Todays training involved 2 harnessed walks.  Each walk introduced a new technique to working the dog on a harness.

The first walk involved corrections while on the harness and learning to swap the lead into your opposite hand while on the move (again this is for corrections).  This went incredibly well but Ascot was being too good and I didn’t get the chance to offer an on harness correction while on the move.  It was also another great opportunity to practice our position relative to the dog while walking.  Making sure to keep tension in the handle and keeping enough space between yourself and the dog.

Lunchtime saw a quick talk from the fundraising representative of guide dogs.  She asked us to tell her about ourselves and discuss volunteering opportunities.  I offered to go into school and give talks to kids.  That just sounded like the most fun opportunity.  Then it slowly came out about the ultra running and so on, this made the fundraiser incredibly interested and I am sure we will be working on something at some point.  I will definitely get involved in raising awareness of guide dogs in the media interviews I do, simply because I will now have a dog with me! read more

This morning was an incredibly early start 5:30am! This was to allow the instructor the chance to visit everyone and assist with feeding the dogs.  This went incredibly well for me and I was cleared to begin feeding Ascot on my own.

Feeding the dog like anything with a guide dog has a set process.  The majority of the process in the hotel is simply a mobility one. Positioning yourself and the dog in the right place to enable feeding. Once you have the dog in the right position you blow a whistle 3 times and the dog is allowed to eat.

After the morning feed it was time to learn about grooming.  Again this is a long process and also takes in a mini health check on the dog.  Checking all its muscles and coat to make sure its in top condition.  Initially brushing its fur in the opposite direction with your fingers then repeating with a brush.  Then using a comb brush the fur the right way, then repeat again with a brush.  Finally finish off with a shammy cloth in order to pick up and loose hair. read more

Day 2 is dog arrival day. So pretty much the day you are looking
forward to the most. The dog you had been matched with a few weeks
previous is finally handed over and the training feels like it is
underway.

Before the dog arrived we sat through a pre dog talk that consisted of
a rundown of what to do on our first interaction with the dog. No
corrections just enjoy being with the dog and play. Oh and also dog
proof your hotel room. This meant a quick run round and pick up
everything I had put on the floor. When I stay in a hotel I like to
put things on the floor as its usual a big space and it makes it easy
for me to find things. So i quickly went back to my room and picked
everything up.

I sat waiting in my room for the dog to arrive, as I heard the
unmistakable jingle jangle at the door of a dog chain I knew he was
about to come bounding through the door. As soon as he entered he
stormed around the room smelling everything, as the instructor left
the room he took this as an opportunity to take me out! he bounded on
me attempted to pin me down and chew my arm off. This continued for a
minute or so until the taste of me obviously began to be less
appealing. read more

Today is my first day of guide dog training.  Still ill from the weekend I was a little worried about how much I would have to do today.  Thankfully it was just orientation.  So what does that involve.  In a nutshell learning to move around a hotel without your cane!

That perhaps sounds a little difficult but the layout of a hotel makes it relatively simple.  With straight corridors that are lined with doors it makes it very simple to learn to navigate by touch alone.  By placing a finger on the wall you can navigate around by counting how many doors it is to each destination you need to get too.  This only takes a few minutes and before you know if you can freely move around.

Once all three members of the group had mastered this we had our first little talk and we were presented with our equipment.  All sat in a room we were handed a bag with a bunch of items in it.  We then tipped it out on the floor and the instructor would tell us which piece of equipment we had to feel for. read more

As people who follow me on Twitter or Facebook will know I dropped out of the Marathon Sandwich.  In reality I should never have even began the race.

The day before I was feeling a little ill, I had muscle aches all up my legs and had a mild sore throat.  I ignored this and put it down to a poor taper and standard DOMS, with a little sore through.  So I packed up my equipment and headed to Sheffield.  Meeting up with my friend Tim I was already beginning to feel a little rough and took a little lay down on his floor.  I made a call to meet up with another friend and go out for something to eat.

On the way to the restaurant in the car I was beginning to feel a a temperature coming on, my wife said I wasn’t warm at all and to suck it up.  We arrived at the restaurant and I ordered my usual of the biggest burger on the menu.  I pretty much order this no matter where I go.  Easy to eat when you can’t see! read more