I’ve been meaning to update for ages. Will keep it short.
Good things:
Erm...88% on last assignment
Going to Mauritius on Friday
And er I think that’s all!
Bad things:
Computer broke
Got tonsillitis at the min
Had a cold at the beginning of the month
Sprained my ankle 3 weeks ago and still can’t run on it
Calvin’s all depressed cos i’m ill and just sits outside of my room all day
Having to miss submitting my next assignment through illness
Mauritius currently has a cyclone
And I think i’m gonna stop there before I depress myself!
Blog after hol x
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Saturday, 16 January 2010
A Frosty Reception
I’ve had nothing but a frosty reception from the New Year so far. Let’s hope things will improve.
OU:
I got my third assignment back and scored 81%. Still a good mark of course, but my lowest to date. I’m currently working on my forth assignment, which is about the composer Shostakovich. I’m not into classical music, but i’ve appreciated his work.
Calvin:
Where do I start with the naughty little dog to put it politely! Three times this week he’s got into his food! He managed to remove a big heavy box, catalogues and the lid in order to delve in. It’s been an absolute joke and now the food is being stored on the dining table out of reach. Punishment has involved a cut in his portion sizes this week, but it’s also been a punishment for me as he’s been really thirsty from eating the dry food and needing to spend more regularly.
Argh, when will the frost and black ice disappear! I’ve only managed to work Calvin twice this year. Once in London for my Moorfields appointment and to be fair to him he worked well in the busy city. The other time was when I went sale shopping last weekend. That wasn’t as successful as he walked under a table in a shop and my hand scraped across the metal, which swelled up beautifully. My road is still bad so not sure when i’ll be able to work him again.
Athletics:
Has been cancelled most of this year so far due to the weather. I think I’m having serious withdrawal symptoms that isn’t helping my mood! I decided not to run in my first indoor competition last weekend as I felt I hadn’t trained enough with my guide runner.
Conclusion:
Let’s get January out of the way and start afresh in Feb!
OU:
I got my third assignment back and scored 81%. Still a good mark of course, but my lowest to date. I’m currently working on my forth assignment, which is about the composer Shostakovich. I’m not into classical music, but i’ve appreciated his work.
Calvin:
Where do I start with the naughty little dog to put it politely! Three times this week he’s got into his food! He managed to remove a big heavy box, catalogues and the lid in order to delve in. It’s been an absolute joke and now the food is being stored on the dining table out of reach. Punishment has involved a cut in his portion sizes this week, but it’s also been a punishment for me as he’s been really thirsty from eating the dry food and needing to spend more regularly.
Argh, when will the frost and black ice disappear! I’ve only managed to work Calvin twice this year. Once in London for my Moorfields appointment and to be fair to him he worked well in the busy city. The other time was when I went sale shopping last weekend. That wasn’t as successful as he walked under a table in a shop and my hand scraped across the metal, which swelled up beautifully. My road is still bad so not sure when i’ll be able to work him again.
Athletics:
Has been cancelled most of this year so far due to the weather. I think I’m having serious withdrawal symptoms that isn’t helping my mood! I decided not to run in my first indoor competition last weekend as I felt I hadn’t trained enough with my guide runner.
Conclusion:
Let’s get January out of the way and start afresh in Feb!
Friday, 1 January 2010
2010 Already?!
I don't know where the past few weeks have gone. Time to catch up!
Calvin:
What fun we've been having getting lost every other day and near death experiences. Calvin hasn't quite grasped he's meant to work curb to curb for some reason and finds it funny to cut corners so he can get an extended walk. Of course when we have gotten lost it's been a nightmare trying to find a single person on the street. It has knocked my confidence a fair bit regarding working him and is something I'm going to have to bring up with the trainer when she calls next week.
Calvin's other favourite thing to do when working other than growling at the dogs playing on the park, is refusing to go the long way around. I.e. we always walk over the bridge by the train station instead of walking across the track in order to prevent killing ourselves. Well, Danger Mouse doesn't want to walk over the bridge and merrily trots along straight pass the steps. Bribery has failed with meat and cheese treats, which surely isn't right! We recently had a near death experience as I cued Calvin in to find the steps. The siren began indicating that a train was coming and suddenly I feel the track under my feet. I go to turnaround in panic, but the barrier behind us had already come down. Some guy shouted at me to go straight ahead and we got through before the barrier came down in front of us, but it was a petrifying experience. Another thing I need to bring up with the trainer.
