The Great Intern Adventure

NEW

2010-05-06T14:06:00.001-06:00

I have decided to start a new blog about my life, puppy raising, and a lot about training dogs. So check it out.
PS. Sorry I never ended up posting anymore, I will be sure to do more in my new blog.
Erin

CWT Outing

2009-09-25T16:13:00.013-06:00

So on the second Wednesday, I went with the CWTs on their CWT outing. We huried to get everything done in the morning before leaving. We fed and cleaned but medications were left to the trainers for the morning. We each picked a dog to walk, I took Pacifica, a retired guide who went back to her raiser family the next day. She was delightful to walk, as she had been fully trained. Some of the others were a bit more of a handfull. We loaded the pups into this van, and we got into another GDB vehicle to drive to our hiking destination.

A tail shot of the group heading up the trail. Happy Puppies!

A better shot of the leaders of the pack. Seriously, where else can you work and get paid to do this. Can you see why I want to work here.

We stopped near a shallow pool and this bench to rest and take lots of pictures. This is most of the CWT I worked with. The greatest people on Earth! From the back left this is: Betsy (Cabo), Josh, Lynn (Breeder Kaylee), and Kristy (Seymour). The Front row is Bianca (Working Guide Macy), Melanie (Ryder), Megan, Shannon (Texas), and Ananda.

I couldn't remember a few of the dogs that were walked that day, but these are most of them. The dog are Career Changes unless otherwise specified.

And then we headed back down.

Signs! Read the Signs!

2009-08-29T19:36:00.003-06:00

Well I'm settled into college life again and I think its time for a new post. This week we will be discussing signs. As mentioned previously and shown in pictures. Signs are very important, read the signs.

First, each dog has a name tag in Print and Braille which states its name, breed, color, sex, tattoo number, and neuter date. The name tags are colored to pertain to the reason the dog is in the kennels.
Blue=Training
Green=Puppy in Training
Yellow=Guide, or Retired Guide
Pink=Breeder
Tan=Staff Dog
Purple=CC

The doors on the outside part of the kennels also has name tags, stating simply and in large writing Name, Tatoo number, Breed, Color, Sex, and whether the dog has been fixed.

Other specifics are also added to each kennel, most are minor and fairly self explainatory. Special Feed, Water Schedule, Filth Eater, Bad Roomate, No Kong, No Fleece, Staff Only Handle.

Each kennel also has a number declaring the number of cups the dog is to be fed in the evening.
All dogs (who are not on special feed) recieve 2 cups of Science Diet Adult Lamb and Rice. In the evenings the dogs recieve 1-3 cups of the same, depending on their size, weight, metabolism, etc.
Most dogs get 1 or 2 cups, only a few dogs in each kennel require 3 cups at night in addition to their 2 cups in the morning.

Signs not attached to the kennels are equally important. One board declares the scedule for the week. This includes who is in each kennel each day, any special meetings, of if any CWTs are scheduled to go out with Instuctors to help train.

The med boards are very inportant and are reffered to hundreds of times each day. The med boards state which meds need to be given to which dogs and how many times a day. Boxes are placed next to each medication. When a certain dose is given, the box is crossed so that everyone knows it has been done. At the bottom of each med board is a space for vet checks. CWTs and often Instructors will place a dogs name here to indicate that it needs to see the vet to check a health problem or to recheck a prevoius problem. Also at the bottom is a space for notes pertaining to the kennel.

Another sign states the number of bowls that need to be scooped each morning and evening. It would say something like this.
AM- 54
PM 1- 23
PM 2- 28
PM 3- 3
This means that 54 bowls will need to be prepared in the morning for the 54 dogs in the kennel(not including special feed dogs). 23 dogs will need bowls prepared with 1 cup of food, 28 bowls are needed that hold 2 cups of food, and 3 dogs will need bowls that hold 3 cups of food. This way, CWTs know how many bowls to prepare. On the cart are cards with clips declaring the special feed dog's names and feed types/amounts. These will be clipped to the bowls holding the cordinating food so it is known what food occupies the bowl and who it is going to.

Another sign says the number of bones that need to be placed outside each quad in the community runs. Each quad's community run requires 5 bones in addition to one for each dog.

