Last Updated on: 8th May 2023, 10:51 am
It’s Monday and time to kick some custom route, sidewalkless and night route butt! I slept until 6 and I’m ready to rock. I have shaken off the fog and it’s time to kick it. It’s also the first of May. There’s a song about that, but if I mentioned that song to my classmates I’d be cruisin’ for a code of conduct bruisin’, so I won’t.
The pooch started playing with his bone last night! A belly rub and a bone-chewing in one day! Woo!
Gotta run for breakfast.
What a day! So much to cover. There was a knock on our door and we each got a jacket with reflective strips that’s good for wearing at night. Cool! I forgot about that. Then I asked the person when we get the flea, tick and heartworm stuff because it’s the first of the month. I’m still programmed. Then we met up and had some lectures about dealing with John Q. Public and dealing with dogs. But before that, the class supervisor tried to encourage our dogs with a sausage patty. Mine looked but not really.
I finally got a proper press release from Uber about this new phone number you can call if you’re denied access to an Uber. I guess it’s a thing, just the guide dog stuff is further down the set of options.
No matter how many times I hear it, the stuff on dealing with dog attacks is always so heavy. Thankfully, I think the worst dog attack I can remember was with our friend Mylo from days gone by. Well in the moment, that giant beast flinging himself at the window of the car that was containing him was pretty terrifying.
Then we went out and worked in a neighbourhood with screwy curvy streets and looping sidewalks and school playgrounds full of screaming kids, and people walking dogs. My dog was a rock star. It felt so good.
On the way home, we talked about my dog’s tendency to walk poop. They told me next time, after he’s pooped, bring him close and have him sit so he shouldn’t be able to move around. Then pick up his poop and only then let him sniff about. Ok. We’ll try that.
I forgot to mention breakfast was a giant breakfast sandwich on a bagel. Last night’s supper was turkey meatballs on noodles in a mushroom sauce.
So it was afternoon time. We did 2 things: sidewalkless travel and going to a pet store. I always find sidewalkless travel hard. At first, so did the dog, especially at street corners where you have to do some weird stuff to cross streets, but once he remembered what to do, he was great.
Also of note: We did some Juno work, so the beast was tied down in the car. Apparently, he whined for me. Then we went to the pet store. He wore his gentle leader and did pretty well. Some mild distractions but that’s ok.
Then we came back here and talked through the user contract. We had a good conversation about the clause that says that dogs can’t gain more than 10 percent of their graduation weight. We said some dogs fill out and that expectation is unreasonable with some dogs. The supervisor was understanding.
Then I came back to feed, water and relieve my dog. I was just about to feed him when someone came by with the flea, tick and heartworm preventatives. So he got his pill right on time.
Dinner was a delicious shepherd’s pie.
Next, someone came and gave me a harness light. The cool things about this light are the battery is rechargeable and it makes beeps to let you know it’s still on and to indicate battery level. So cool! It’s so cute and compact.
Then It WAS NIGHT ROUTE time. Here’s a weird thing. I walk faster at night. I said it’s because at night I’m on a mission. Get my ass home! She said my night pace was what she had expected and she said I should try to walk that pace in the day time. Ok I’ll try.
Everyone was so happy with their night route, especially the newbie who was worried about it.
Tomorrow is a big day. The traffic route in the morning where they drive at us with their quiet cars, and then in the afternoon we get bus or train travel, and then vet checks! Then after dinner we get their tags! And I think we’ll get the word that we can reveal their name! Eeeee! It’s getting closer!
Glad you got to mention the weight thing. Tans is a perfect example of a dog filling out and growing into itself. She was pretty scrawny when you brought her home. She was one that liked to roughhouse, and sometimes I was afraid of doing it because she was so thin I worried I would break her. But over time she added muscle and her bones got thicker. She was never fat, she just matured. She wound up being quite a bit heavier, but of course she did. Trying to keep her at the grad weight would have starved her to death.
I’m sure your night pace will become your day pace as you get more confident as a team. If that doesn’t work on its own, having missions during the day like getting to the office at a reasonable time should sort it out.