On a brighter note the sniffing has calmed down, but he is still a nosey parker and takes detours up peoples drives. On Xmas Day I fell flat on my ass thanks to Calvin spotting a cat, no consideration for the black ice!
Free runs have been fun at the time, as we've found Fosse Meadows where he can go wild and play with loads of other dogs, but somebody has a liking for mud baths. This has resulted in 2 baths since he stunk!
Open University:
I got my second assignment back a couple of weeks ago. I equalled my first score with 85% again, which I was thrilled with. I just submitted my third assignment yesterday. But not certain I'll be able to keep the great marks up.
Scrooge:
Was the latest musical I saw at the theatre. It featured Tommy Steels who is way before my time playing the lead. It wasn't the best of musicals, but I guess it was all in the Xmas spirit!
Athletics:
Now there's something I haven't blogged about in a while. I've taken Calvin a couple of times now and the first was so embarrassing. The cute little Guide Dog barked his head off insisting I had forgotten him and was sure he was meant to be running around with me. The trainer came out just before Xmas to sort this problem. He's still not completely relaxed at the track yet, but hopefully he'll get used to it soon.
Speaking of running, it is going quite well as far as I can tell. I should be entering my first indoor competition later this month and the summer season starts again in April.
2009:
Is history! The year began pretty slowly with a hundred and one rejections for jobs, which I eventually gave up on and started my degree with the OU. My birthday was fairly good, but since I spent my 16th in Miami and 18th in Italy it was always going to be hard to beat. I have travelled around from Blackpool, Bognor, Hartlepool and Turkey for fun times. Then, all of my athletics competitions took me to Ireland, London, Wigan, Bristol and Nottingham. I achieved 15.1secs for the 100m and 32.4secs for the 200m. Other sports wise Ferrari had an unlucky season, but the GB Team in Berlin did amazing at the athletics World Champs. Last but not least to finish off my year I finally got that all-important phone call. Calvin came along all bushy tailed and puppy dog eyes and we're having a roller coaster of a time!
2010:
Is going to be a good year for sure! I'm off to Mauritius next month, athletics comps start in April until September and I'm definitely getting the World Champs qualification times. I'm seeing Westlife in concert in May, I'm hoping to go to Paris for my 22nd, I intend to keep working hard on my degree and to round off the year I'm seeing JLS live. I'm also going to fix my Guide Dog, priority number one!
I would just like to thank everyone who reads my blog whether you comment or not. I've enjoyed writing and receiving feedback. Here's to the best year to come!!!!!!!!!!!
Calvin:
What fun we've been having getting lost every other day and near death experiences. Calvin hasn't quite grasped he's meant to work curb to curb for some reason and finds it funny to cut corners so he can get an extended walk. Of course when we have gotten lost it's been a nightmare trying to find a single person on the street. It has knocked my confidence a fair bit regarding working him and is something I'm going to have to bring up with the trainer when she calls next week.
Calvin's other favourite thing to do when working other than growling at the dogs playing on the park, is refusing to go the long way around. I.e. we always walk over the bridge by the train station instead of walking across the track in order to prevent killing ourselves. Well, Danger Mouse doesn't want to walk over the bridge and merrily trots along straight pass the steps. Bribery has failed with meat and cheese treats, which surely isn't right! We recently had a near death experience as I cued Calvin in to find the steps. The siren began indicating that a train was coming and suddenly I feel the track under my feet. I go to turnaround in panic, but the barrier behind us had already come down. Some guy shouted at me to go straight ahead and we got through before the barrier came down in front of us, but it was a petrifying experience. Another thing I need to bring up with the trainer.
On a brighter note the sniffing has calmed down, but he is still a nosey parker and takes detours up peoples drives. On Xmas Day I fell flat on my ass thanks to Calvin spotting a cat, no consideration for the black ice!
Free runs have been fun at the time, as we've found Fosse Meadows where he can go wild and play with loads of other dogs, but somebody has a liking for mud baths. This has resulted in 2 baths since he stunk!
Open University:
I got my second assignment back a couple of weeks ago. I equalled my first score with 85% again, which I was thrilled with. I just submitted my third assignment yesterday. But not certain I'll be able to keep the great marks up.
Scrooge:
Was the latest musical I saw at the theatre. It featured Tommy Steels who is way before my time playing the lead. It wasn't the best of musicals, but I guess it was all in the Xmas spirit!
