Scarey man and dog !

A few nights before Christmas I was awakened at 2:30am by the outside dogs barking and howling and carrying on. I opened the front door to find out why they were barking and was shocked to find a man and a Bull dog type dog at my front gate. I asked what he wanted and he did not answer.His dog was making my dogs go nuts. At that hour,I am sure that my neighbors were cursing me for all that noise. I kept asking the man what he wanted but he refused to answer me. I was about to call the police when he said "Merry Christmas" and just walked away.I did not call the police as it was now almost 3:00am and I just went back to bed as the dogs quieted down. Well, today I was on the computer reading the Nagdu list (my guide dog list) and the dogs began carrying on again. I went to the door and the same man and bull dog were at my front gate again.He had no right to come on to my property and I asked him to Please leave and he refused. I threatened to call the police if he did not leave. I called them and he then left. I explained to the officer what took place and he agreed that the man had no business coming on to my property.The officer left to go look for the man and his dog. I hope this does not happen again. It is very scarey,especially because I can not see very well. Shaman was outside at that time and the bull dog was fighting through the fence and the man refused to tell me what he wanted and refused to leave when I asked him to.Very scarey indeed ! to be continued...............

Shaman worked without distractions today

I went shopping today and Shaman worked without getting distracted.He was excellent.I love it when he is like this. Of course Carla was not with me so he wasn't looking for her all the time.Carla was thinking she had ruined my dog but it is not Carla's fault that Shaman likes her.She just took care of him for me when I was in the hospital. He will get over being distracted by her if I just keep reminding him that he is working for me.He is just a very friendly dog for a shepherd.I know he is capable of working perfectly with out being distracted. to be continued...........

More distractions at the grocery store

Shaman was very distracted when I went to the grocery store yesterday. He is very fixated on my friend Carla. She took care of him when I was in the hospital this summer. He did not used to be so distractable but ever since the hospital situation, he goes nuts when he sees Carla. He was whining and not listening to me so I gave him a verbal correction but he was still distracted.I then gave him a leash correction. This woman came up to me and told me I was being cruel to my dog.At first I just ignored her but she kept interfering. She said the dog was not right for the job he was doing and that maybe he had to go to the bathroom. I made sure he was relieved be for we went in. The dog has been a guide dog for over 2 years and has worked well. He just has to remember that it is me he is guiding and not Carla. He never acted like that until she took care of him for me.I hate when People interfere when they know nothing about how guide dogs are trained. Her interfering made the dog even more distracted. I finally told her to leave me alone and that unless she was a certified guide dog trainer, she was interfering with the dog doing his job.This Man stopped and was watching the whole situation and told the woman to leave me and the dog alone and that I knew what I was doing. I thanked him and he said he used to train police dogs. After the woman went on her way,Shaman settled down and was much better while we were shopping. I wish people would just mind there own business. The dog knows his job and enjoys working. He just got to know Carla when I was in the hospital and he really likes her. He just needed to be reminded that he was working and the leash correction did that.He was fine the rest of the time out. to be continued................