Greetings!
If you didn't catch my title's reference, here's some help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-4tIs00NvM . Before reading the rest of my post, please go watch Legally Blonde @now (as Dartmouth students say--see? I'm getting the lingo!). I'm pretty sure it's on Netflix and there's a dog in it, and those are the only two real reasons to watch anything (especially the latter, because--and I might be biased--dogs are pretty fantastic).
Anyway, I'm running quite behind in my PBC pupdates, because Week II has already come and gone! Mom and I have been working hard, as usual. We've had training sessions, outings, and even social events together, and I've even gotten to do some real-life tasking, which, while it sucks for Mom, always makes me really happy because I love knowing that I can help.
The major theme of this week was the command "Get It." I've known this command since Day 1 practically, but Mom's really only used it with toys and playtime. I never really even knew that it could be a task. But it can! And it helps Mom so much: she's been getting these dizzy/nauseated/migraine spells that have been increasing in frequency and duration, and they make it difficult for her to bend over to pick up items on the ground (like something she dropped, particularly my leash when she has to put it down to buy something at a store). That's where "Get It" comes in handy, because I can give her anything at which she points. Eventually, she wants me to learn the names of particular items, but for now, "Get It" is our main focus.
Like I mentioned earlier, I already knew "Get It" to some extent, so it was easy for Mom to shape my playing behaviour into a working task. We started out with doing a lot of "Get It" with different toys of mine. She'd drop or throw one and then ask me to "Get It," I'd go pick it up and hand it to her (often without a "Give" prompting--go me!), and then we'd repeat. Eventually, she took off her shirt (don't ask me why--humans do weird things sometimes), and when she dropped it on the ground, I was a little confused at first. But since we'd been playing beforehand, I was in a super good mood where anything and everything seems like a toy to me, so I picked it up and handed it to her--needless to say, I got a massive reward and got to do my Victory Dance (where I wiggle and Mom lets me jump on her).
I got to see my Chihuahua friend Lucky twice this week, two days in a row. We don't really play together as much as we just lie on the couch while our Moms talk (literally for hours), but I still like having a friend. Mom says I'll definitely get to see him again during Winterim!
One of our outings involved (yet another) doctor's appointment, except this one lasted two hours. I'm actually so glad that I'm older and am not a wiggly puppy, because it required a lot of patience to lie quietly for such a long time. I hope Mom didn't notice when I took a quick nap on the job... I'll be honest, though, if I had to choose between Mom's doctor's appointments or my vet appointments, I'd definitely choose her appointments! Both of my vets are super sweet, but the place just gives me a weird feeling. Anyway, the doctor was super sweet, and she even gave me a tummy rub when Mom said it was okay for her to pet me (which surprised me, because she never lets people pet me when I'm working). Mom says she's glad I approve, because she really likes this new doctor, too. It's not the last doctor's appointment of Winterim, but I don't really mind as long as I get to stick by Mom's side.
The weirdest but most wonderful event of the week happened on Wednesday: Mom dressed me up in a gold bow (because she was on the Gold Team and was wearing too much blue, whatever that means. She says it's a school thing), and she took me to her primary school, which she attended from kindergarten through eighth grade. We had to sign in as visitors, and I even got to wear my own name tag! Mom chatted with some former teachers and then took me into a large, empty ex-gymnasium with a stage and bleachers. Except it wasn't empty for long: in just the twitch of a nose, over 400 small humans started filling the auditorium! Some were older but some were so tiny and adorable, and all who passed me commented on me (and how beautiful I am). Apparently, this gathering of humans happens once a week and is called Assembly, and Mom said I did really well at my first one. There was a lot of standing and sitting and clapping (but not usual clapping, like when I was at a play on Sunday), so it was pretty confusing, if you can imagine it. But eventually I decided (as per usual) that humans are crazy and just went with the flow of things. After that, we visited what was my mom's math classroom for three years and chatted with her former math teacher (who she says is the best teacher in the world), while the students talked to Mom about me and asked really polite questions, even more polite than the questions we usually get from adults. Once the students left for the day, Mom gave me the "Break" command, and I used it to snooze a little while Mom and her teacher reminisced about events as far back as 2007--yes, that's how old Mom is! Can you believe it?