Finally, labels state the contents of each drawer in the middle section.
Every sign and label is writtin in both Print and Braille so that visually impaired employees and volunteers can also read them.

Traffic Training

2009-08-07T13:48:00.003-06:00

You've probably heard of Intelligent Disobedience. No, well for those of you who haven't. Intelligent Disobedience is when a dog disobeys a command that could put the team in danger. for example, if someone who is blind listens for traffic and determines its safe to give the dog a cue to cross a street, but the dog sees a car coming, the dog will disobey the command to cross the street. How do you train this...

I went out one day with the Instructors to follow them as they did traffic training. They explained it to me as follows. About a week before traffic training the Instructors do Preliminary Traffic Training. This involves introducing the idea of watching for traffic. They do almost the same as Traffic Training but at a slower pace. The car is slower in its approach to the dog and stays at more of a distance as the Instructor models the correct behavior with harness or leash cues. Preliminary Traffic allows the dogs to learn faster and with less stress when they get to Traffic Training. During Traffic Training the car does most of the teaching. The Instructors are there to work the dog on the Traffic Training route. For the first three dogs I followed the Instructors.

It went something like this. The Instructors walked to the first street crossing. Here you could see the Navy Blue Van lurking in the distance. Magnetic strips attached to the car read Traffic Training Vehicle to inform the general public of its purpose. The Instructors told their dogs to cross the street as the van slowly approached and turned the corner. What follow can be somewhat shocking to the first time viewer, although it is a controlled situation which is harmless to the dog. As the dog attempted to continue across, the van slowly proceeds to come near and even back up the dog with its bumper. The dog’s initial reaction is one of surprise. ‘A van just “attacked me”, how strange, well, maybe it didn’t see me.” The dog backs up and is praised by the Instructor. The van then backs up and the Instructor allows the dog to go forward. The consequence to this action - being bumped again. Some of the bolder dogs attempt to quickly pass in front of the van. Some of these dogs will need to be nudged a third time by the van before continuing on. Each time, the dog needs fewer cues from both car and handler to behave correctly. When the car finishes here it moves on to lurk at the next stop.

Here the Van attempts to pull into a drive way in front of the dog. The Instructor commands “Forward”, the car will continue to back up the dog, until the dog refuses to go forward and is praised. One dog liked the praise so much that it looked at the Instructor and forgot to look at the car. How silly. This introduces the idea of intelligent disobedience to the dog. Again some dogs take longer to realize they shouldn't go forward. Once the dog stops, the van backs out and moves on to the next location to hide in waiting.

As the dog walks along the sidewalk the view of the van is obstructed by a fence. The van then pulls out suddenly in front of the dog. Here, the dog begins to understand its duty. The dog stops and the van quietly moves on, no longer needing to bump the dog. At this point the Instructors sound like the dogs just won the Olympics, praise, praise, praise. The van then pulls up to the next street.

Here the van waits for the dog to pass in front of it, then attempts to pull through quickly after the dog, the driver banging on the door of the van with his hand to scare the dog away from it. The dog is thus encouraged to speed up to pull its handler from harm. Again, the Instructors meet the dog with enthusiastic praise to beat the band.

The van continues to the next stop and the next stop on this prearranged route, exposing the dog to traffic situations by coming at it from all angles. In about ten stops, the dog has it. The thirty minute route is all it takes to make the dog understand to watch out for traffic. Around a week later the dog will complete Final Traffic Testing before passing on to the next phase.

Following about ten dogs I began to see patterns, the preferences of the Guide and the Instructor comes out in their work. One dog may veer for the high curb where the other tends to go for the dip in the sidewalk. Some dogs, especially those with tall instructors, are more careful about overhanging tree branches. Some dogs will indicate sharp elevation changes in the sidewalk, others will not. Some are bolder and will try to take the van head on, others will hang back. Some are faster, others more leisurely. These personalities and traits will soon be matched to partners they will be with for the rest of their lives.