Athletics:
Now there's something I haven't blogged about in a while. I've taken Calvin a couple of times now and the first was so embarrassing. The cute little Guide Dog barked his head off insisting I had forgotten him and was sure he was meant to be running around with me. The trainer came out just before Xmas to sort this problem. He's still not completely relaxed at the track yet, but hopefully he'll get used to it soon.
Speaking of running, it is going quite well as far as I can tell. I should be entering my first indoor competition later this month and the summer season starts again in April.
2009:
Is history! The year began pretty slowly with a hundred and one rejections for jobs, which I eventually gave up on and started my degree with the OU. My birthday was fairly good, but since I spent my 16th in Miami and 18th in Italy it was always going to be hard to beat. I have travelled around from Blackpool, Bognor, Hartlepool and Turkey for fun times. Then, all of my athletics competitions took me to Ireland, London, Wigan, Bristol and Nottingham. I achieved 15.1secs for the 100m and 32.4secs for the 200m. Other sports wise Ferrari had an unlucky season, but the GB Team in Berlin did amazing at the athletics World Champs. Last but not least to finish off my year I finally got that all-important phone call. Calvin came along all bushy tailed and puppy dog eyes and we're having a roller coaster of a time!
2010:
Is going to be a good year for sure! I'm off to Mauritius next month, athletics comps start in April until September and I'm definitely getting the World Champs qualification times. I'm seeing Westlife in concert in May, I'm hoping to go to Paris for my 22nd, I intend to keep working hard on my degree and to round off the year I'm seeing JLS live. I'm also going to fix my Guide Dog, priority number one!
I would just like to thank everyone who reads my blog whether you comment or not. I've enjoyed writing and receiving feedback. Here's to the best year to come!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday, 7 December 2009
Guide Dog Training: Week 3
Firstly, thank you for all of your comments. Apologies for being ignorant and not replying, but rest assure I've read them all. Now, here's my third week of training.
Monday:
We were using the walkie-talkies again and Calvin and I made our way to the co-op. He kept anticipating the crossing and instead of going up to it went to the side curb constantly, but I encouraged him on. We swiftly walked pass the post office again and I didn't even realise. Neither Calvin nor me can seem to figure out where it is!
Anyway, instead of going home we went to the bus stop. Fosse Park shopping was in order. The bus was packed and it's one of those tiny ones, so Calvin had to sit in the isle. He was shown around Fosse Park on the lead and I selected a few shops that I wanted him to find. After a quick hot choc he was put in harness and found each shop without any trouble and guided me brilliantly around the mass of people.
Tuesday:
Mitch thought it important for us to work on the post office, but typically there were two dogs tethered outside in the way, which prevented us being able to practice finding the door. Oh yeah speaking of dogs on the way up I heard a guy take his dog onto the grass away from me and Calvin. Calvin stopped dead and attempted to go on the grass where the dog was and I encouraged him on, but he wouldn't budge. The other dog then started barking, which made me jump out of my skin and then Calvin was barking too. I really didn't know how to sort it out and the owner of the other dog just stood there in silence. Eventually Mitch came to rescue me and told me to carry on, but I was quite shaken up. Not being able to see and just hearing the dogs barking it doesn't sound like they're just playing harmlessly. I was waiting for one of them to attack, which may seem silly, but it freaked me out!
Moving on. We went to Fosse Park again afterwards and Calvin worked a treat finding the shops and navigating around the crazy Christmas shoppers. It was quite amusing on the bus, as I was encouraging him to get in between the seats and he decided to jump on them instead and sit like a human! It gave the grannies a good laugh anyway.
Wednesday:
We took a trip to the vets and Calvin is now 35kg. So has lost weight, but he's still healthy. The vet gave him a good check over and he's in top form thankfully.
We then went to the park for his first free run. I was expecting him to go wild, but he was quite calm really. It's a bit annoying though that I can't free run him on my local park as we walk by it and the next nearest apparently has holes in the fence where he could escape. We need to find another park, but this will involve me relying on someone to drive us there.
Thursday:
My qualification walk. Bet you didn't expect that one! I thought it was all going quite smoothly until sniffy started playing up. He walked pass the crossing which he's never done, so we had to go back on ourselves and then up to the newsagents he wasn't too bad. Again he missed the post office and was a nightmare sniffing on the way home passed the brook. In short even though it was an imperfect walk we qualified, but it didn't excite me in any way!