I have a very important surprise that I want to share with you all, but I can't until it arrives! Stay tuned!
Wags,
Kelsie Iris, CGC
Check out these posts of mine:
SD team etiquette -- http://kelsieiris.blogspot.com/2015/04/dos-and-donts-of-encountering-service.html
Confused? Here are some terms and abbreviations --http://kelsieiris.blogspot.com/2015/04/as-abbreviations.html
Friday, December 4, 2015
PBC Week I: Things That Go Bump in the Night
Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving to all my readers!
I've been so wrapped up in holidays and training that I've completely forgotten to post about the last two weeks of training--whoops! I've also been really distracted by the fact that Mom is back in town--I still can't believe she's still around the house after being gone for two months. There's been quite a bit of snuggling and tummy rubbing and general loving. I've even occasionally let her have more than just the corner of our bed at night (don't tell her, but when she's asleep, I slowly take over the bed again).
My first week of PBC started off immediately the morning after Mom came home. Although she was out of spoons from the term and traveling, that didn't mean I could wiggle my way out of a day of training. It's not like I'd want to get out of training, anyway: I really do love my job, and learning new things keeps life interesting for me. Mom says it's crucial for a smart girl like me to learn new things often--she says I'm going to be a lifelong learner. Maybe one day I'll know over 100 commands! (I'm getting close)
We quickly brushed over some basics, as well as my known tasks, but of course I already knew them! Did she really think I'd forget everything in two months? So she decided to give me a challenge. I watched as she set chairs and stools around the backyard. We'd never done anything like this before, so I wasn't really sure what was going to happen. Usually, I train naked because Mom says it's important for a SD to follow commands and be on duty with or without a vest on. She wants to make sure I know to listen to her even when I'm not officially working. On that day, though, Mom decided to put me in my first vest, my blue Active Dogs vest, with one addition: a pull strap.
I should preface by saying that Mom has never taught guide work before and couldn't really find any How To in book or web form,* so it was a learning process for both of us. Then again, my career so far with her has been a constant learning process for both of us, because I haven't been a SD before and she's never trained a SD before. She's learned many of the tasks I now know along the way.
Anyway, she started by giving me the command "Forward," which I didn't yet know, and having me walk forward, except there was one problem: there were objects in the way! Every time we would encounter an object, I would stop (duh), but she would say, "Uh oh," which is my cue that I didn't do something quite right. I couldn't figure out what I wasn't doing right, though, and luckily Mom quickly caught on. So we tried something different.
She took me to a patch of the backyard with no obstacles and asked me "Forward" again, but this time, she lured me with a treat and didn't keep pace with me so that I had to pull against my vest a bit. After a few steps, she rewarded me. We did this a pawful of times, and suddenly it just clicked for me. I understood that with "Forward," I can break my "Heel" to pull, which I know I shouldn't do normally. Once I understood that, it became a lot easier for me to learn how to guide Mom around obstacles. I definitely didn't learn guide work in a day and am still working on it quite a bit, but Mom says she's really impressed by my progress.
As far as my personal life goes, I had a great first Thanksgiving with Mom, and I even got to pretend I was a person for a little bit. Mixed in with my usual dinner (of Blue Buffalo kibble with a few forkfuls of carefully selected canned food), I received sweet potato chunks, a few green beans, gravy, and chicken. I've come to the conclusion that I really like Thanksgiving!
But I also like the part of Thanksgiving where you're grateful about things in your life, because I am so grateful for so much this year, ranging from being happy that my baby Uno has a happy home in Connecticut to being adopted myself to having a seemingly endless supply of balls at my disposal (seriously, where do they all come from??? Does Mom own some kind of a ball tree???). It's been a really, really good year for a pup like me. And there's still a month left!
Until next time,
Kelsie Iris, CGC
*Just a note: Mom isn't blind or visually impaired. Guide work can actually be very useful for many SD teams outside of just Guide Dog teams. Also, just tossing it out there, the term actually is "Guide Dog," not "Seeing Eye Dog," unless that specific dog actually comes from The Seeing Eye.