Oops Forgot

2009-08-02T14:13:00.003-06:00

I forgot to tell you all about footwork and commands.
Any command will start from halt position next to the dog's shoulder.
To go forward is simple. "Juno, forward."
Left- There is now footwork required. To turn left the handler steps back with their left foot and turns to face the dog. Then "Juno, Left." Signaling with right hand.
Right- To turn right you also step back with the left foot, this time still facing forward, signal with the right hand and command "Juno, Right."
Moving turns- These are turns used when the handler wants to turn off the straight path onto anothe path but doesn't know the exact point to turn. For example , two perpindicular intersecting paths where the path you are on continues. The dog will continue straight unless commanded to do otherwise. So they use a moving turn. The handler commands "Right, right, right." or "Left, left, left." as they approach the intersecting path. The dog is then forwarned of this request to turn and will do so without stopping. Moving turns are not frequently used. Most of the time the dog will stop at a curb for a street and then the handler will direct the dog right or left.
Careful/Reworking obstacles- when a dog makes a mistake such as running a curb or bumping the handler into an obstacle, the handler will rework it. The handler stops, brings the dog back into a heel position. They sit the dog, pat the object and say "Careful, careful." then the handler backs up a few steps and takes up the handle and reworks the object. When out with the instructors, although many dogs needed to rework obstacles, I only saw one dog that needed to rework the obstacle twice. Sometimes, when the mistake was not major this routine is shortened. Stop, pat the object, "Careful, careful", and move on.

Also, if you need help picturing campus there is a map on the Guide Dog website in the funday programs at this link. I will attempt to post this map later if I can format it right. Click on Fun Day Program - California. http://www.guidedogs.com/site/PageServer?pagename=news_events_funday . On the map K2 is the black rectangle to the right of the number 10, BK is above the one labeled A. Lillibelle and I started our walk next to number 12, walked towards the front, looped around and ended in fromt of K2 near number 10.

I went where? How?

2009-07-31T13:13:00.006-06:00

Well I still don't really know where I went, except that I somehow looped around campus, as for the how, that one is easy. I went by blindfold. Yep blindfolded guidework. The lucky pup...Lillibelle (phase 9). The farely incompetent handler/ blind person... that would be me.

I was approached by an instructor holding a harness and blindfold while finishing meds in the middle section. "Want to go do some Guidework?" Want to...Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Ready...No. First we start by fetching my dog. A little background. I'm approximately 5' 10'' and I walk fast. The dog...one of the shortest in the kennels, moderate walker. Did I mind...only in retrospect. I fetched the collar from the hook next to the kennel and attached it to my leash. Opening the kennel I slipped the collar over her head and fetched her from the kennel. This done while attempting to fend of one of the bigger and more exuberant dogs in K2, Simone's brother Squire. We walked outside into the covered kennel hallway and I put on the harness. OK, step one done. She asked me if I had done any Juno work or been to fun day. Nope, completely unprepared. But I was watching the trainers like mad that morning. How did they hold the harness and leash, how did they signal the dogs, so I suppose I wasn't completely incompetent. Then we walked out to the start of our journey. This was where we started, the sidewalk here across from the entry gate to the kennels. I put on my blindfold and she instructed me as we went.

First, take hold of the harness handle. I knew from watching the trainers that you grip it loosely, letting it rest in the curve made by your fingers instead of holding it in a tight death grip. Next, place the leash across the handle and in between your index and middle fingers. Then, basic instructions. The position I was to maintain was directly to the right of Lillibelle's hip. Whenever she stopped, I was to step up into Halt position next to her right shoulder, while still holding the harness. This means that my arm would be stretched out behind me. This position is so I can search for obstacles in my path with my left foot or right hand. For example, a curb or a construction sign. Then we started. I instructed to stand tall and say in a commanding voice "Lillibelle, Forward." And off we went. I don't know where we went but we started going in this direction, directly opposite of the kennel entrance, toward the main entrance and we ended up back in the kennel hallway in front of K2. With a steady stream of commands of "Right, Left, Forward and Hopp up" we found our way around campus.

I must say I fell over my feet a few times. The problems however were mostly mine.
1) I didn't stay as close to Lillibelle's hip as I should have. I tended to drift to the right.

2) As per my habit with puppies in training, I commanded and stepped out at the same time. I am used to stepping out with or before the dog. With a guide dog, the handler needs to step out after the dog. I was reminded several times by the Instructor that I would have just walked into a open manhole. I need to wait until the dog starts so that it can signal me.

