Guide Dog Training – Day 5

This mornings session began with obstacle training.  In order to do this in a sage environment we went to the Nottingham kennels where the trainer had setup a little course of obstacles.  One of my fellow trainees went first so I groomed my dog on the back of the van.  This proved far easier than grooming Ascot on the ground.  The raised platform on the van made it far easier.  I may  have to invest in a dog grooming table for home.

When it was my turn to train on the obstacles we headed to the back of the kennels where a set of cones had been setup to simulate solid object obstacles. We did quite well at this task as I seem able to follow the handle reasonably well.  So we zoomed up and down a few times then did our usual play as a treat for Ascot and we headed back to the hotel.

Over lunch we had a talk from our DCR who basically acts as a conduit between ourselves and guide dogs over issues.  It was an interesting talk as the DCR was very chatty and interesting.  She also had a gorgeous guide dog!

The afternoon sessions saw this morning simulation put into practice in the real world.  It was a short piece of block work that had many bins littered over the pavement.  We moved around quite well but I did however see one of the bins at the last minute which caused me to dodge it avoiding a collision.  However the point should of been to take the collision in order to train Ascot in my dimensions so he knows what gaps we are capable of slipping through.

This evening spend also saw Ascot using his bark again, for a guide dog he has a substantial bark.  I quickly corrected him as I don’t want him barking at people.

As usual he is now sat down next to me as I type.  He is a relaxed fellow.  I also managed to fall asleep this afternoon and nearly missed his feed.  But thankfully Ascot woke me up only a few minutes later to remind me it was his tea time!

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