Check out these posts of mine:
SD team etiquette -- http://kelsieiris.blogspot.com/2015/04/dos-and-donts-of-encountering-service.html
Confused? Here are some terms and abbreviations -- http://kelsieiris.blogspot.com/2015/04/as-abbreviations.html
I've been so wrapped up in holidays and training that I've completely forgotten to post about the last two weeks of training--whoops! I've also been really distracted by the fact that Mom is back in town--I still can't believe she's still around the house after being gone for two months. There's been quite a bit of snuggling and tummy rubbing and general loving. I've even occasionally let her have more than just the corner of our bed at night (don't tell her, but when she's asleep, I slowly take over the bed again).
My first week of PBC started off immediately the morning after Mom came home. Although she was out of spoons from the term and traveling, that didn't mean I could wiggle my way out of a day of training. It's not like I'd want to get out of training, anyway: I really do love my job, and learning new things keeps life interesting for me. Mom says it's crucial for a smart girl like me to learn new things often--she says I'm going to be a lifelong learner. Maybe one day I'll know over 100 commands! (I'm getting close)
We quickly brushed over some basics, as well as my known tasks, but of course I already knew them! Did she really think I'd forget everything in two months? So she decided to give me a challenge. I watched as she set chairs and stools around the backyard. We'd never done anything like this before, so I wasn't really sure what was going to happen. Usually, I train naked because Mom says it's important for a SD to follow commands and be on duty with or without a vest on. She wants to make sure I know to listen to her even when I'm not officially working. On that day, though, Mom decided to put me in my first vest, my blue Active Dogs vest, with one addition: a pull strap.
I should preface by saying that Mom has never taught guide work before and couldn't really find any How To in book or web form,* so it was a learning process for both of us. Then again, my career so far with her has been a constant learning process for both of us, because I haven't been a SD before and she's never trained a SD before. She's learned many of the tasks I now know along the way.
Anyway, she started by giving me the command "Forward," which I didn't yet know, and having me walk forward, except there was one problem: there were objects in the way! Every time we would encounter an object, I would stop (duh), but she would say, "Uh oh," which is my cue that I didn't do something quite right. I couldn't figure out what I wasn't doing right, though, and luckily Mom quickly caught on. So we tried something different.
She took me to a patch of the backyard with no obstacles and asked me "Forward" again, but this time, she lured me with a treat and didn't keep pace with me so that I had to pull against my vest a bit. After a few steps, she rewarded me. We did this a pawful of times, and suddenly it just clicked for me. I understood that with "Forward," I can break my "Heel" to pull, which I know I shouldn't do normally. Once I understood that, it became a lot easier for me to learn how to guide Mom around obstacles. I definitely didn't learn guide work in a day and am still working on it quite a bit, but Mom says she's really impressed by my progress.
 |
| Back to playtime! |
 |
| And also back to work... and photoshoots! |
As far as my personal life goes, I had a great first Thanksgiving with Mom, and I even got to pretend I was a person for a little bit. Mixed in with my usual dinner (of Blue Buffalo kibble with a few forkfuls of carefully selected canned food), I received sweet potato chunks, a few green beans, gravy, and chicken. I've come to the conclusion that I really like Thanksgiving!
But I also like the part of Thanksgiving where you're grateful about things in your life, because I am so grateful for so much this year, ranging from being happy that my baby Uno has a happy home in Connecticut to being adopted myself to having a seemingly endless supply of balls at my disposal (seriously, where do they all come from??? Does Mom own some kind of a ball tree???). It's been a really, really good year for a pup like me. And there's still a month left!
Until next time,
Kelsie Iris, CGC
*Just a note: Mom isn't blind or visually impaired. Guide work can actually be very useful for many SD teams outside of just Guide Dog teams. Also, just tossing it out there, the term actually is "Guide Dog," not "Seeing Eye Dog," unless that specific dog actually comes from The Seeing Eye.
Check out these posts of mine:
SD team etiquette -- http://kelsieiris.blogspot.com/2015/04/dos-and-donts-of-encountering-service.html
Confused? Here are some terms and abbreviations -- http://kelsieiris.blogspot.com/2015/04/as-abbreviations.html
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