3) As Lillibelle's pace tended slower than mine, I would ride up on her back end. Again, I am used to the dog going my pace instead of me going the pace of the dog.

4) I couldn't walk a straight line

5) Lillibelle was used to following the commands of her trainer, try as I might, I was not her trainer. I was warned of this. Her biggest distraction will be the Instructor. I was struck by the true importance of the bond between Guide Dog and handler. The Guide Dog must want to work for the handler and must trust their commands. The handler needs to trust the dog and needs to be worthy of respect from the dog.

As for memorable parts...it pretty much went by in a blur. At curbs I would praise her and give her kibble for stopping. At one point she stopped for a construction sign set up for the dogs and students working on campus. (like the one in this picture) Pat the sign..."Careful, Careful." At one point she picked up her pace and it felt so natural, like we were flying down the sidewalk. And at another spot she continued to work perfectly as another dog in training on campus barked and lunged at her while she was leading us down the sidewalk. Good Dog Lillibelle. And then, before I knew it "Lillibelle, Inside." We were back in the back in the kennel hallway and I could hear the other dogs barking, ready to work, and we had finished our route. Good Dog, Lillibelle.

In all, it was a wonderful and educational if exhausting and disorienting trip. And the best part would be praising Lillibelle at the end. We were both estatic. After, I had to stop at her kennel every time I passed to tell her how good she did at guiding me.

Next time...have you ever seen a van attempt to run over a guide dog in training several times at five miles an hour. No...well thats traffic training for ya.

And on an unrelated note, Royale (my cc) and I will be attempting a whirlwind tour of dog sports. We did Rall-O class, next up Agility, Obedience, and Flyball.

A View of Kennel Two

2009-07-25T17:16:00.006-06:00

Well, lets start with a view of the kennels, and a few pictures. So in each kennel for example kennel 2 (K2), which I was in, has four quads or four sets of 9-10 runs each. K2 can hold up to 76 dogs, two in each run. When I was there we averaged around 50 dogs. The quads are labeled Front East, Front West, Back East and Back West. Between the front and back quads is a middle section, shown here. In this mid section is everything we need to take care of the dogs. Through the blue doors can be seen the front west quad. At the far side of the picture and behind me are doors that go out to community run. As can be seen in the left of the picture is one of the two med boards. This contains a list of all medications that need to be given to the dogs in k2. Not to worry, most of these are common ear or foot meds. Also at the far side can be seen the sink, where we wet the food and clean all of the bowls and other toys. Attached to the walls along the middle section are several tie downs and two crates, where dogs can be brought for meds, weekly body checks, cuddling, or office time (to de-stress). Behind me is a desk and cabinets that hold meds, grooming supplies, and a small fridge for making ice cubes and food filled kongs. Through the doors can also be seen where we store the food cart.

This is a picture of the back two quads. To the front right is another storage area (like the one in front where the food cart is kept). We keep our large squeegees here. These are used to remove water from the inside part of the runs and from the walkway after they are cleaned in the mornings. Yellow drains can be seen to the front of each kennel. The long red hose seen here is used to clean the inside. Four other hoses like it are located outside each quad in order to clean the runs several times a day after we scoop poop. There are 10 runs on the left and 9 on the right. As you can see, a few of the runs have open doors. These dogs are out with trainers. The door in the back leads to nowhere and we don't really use it.

In this picture you can see one of the runs. The guillotine door (previously discussed) can be seen at the back. This leads to the outside of the kennel runs and then to the community run. There is a door, much like the open one seen here, on the outside which allows us to let the dogs out directly into community run. The cable attached to the guillotine door is attached to a ring which can be pulled to let the dogs out and attached to a hook (middle left) to lock it open. Each water bowl (lower left) has its own faucet and can be filled by turning a valve located in the middle section. This allows us to water all of the dogs at once. At right is a hanging toy and although the baby puppies seem to enjoy them, most of the big dogs don't really care. Each dog has a name tag on the door of its run and labels indicate other important information such as the amount of food each dog eats. But more on that later.