Friday:
Our last day of training apparently. We did the route to the athletics track my second home. It involves two trains and a bus journey. We missed our connection since the first train was delayed and by the time we got to the track I was starving. We nearly missed the train back since the bus got held up and I couldn't work Calvin on the trains as my trainer said there were too many people. He still can't find the doors.
I got home about 3.30 without lunch and was surprised to be told that my training was finished. I thought I'd have it at least for another week.
Saturday:
Our first free walk to the chip shop. Calvin sniffed for England as per usual and I'm getting tired of correcting him double handed on the lead. If he carries on he will have to wear a halty, but I've found he plays up more with it on. We got home with the chips still warm so guess it was a successful walk.
Sunday:
We stayed in as it poured down with rain. I was only going to do a block route with him anyway. Calvin isn't a perfect Guide Dog yet and has his sniffing issues, but before writing him off I'm going to be patient, stern and encouraging in order to fix him up. He will stop sniffing, he will find closed train doors, he will find the post office and he will find seats once I've finished with him!
Monday:
We were using the walkie-talkies again and Calvin and I made our way to the co-op. He kept anticipating the crossing and instead of going up to it went to the side curb constantly, but I encouraged him on. We swiftly walked pass the post office again and I didn't even realise. Neither Calvin nor me can seem to figure out where it is!
Anyway, instead of going home we went to the bus stop. Fosse Park shopping was in order. The bus was packed and it's one of those tiny ones, so Calvin had to sit in the isle. He was shown around Fosse Park on the lead and I selected a few shops that I wanted him to find. After a quick hot choc he was put in harness and found each shop without any trouble and guided me brilliantly around the mass of people.
Tuesday:
Mitch thought it important for us to work on the post office, but typically there were two dogs tethered outside in the way, which prevented us being able to practice finding the door. Oh yeah speaking of dogs on the way up I heard a guy take his dog onto the grass away from me and Calvin. Calvin stopped dead and attempted to go on the grass where the dog was and I encouraged him on, but he wouldn't budge. The other dog then started barking, which made me jump out of my skin and then Calvin was barking too. I really didn't know how to sort it out and the owner of the other dog just stood there in silence. Eventually Mitch came to rescue me and told me to carry on, but I was quite shaken up. Not being able to see and just hearing the dogs barking it doesn't sound like they're just playing harmlessly. I was waiting for one of them to attack, which may seem silly, but it freaked me out!
Moving on. We went to Fosse Park again afterwards and Calvin worked a treat finding the shops and navigating around the crazy Christmas shoppers. It was quite amusing on the bus, as I was encouraging him to get in between the seats and he decided to jump on them instead and sit like a human! It gave the grannies a good laugh anyway.
Wednesday:
We took a trip to the vets and Calvin is now 35kg. So has lost weight, but he's still healthy. The vet gave him a good check over and he's in top form thankfully.
We then went to the park for his first free run. I was expecting him to go wild, but he was quite calm really. It's a bit annoying though that I can't free run him on my local park as we walk by it and the next nearest apparently has holes in the fence where he could escape. We need to find another park, but this will involve me relying on someone to drive us there.
Thursday:
My qualification walk. Bet you didn't expect that one! I thought it was all going quite smoothly until sniffy started playing up. He walked pass the crossing which he's never done, so we had to go back on ourselves and then up to the newsagents he wasn't too bad. Again he missed the post office and was a nightmare sniffing on the way home passed the brook. In short even though it was an imperfect walk we qualified, but it didn't excite me in any way!
Friday:
Our last day of training apparently. We did the route to the athletics track my second home. It involves two trains and a bus journey. We missed our connection since the first train was delayed and by the time we got to the track I was starving. We nearly missed the train back since the bus got held up and I couldn't work Calvin on the trains as my trainer said there were too many people. He still can't find the doors.
I got home about 3.30 without lunch and was surprised to be told that my training was finished. I thought I'd have it at least for another week.
Saturday:
Our first free walk to the chip shop. Calvin sniffed for England as per usual and I'm getting tired of correcting him double handed on the lead. If he carries on he will have to wear a halty, but I've found he plays up more with it on. We got home with the chips still warm so guess it was a successful walk.
