainer pulling/guiding you with a empty harness. They can tell how fast or slow you like to walk and how much "pull" you can take with the dog.
Dinner next...Yum,,,,
7 p.m. meeting in the "Common Lounge" and we received a leash, a tie down, a comb and brush for grooming. We learned more about the facility and what to expect. After the meeting I got a tour of the computer/tech lab. No tech people will be available til Monday....so I can ask questions then. It seems that the PC's are all set up with talking software, which I do not use.
Very exciting day and I was exhausted by the end. I also found out the there are 4-5 students per instructor. Erin has 4 of us: Stacy,Arthur, Seth and me! Thesecond instructor is Shawn, who is a "Shadow Trainer", as this is Erin's first class. So we got 2 instructors for the price of 1!!!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Photo of KIA and Me!
Hey eveyone, you deserve at least a photo of me and my new guide...you all have been so patient with me! So, here is the photo....more details to follow....even the story of one of the dogs that tried to eat a guys underwear....hahahahaha
This photo was taken by one of my trainers. It is "On the Green" in Morristown, NJ. THe statue is of the first fuide dog at Seeing Eye "Buddy" and his owner Frank Morris.
This photo was taken by one of my trainers. It is "On the Green" in Morristown, NJ. THe statue is of the first fuide dog at Seeing Eye "Buddy" and his owner Frank Morris.
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