People keep distracting Shaman

I had to go to the pet shop to day. I dreaded getting on the bus. When the bus pulled up to the stop,it had a short lift so the dog and I can't fit on it at the same time. I undid the leash to full length and Shaman went up the steps. Since I had him on a long leash,I had very little control other than him being attached to my hand. The hands reached out and petted him and I could do nothing to stop it. I went up on the lift and tried to get into the wheelchair bay,but Shaman was busy making the rounds to every one to get petted. He would not back up so I had to ride backwards, because the driver said she did not have time to wait on the dog.Shaman has been petted so much that he now goes up to people to get petted.I tried to correct him first with my voice and when he ignored me ,I gave a leash correction. I was yelled at and told I was being cruel to my dog. Why can't people mind their own business and leave my dog alone. His training is being compromised by these people. Some of these people are petting Shaman just to annoy me,as they are the same people I have asked repeatedly to please not pet my dog. I am at my wits end. I dread going out now because I know what will happen.I can't have a dog that is constantly distracted. It could be very dangerous. To be continued...................

Shaman was on TV !

I was watching the public TV channel 6 the other night, and after their news broadcast, they showed some of the highlights of the Fireman's Chili Cook Off. I thought maybe they would catch Shaman so I got close to the TV and sure enough they did show Shaman laying next to my chair when we were listening to the band. It wasn't 15 minutes of fame, more like 15 seconds. LOL. Several friends called to tell me they had seen Shaman on TV. To be continued.....................

Shaman was distracted and I ran over his foot

After my doctor's appointment, I ran some errands and then went to the grocery store. Several people petted Shaman and he got distracted. I gave him the command, Left but he did not turn left,instead crossing in front of my chair to go to some one petting him.I ran over his foot and he yelped! I told the man who had distracted him that it was his fault that this happened. He told me that I should watch where I was going. People just don't get it. The dog is my eyes, because I can't see where I am going. When you pet the "cute doggie" and "doggie" gets distracted,he is not watching out for me. I hate it when I run over my dogs foot and I am quite sure the dog is not pleased either.The man said to me,"are you going to punish the dog"? I told him that I was sure that the dog already knew that he was wrong and that his sore paw would remind him of that. Why can't people just leave guide and service dogs alone to do the job they were trained to do? Why must they always interfere? This man acted like I ran over Shaman's foot on purpose just to teach him a lesson. I would really like to run over this man's foot and teach him a lesson. I am so sick of people interfering with my dog. I have tried to be polite and educate them but they don't care.They just want to pet the "cute doggie".Then there are those people standing around and whispering about what just happened.Looking at me with disgust, and making snide comments. I feel like yelling at them to just leave me and my dog alone,but I hold my breath and bite my tongue and just roll away with Shaman limping.I did not get all the things I needed to get as I was disgusted and poor Shaman was limping. I just wanted to get out of the store and get home. I checked Shaman's paw and it did not seem to be broken, but he still limps slightly several days later. I will wait until it is better before I use him again. I am hoping that he will learn that he can't get so distracted by people. I know he is still young and he is so friendly that he does not realize he must ignore these people. I feel bad that I hurt my dog. I guess I will go back to using a sign again,although that did not work before. To be continued..........................

Shaman was so good today !

Today,I had to go to the reptile store to get some crickets and supper worms for my Dragon. This was the first time that Shaman has gone with me to this store. I was not sure how he would react to the very large Tegu lizard that has free run of the store, or for that matter, all the rest of the reptiles in the place. But he surprised me and was very calm and behave very well. Even when I was petting the resident Frilled Dragon. Left the store and headed back to the bus stop. When we got down town ,it was 5:30 pm and I stopped at the Fireman's Chili Cook off for dinner. As usual, there was a large crowd. Shaman was very good making his way through all those people. I found it rather frustrating as most people were not paying attention to a person in a wheelchair with a guide dog trying to get through the crowd. Shaman was very patient and got me around very well. We listened to the very loud band and I enjoyed the chili and the music.Shaman did not react to the loud music. He just lay next to my chair and relaxed. Finally we headed for home. I am still getting used to Shaman and he is getting used to working with me. He was pretty perfect today ! To be continued.........