Loosening of Lockdown

Blog 18 – 2.6 Challenge – 26 blog posts over 26 days…

Today is the first day of looser lockdown rules for people in England. Some people welcome them whilst others claim the move has come too soon. Either way the changes have been made. For me as a Guide Dog owner the new rules are going to make life that little bit easier.

From today people in England are permitted to take exercise outside multiple times per day. This means that I can choose to take Riley on a single long walk, a free run, 2 shorter walks or a walk and a free run. The variation will hopefully keep him more engaged and willing to work. Our partnership is still very young and I am determined to make sure the current circumstances don’t break us.

The limitless exercise also means I will be able to go for walks with retired Guide Dog Calvin and my partner. I have missed walking with Calvin. We free run the boys together but it isn’t practical to walk them together. Going out with Calvin will be a good opportunity for Riley to relearn how to be home alone for short periods. He has gotten very used to always coming out with me and has started to whine excitedly when I put my shoes on.

The one other advantage to the new rules is the ability to drive anywhere. We have been free running the boys as locally as possible. Now we feel comfortable to travel that bit further out and will be visiting some of our favourite free running locations within Leicestershire.

I intend on embracing this new normal as best as I can. I accept life is going to feel peculiar for the
Foreseeable future. The situation is out of our control but we can control how we deal with it.

I am taking part in the 2.6 Challenge to help save our UK charities. If you enjoyed my blog post or are feeling generous please consider donating as little as £1 to support my chosen charities: The Norrie Disease Foundation, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Look UK, RNIB and Girl Guiding UK. You can find my fundraising page by clicking here

Thank you and stay safe x