All About the Team

Hello Friend!

It's Renee again! I decided to blog a bit this morning. My mom and I are a little bummed since our training friends who are here for their second, third, fourth etc. dogs are leaving today. Us newbies stay for another week. We have made such great friends and will miss them very much! I thought blogging about happier things might raise our spirits.

As my mom promised, I want to tell you about how we work together. A lot of people think that I do all the work for my mom and that she just walks along for the ride. That's the silliest thing I've ever heard! I'm a dog for goodness sakes! Can you imagine what would happen if my mom just let me take us anywhere I wanted? I can guarantee that we would not end up at my mom's favorite coffee shop or the bank for errands. We would be at the pet store or out to play every time!

Basically, my mom is the brains behind our team. She is so good at knowing where to go! She knows how to get to all the places we need to go each day. I'm not really sure why people think that my mom doesn't know how to get around town. Someone told me that her eyes don't work as well as mine, but I still don't get it. Her brain still works!

Anyway, my mom gives me commands to tell me where to guide us. She will say "forward" to get me to move ahead and "right" or "left" to go in another direction. She even uses "Left, left, left..." or "Right, right, right..." to suggest that she thinks the destination is coming up on one side. This clues me in so that I look to where she might want me to go.

My mom's favorite command for me is "Steady." This is both verbal and physical as she rocks my harness back and forth. I am a VERY happy girl and kind of get a little excited at new things. I walked into Walmart the other day and was so interested! There were so many smells! There were so many people! It was SO cool!! But my mom didn't really feel like running up and down the aisles with me. I'm not positive why not, but I obeyed her requests to slow down.

Sometimes I get so excited that I just can't control myself. My mom puts a "gentle leader" on me. It's this little thing that wraps around my nose to help control me. It doesn't hurt, but I act all mad when she puts it on because I would rather be excited than wear it. It's probably good for me, though, because it makes my mom feel like she can take me everywhere!

As you can tell, my mom is the leader. She tells me where to go. So what do I do? I'm the protector. It's my job to make sure that we both get to our destination safely. There are all kinds of ways I keep my mom and me safe.

Traffic is probably my biggest job. My mom still gives me the "Forward" command when she knows it's time to cross the street. Some people think that I am the one who decides when it's safe to cross, but that's actually not true. My mom might not always see the cars as well as I do, but she hears them. She's also really smart at telling how traffic patterns work. Most of the time my mom nails it and I go forward at her command.

There are some times when I have to disobey my mom. Once in a while she gets tricked by cars. This can happen with the new hybrid cars that are really quiet. It can also happen when cars turn right on red or when drivers aren't paying attention. I have some options when it comes to making sure we cross safely. Sometimes I just plain don't move. By not going forward, I suggest to my mom that it's not safe to cross. At that point it's her job to decide why I'm not moving. Once in a while I trick my mom by not moving not because of a car but because I'm distracted by something. She might repeat the "Forward" command and gently push my leash forward to encourage me to go. If it's safe, I start to move.

The other option I have is to change our speed. If we are crossing a street already and a car is turning in towards us, I might slow down ever so slightly to let the car go. I do it very gracefully so my mom doesn't have to worry a bit. I'm really good at crossing streets.

Sometimes I keep us safe from cars when they pull out of alleys or turn into driveways, too. This time, my mom doesn't give me any commands. I just judge whether or not I should stop us fully or just slow my speed. My mom follows me direction. Once it's safe, I just keep walking. My mom is always surprised when these cars pull out. I think it scares her a little, although she keeps her head held high. I hope she doesn't get too scared. I've totally got her covered!

Another way that I help keep us safe is by guiding around obstacles. Seriously, sidewalks are so cool! They are like agility courses for me! I get to weave around poles, guide through crowds of people, navigate around signs in front of stores, and even change my speed based on walking conditions. I get to navigate in tight areas where the snow isn't plowed to find the safest route for my mom and me. If you see us walking, you might notice that we don't take a straight path. I don't like straight lines. They are way too boring! Instead, I weave all around to be sure to take the safest route. I would feel so bad if my mom bumped into something!

When I see something that I need to tell my mom about like steps or the entrance to a cross street, I stop. My mom reaches out her foot to find the curb or step and praises me. Once in a while I get too excited and mess this up. The other day we went to the courthouse to practice going through the metal detector. We walked beautifully to the courthouse. I was so excited to show the place off to my mom, especially because she said we will be frequent visitors of courthouses when she's a lawyer. I got so wrapped up in the excitement that I leaped up the steps to the building. My mom corrects me by saying "Fue" which means "No!" and tugs on my leash when I do this wrong. She then shows me the correct thing to do by tapping the step with her foot and praising me. Then we go back a few steps to try it again. My mom says we really have to work on this, and she's probably right.

Other times I stop a little to soon. I want to be sure that we don't go into the street or that my mom doesn't trip on a step. If she can't feel the step or curb with her foot, she might say "Hop up" which encourages me to tiptoe forward. I'm really good at this.

I'll write more next time about how we train together. I'll also write about my favorite kind of training called "Clicker" which helps me to find specific things for my mom. Until then, keep a happy smile on your face!

Wagging all the way,
Renee the Seeing Eye Dog