The state NFB Conventiom

I met Rachel at the convention hotel and we attended the meeting for getting a guide dog division in AZ. Both dogs behaved well and after the meeting,we decided to get something to eat as neither of us had time for breakfast.After getting directions from the hotel staff, we started out for the restaurant.Going down the side walk wasn't bad but it was a little "hairy" crossing 2, two lane streets and navigating the parking lot to get to the restaurant.We had our brunch and started back to the convention. On our way back. Lady tried to take Rachel on an adventure by turning down a walk way off of the side walk. Rachel got that straightened out and we made it back to the hotel.We checked out some of the new technology and I picked up lots of info.I went to the convention on Saturday but Rachel did not go.I am very proud of both dogs as they were great. Dogs were getting in their faces and sniffing them and both Lady and Nici behaved perfectly.On Saturday, Nici was so patient with the cane users and waited for them to pass us and she would go around the ones that were not in droves.At one point a man was approaching us rather fast and Nici jumped over his cane and continued on as if all this action was every day goings on.When we were in the general meeting,I parked my wheelchair on the end of a row of chairs in the back by the door. When a cane user came in the doorway, Nici would get up and let the person pass her and then she would lie down again.She did this on her own as I had never taught her to do this.Nici was so good,it was like having Nala on the end of my leash . I am so very proud of my dog and also proud of Lady. They were so good and this was both dogs' first convention.     To be continued..............

Night Walk

Last Sunday,Rachel and her husband Jeremy came to my house for a spaghetti dinner. After dinner Rachel and I took the dogs out for a night walk.This is the first night walk since my heat stroke in June. Since I am coming off of Prednisone and can  not walk too far now, I used my power chair. I needed to work Nici with this chair so she will be used to it when I take her to the NFB convention in September. We are trying to get a guide dog division of the NFB in Arizona.Any way, Rachel and Lady went first and Nici and I went behind them. We went around the whole neighborhood. The dogs did great.We passed a barking Pit bull and 2 cats without incident. Both dogs stopped when a car on the side of the road revved the engine making a lot of noise.They waited to see if the car was going to pull out,but it didn't so we continued on. Lady stopped when a truck pulled out of a driveway as did Nici also.We continued on and got back to the house about 7:45pm. Then we waited for the Sun Van to take Rachel and Jeremy back to their home.We need to do more work on over hangs with Lady. Working Nici from a wheelchair, I don't run into that problem to often, but Nici seems to have grasped that concept  very well.To day Carla and I took Tess, one of the rescue dogs to the vet, and Nici stopped in front of a low hanging tree branch to let me know it was there.I praised her and she took me around it. When we left the vet's office,she stopped again and took me around the same low hanging branch.Both dogs are working very well. I am very proud of Rachel as she has done a good job of working Lady when I was laid up this summer.Lady has become the perfect guide dog for Rachel.Nici is also the perfect guide for me...to be continued................... 

Training has been put on hold for a while

The training of Nici and Lady are on hold for a while due to my recovery from a Heat Stroke.I spent  some time in the hospital and my recovery has been slow.I can not be out side in the heat of the day until the weather cools down.This means  that I can't take a bus to go any where during the day. I hope by August, I will be able to start doing some night walks.Even when I get a ride from Carla in her air conditioned car to go grocery shopping during the day, I find it very hard to keep cool. Even when I am in side of the air conditioned store, I have trouble trying to cool down.This is further complicated by some of the medications I take.Of course , on the hottest day, my cooler broke down and it was almost 100 degrees in my house! Summer is the "PITS" for me right now. I can't wait for Winter to come around again.I have taken Shaman out several times after dark and gone grocery shopping.I guess this is just how things will be for now.

Pictures of Nici and Lady in training

Mardi,Rachel and Jeremy working dogs on the side walk

Rachel and Jeremy walking on side walk

Rachel and Mardi working Lady and Nici comming back from the Park

Mardi and Nici waiting by Drive way

These pictures were taken when Rachel and I were working the dogs in the late afternoon. I will try to get some working the mall and our night walks. The dogs are working very well but being young dogs, they do get distracted some times. We just have to keep working through these distractions. Nici used to have a problem going passed a noisy truck parked by the side walk. I kept taking her to the truck and made her sit there to get used to the noise and to let her know that it was not going to hurt her. She did get used to the noise and now walks by the truck with out balking. It just takes time and patience.

Harnesses

I have made some new harnesses for Nici and Lady. They are working out quite well and I am very pleased that I was able to make them rather than buy harnesses as I have not had good luck with some of the purchases in the past.Lady's harness is made with black leather and has a special balance handle as well as the guide handle on it. Rachel has balance issues so this works well for her and she wanted her harness to be black.It was hard taking pictures of this harness as black on black does not show up well.

Nici's harness is the Swedish style with the guide handle in the traditional place on the chest strap instead of on the back strap.The guide handle is a slightly off set  handle. I prefer this style of harness and the white leather shows up well at night.I have always wanted a white harness and I am very pleased with this one.It took time and a lot of work to make these harnesses but I enjoyed making them and the cost is much less this way. I am in the process of making a new harness for Shaman.