The Rest of It

2009-07-20T13:18:00.004-06:00

Monday
It was over 80 degrees in San Rafael today so all the dogs were "locked in" to keep them cool. Each run has a guillotine door in the middle that can be locked opened or locked shut (pictures to come later). When it is over 80 we lock all the dogs in and shut the guillotine door and then let them out to relieve every few hours. Also, all of the recall dogs came in over the weekend so we had lots of extra work to do. Each dog has a name tag inside and out to identify it. Each dog also had their xrays on Monday. Coming out of sedation they all enjoyed making a lovely musical group. They weren't very good, but they tried. Also, I was charged with the task of avoiding Kennel 1, which is where Simone now resides.

Tuesday
More of the same. This morning I got to walk some of the recall dogs around campus for enrichment. This included our clubs own Draeger and Simone's sister, Solvang. Draeger was lovely, congratulations Nicole Groves.

Wednesday
This morning was the date of the CWT outing, so of course I woke to find the battery in my camera had died. I made a quick trip to the grocery store and managed to save the day. We each took a CC dog, breeder, or retired guide to walk on our hike. I took retired guide Pacifica. We went to Mill Valley and afterwards stopped for Gillatos. I had Turkish pistachio and key lime graham cracker. Yum. Bleached the kennels as well. Each Wednesday is bleach day, so I cleaned out the BK Kennels (Boarding) with 1/10 concentration bleach/water. Exciting!

Thursday
This morning I went out for Traffic Training with Instructors Gin, Jeff, and Kelly. First I shadowed the trainers for three dogs. Then I rode in the traffic training van for three dogs before walking with another two. Each instructor had four dogs, eight total, and Kelly drove the van. Don't worry, more details will come later, I will do an entire post about this one. Also equally exciting events happened later that day. I got to work guide dog Lillibelle under Blindfold. (Also deserving of its own post...to come later.) Pacifica, the dog I took for a hike on Wednesday went home with her puppy raisers.

Friday
Friday was my last day at GDB. I was very sad to go. I cleaned out a few more kennels, participated in one last Community Run, and fed dozens of dogs, including a dewormer for every new recall dog. I said many goodbyes to the CWTs and told them all I would see them in three years when I came back to work there. Not to mention any fun day or graduation I happen to attend. Then I turned in my leash and bait bag and headed out, turning one last time to declare a general "Be Good. Be a Guide Dog. Graduate." to all of the dogs, including the sleeping six week old puppies.

Saturday
A long trip back home (literally 8am to 6pm) started with me missing my bus and calling a cab. The cab got my to Larkspur to catch the Marin Airporter, a large Greyhound sized bus which took me to the airport. The cab ended up costing me 10 times what the bus would have cost. The trip to the airport was quick and the pass over the Golden Gate Bridge through the fog was very beautiful. I wish I had a camera handy. At the San Fran Airport I had Clam Chowder and a Sourdough Roll from the San Fransisco Soup Company. Double Yum. Then after a short layover in Salt Lake City I was back home in Aurora, CO. And now for sleep...

As I now have reliable internet connection I will be posting more frequently and in detail on a variety of topics GDB internship related. So including Traffic Training, Blindfold Guidework, Signs, Pictures, A To Do List for Puppy Raisers, and many others.
See yall later.

Update

2009-07-11T14:44:00.003-06:00

Well I finally found Internet access and I'll have you know it took me two hours of walking around to find out that there was a McDonald's with wifi a block away from the house. Well here is the update, more detail will be added later when I have more time.

Tuesday
I did more of the same as Monday. We also washed dogs that are going into class on Wednesday with the retrain students.

Wednesday
Wednesday was exciting. The puppy truck left in the morning, and I got to hold Elka, walk her a little bit and put her on the truck. PS. to Lee, I hope you are having a good trip. I also took pictures, to come later, of Betsy and Bianca the Canine Welfare Techs (CWTs) holding Betsy and Bianca, the puppies! Later in the evening, I got to watch Final Guidework Testing in San Rafael. The trainers were under blindfold and we did the Bank of America route. So named because of the detour through the Bank of America. We tested Lahina and Carl (trained by apprentice Nadine) and Franz (trained by Instructor Darren). Also following on the routes was an Instructor from a Guide Dog school in France. All of the dogs passed, but they all need a bit more work. Again, more details will be added later.

Thursday
Thursday we washed the dogs going into class on that day. They were matched with "newbie" students (those who have never had a Guide Dog before). One dog was the puppy of breeder Sage, who's breeder keeper and co-raiser happens to be Barbara Browning! I also got to watch Final Obedience Testing, also done under blindfold. All of the dogs passed, Good Job Puppy Raisers!

Friday
Yesterday we did tons of body checks. Every dog in every kennel is given a body check every week. Those lay over exercises we all do really come into play here. We also prepared for dogs coming in from the recall. This included making name tags and putting tags onto 35 Martingales. GDB is switching from the large link training collars (or Fursavers) to Martingales, which will be issued to all training dogs and students from this point forward. We did this tagging in the dorm's tack room. Oh my, I wish I could have a room like that. One full side had harnesses and handles of different sizes and lengths. In the middle of the room were trash cans full of toys, one for rings one for kongs, etc. On another wall hung training collars in about twenty different sizes. Another wall held leashes. The last wall had shelves filled with tubs with all sorts of things. A box full of clickers (about 200), booties, brushes, martingales, dog tags, and blindfolds (for the trainers, apprentices and not totally blind students to use). I really really wish I had one of those rooms.
Well that's about all for now. More will come later, obviously. I am supposed to go out next week to help Jeff's team train traffic! Soon...

First Day

2009-07-06T17:45:00.002-06:00

Today Barbara and I walked the few blocks to campus and I checked into the volunteer center. After being taken down to check in at the Training Department, I watched a video and read about proper chemical use as GDB uses bleach in their kennels. After that I was issued a bait bag and leash that I will use for the next two weeks and assigned to Kennel 2 and Boarding Kennel, although I will probably work in Kennel 1 as well. We fed the dogs and did a few body checks/ear-teeth cleanings and then we went out for community run. While the puppies played, I got to work scooping poop and hosing out the kennel runs. Then we took a short break and soon after started giving baths to all of the dogs that will be going into class this week. After lunch we started working on more body checks and enrichment walks for the dogs in the boarding kennel. Soon after we got back to the kennel, I was notified that my new puppy, "E"Female Golden (I've been sworn to secrecy regarding her name) is getting her ears tatooed so I went to the Vet clinc and got to hold her and play with her as she recovered from the anesthetic they use when doing their ears. She is adorable and very white. She is also very silly and wiggles for a little bit before going limp for a minute. We then took her back to the kennel to play and sleep some more. There was just a few minutes left before 4:30 when I got off so I finished off the day in Kennel 1 doing more body checks and grooming for the class-ready dogs and cleaning the kennel runs in boarding. Well, now I will go home...and sleep.

Airporting Adventures

2009-07-05T05:36:00.003-06:00

Hello readers, its bright and early. Well I'm in the airport now and as I have to wait about 50 minutes until my flight loads, I have time, the sun just rose on the great state of Colorado. So todays adventures are as follows...I woke up extremely early. Poked my CC Royale, she didn't believe I was waking up so early until I put on my shoes. I drove to the airport and said goodbye to three dogs, especially Simone, who will be leaving on the truck Friday. By the way we are getting a golden...starts with E...I'm thinking Echo, Eve, maybe Escapade...that sounds like Guide Dogs. I checked through the airport (while continuing my sneezing fit that start this moring) and now I am waiting to board. The flight is on time and I should be arriving in California at 8:00, their time. Wish me luck.

It Starts

2009-07-04T12:16:00.001-06:00

So...after a long wait.. I leave bright and early Sunday for San Francisco, and finally Guide Dogs for the Blind. Woohoo. I will be interning in the training department, so I'll probably be mostly pooper scoopering...don't you love that fresh smell in the morning. Although I have not packed yet, I have finished my shopping. Today is for laundry...and possibly sleep... as tomorrow I'll be waking up before the birds in order to get to DIA at 5. Yawn. I would like to advance thank Barbara who I will be staying with in CA, Alicia who will be assisting with transport from the San Fransisco Airport, and a late thank you again to Janis and Carmen who wrote references for me. Yada yada and now to laundry.