Update on training

Nici in harness

                                                          Lady

                         Rachel and Lady and me and Shaman   and below is Nici

Christmas and New Years has come and gone. Both were  quiet but good. I am now training 2 dogs. I am training a black lab for my friend Rachel who is totally blind.Two rescues turned her down with various excuses but they were clearly being discriminatory.We finally answered an ad on Craig's List and found the perfect dog.Her name is Lady. Both Rachel and I have been working with her on obedience and healing. She has now been spayed and is recovering. Rachel will be taking her home on weekends and working with her. This way she will bond with Rachel and will be able to make the final transition more easily to Rachel's home when she is fully trained as a guide dog.I also think it is good for Rachel to work with her own dog as this will help with self confidence. I have started Nici in harness and she is doing very well. She is stopping at curbs and learning fast what is expected of her.Nici has been spayed also so I don't have to worry about that now. She is a wonderful dog and I love her very much. We have a very wonderful bond.Shaman is a lucky boy as he now has 2 new " loves".  Nici and Lady! To be continued.................. 

Nici came into heat.........

I was hoping to get Nici spayed before she came into heat,but as luck would have it,that is not going to happen. She is in heat now.I have to keep Max, my neutered Border Collie away from her as he will breed her . He doesn't realize that he does not have his "equipment"any more. My friend Carla got the certificate for the spay and her appointment is on Dec. 6th. Nici's training is coming along well and she is learning fast. I am going to work her along side my wheelchair to get her used to the wheels and try to prevent her paws from being run over. I really want to work her out in public but I need to wait until she recovers from the spay first.I will also work Nici with Shaman so she can learn from him. To be continued...............

I attended the Walk for Victims of Pit Bulls and Other Dangerous Dogs

I attended the Walk for Victims of Pit Bulls and Other Dangerous Dogs Yesterday.I took the bus to get there and it was a very long ride.Because I had never been in this area before, I had some trouble finding the entrance to Lincoln Park.As luck would have it,2 gentlemen driving,also on their way to the same event,stopped to help me.They told me where to cross the street and I asked Shaman to find the curb cut and he did so I was able to cross to the other side of the street. One of the men actually got out of the car and walked with me to the entrance and into the park.They asked if Shaman was the dog that had been attacked by a Pit Bull.I told them yes he was indeed the very same dog.They must have read my blog post about the attack.I thanked them for helping me to find the place. I was greeted by a nice lady who helped me find where all the people were. She was very helpful in looking at her bus schedule, to find the right bus stop for me and the time the bus would be there at the time I needed to leave. I met a lot of very nice people and was given a Walk T-shirt and a book about dogs and I settled in to listen to the band that was playing.There were also some very influential people there who gave presentations and people who spoke of their experiences with Pit Bull attacks. It was heart breaking to listen to their stories of being mauled and of the children who were killed or maimed.It is a problem that must be STOPPED! ALL dog owners need to keep their dogs leashed or confined in a fence that they can not escape from. Also, Animal Control and the Police need to enforce the laws that already exist,which they currently don't do!It is not only people that are being attacked,but also family pets and service dogs and guide dogs.The people at this event seem to be the only people who care what is happening and want to do something about it! Animal Control and the police in Tucson don't seem to care. They have never done anything about all the attacks that Shaman has experienced, or the attacks on my previous guide dogs,Lily and Nala. If people would just keep their dogs leashed or behind fences,there would never be so many dog attacks on the public or other dogs!There have been more Pit Bull attacks on my dogs,but there have also been other types of dogs that have attacked them as well.There is absolutely no reason that my guide dog,Shaman , should have been attacked by 7 Pit Bulls and 4 other dogs of various breeds.WAKE UP TUCSON !!!, before it's to late! I do not want to hear about another person or dog being attacked,maimed,or killed!!!! "WE THE PEOPLE", need to all get together and go before the City Council and the County Board of Supervisors and DEMAND that something be done to stop this from ever happening again!!!!! If any one else is willing to do this,I will join you in doing so.I had to leave before the event ended as I needed to get home to let my other dogs out and feed them.I knew it would be another long ride home. It was well worth the the time to attend this event and I would be willing to attend again if there is another Walk for the Victims of Pit Bulls and Other Dangerous Dogs!  to be continued..............

I took Shaman to the reptile show

I went to the Reptile Show with Shaman. Johnny, my friend also came along with his service dog, Lady.Nick was there also. The dogs worked well together and we all had a great time there. Lots of interesting things to see. The dogs mostly ignored all the animals,but Lady was fascinated with the albino alligator named Powder.I was disapointed a little as there were not very many Bearded Dragons. to be continued................

Nici's training continues

I discovered that Nici walked behind me when I walked her on a leash. This is definitely not the position the dog needs to be in when guiding a blind person. I thought about what I could do to change this. I decided to try having her pull a brick behind her so she would learn to pull when in harness. This worked very well. She now walks in a better position when on leash. I have actually gotten her to walk next to me with out being on the leash.I think if I work her from my power chair, that I can get her to walk even more in front of me which would be the position needed for guiding.Her obedience is coming along, but her down still needs work. Her recall is non existent when she is outside unless it is feeding time.She does come to me when in the house though.She has learned that socks are not to be chewed and that shoes need to stay where they belong. She has learned that her chew bone is the thing to go for when she feels like chewing.  She is a really nice dog and I am taking my time in training her as I want to make sure she learns every thing that she needs to know. I don't want to rush her. She will learn at her own speed.It's really funny to watch her when I give the other dogs some lovin' time. She gets jealous and puts herself in front of the other dog so I can love on her. I just love this dog!I have not had the money to get her spayed as something always seems to come up when I think I have the money. This month I had to take my elderly cat, Pacman to the vets. He has cataracts  and an infected tooth.He is doing better now but that set me back almost $100.I have to take Puff, my elderly Bearded Dragon in for blood work in November.That will cost me over $200. Maybe I can scrape up the money in December,I hope.  To be continued....................