Sunday:
We stayed in as it poured down with rain. I was only going to do a block route with him anyway. Calvin isn't a perfect Guide Dog yet and has his sniffing issues, but before writing him off I'm going to be patient, stern and encouraging in order to fix him up. He will stop sniffing, he will find closed train doors, he will find the post office and he will find seats once I've finished with him!
Sunday, 29 November 2009
Guide Dog Training: Week 2
And the exhaustion continues! Last night I felt so ill and today I'm no better. I'm completely run down. Here's this week's summary day by day.
Monday:
The morning was spent walking to the post box, newsagents and post office rewarding Calvin with treats when he found the doors and box. Spoilt paws was slow on the way home again, which was frustrating and it was decided I was going to have to learn a new route home.
Later we got to do off curb obstacles in the pouring rain. Calvin was great at it, not even walking into the traps, but it wasn't very enjoyable. The delight of wet dog. Urgh!
Tuesday:
We still stayed in the village, but did the route to the co-op instead of the newsagents and then went around to the post office. Instead of turning back on ourselves we continued round in order for spoilt paws not to slow down. It worked, but it was hard for me learning a new route when I don't rate my mobility.
After arriving home I was taught how to groom again. I'm fine with the brushing side of things, but get all girly when it comes to checking his eyes, nose and paws!
Wednesday:
There's nothing like a nice long walk to Narborough train station, Oasis Health and Beauty where I get my massages done and waxing and then onto the doctor's. I was pretty impressed on the way there, but on the return route I was tired and found it difficult to locate where to cross over on a couple of roads. Spoilt paws wasn't much help either slowing down yet again on the way home and I was struggling to stay hyper with my 'hup ups' and 'find the way'! However, I will give Calvin brownie points for treating horse muck as an off curb obstacle! He was intrigued by the sheep we passed, but not amused by the staring goats.
Thursday:
The lovely walk back to Narborough train station and this time we got onto the train heading for Leicester. I was discouraged to discover that Calvin couldn't distinguish where the closed doors were and isn't able to find seats on trains. He squeezed in between the seats though and had fun scavenging for food.
On arrival we walked to the Adult Education Centre where I have my tutorials for my OU degree. He worked well in the crowds and found the crossing boxes well, but insisted on trying to take me into an insurance firm and recruitment agency. Do you think he's trying to tell me something?! Yet of course he tries to take me everywhere except the place I need! I'm not exactly sure where the door is down the street as there are no clues, so I was told it is unlikely he'll be able to find the place. Brilliant and the point of having a Guide Dog is…?
When we arrived back at Narborough train station Mitch said we had to walk to Oasis and the Doctor's again before returning home. God I was just sooooo tired.
Friday:
The walkie-talkies came out and Mitch was now going to follow us from a greater distance. We were heading back to the Adult Education Centre. By the time we got to the train station I was ready to ring Calvin's neck! He just kept looking back for Mitch, stopping, slowing down, taking me onto the grass, lots of sniffing and generally being a nightmare. I didn't expect it to be so tough. Since he was misbehaving it was disorientating for me too.
I had to take my cane to find the train doors and felt like a muppet with a dog and a cane. Calvin couldn't locate the doors to the Adult Education Centre again and on the way home got me lost in a car park. Oh yeah he couldn't resist the grass either and decided to do a busy.
Saturday:
A new day, forget about the struggles before and everything will go smoothly. In your dreams Selina! We had the walkie-talkies again and were just staying in the village. I cued Calvin in to find the post box and did he heck! He found the newsagents, but then I swear I was saying find the door for the post office forever and he didn't even attempt to find any door never mind the post office. I felt really lost doing the new route home, but was too stubborn to ask for help and managed to find the way. Every dog in Cosby was out to get me, barking at Calvin, which was awful. Then I had the usual of Calvin looking back to see where Mitch was, slowing down, stopping and sniffing. I corrected him so hard at one point the walkie-talkie went flying off me into the road! Whoops!
Sunday:
I'm feeling ill, but can't ignore my duties to the dog. I feel like I've had quite a stressful week and instead of going forward feel like I've gone 10 paces backwards! They say the first year is the hardest. Well on the bright side only 50 more weeks to go!
Monday:
The morning was spent walking to the post box, newsagents and post office rewarding Calvin with treats when he found the doors and box. Spoilt paws was slow on the way home again, which was frustrating and it was decided I was going to have to learn a new route home.
Later we got to do off curb obstacles in the pouring rain. Calvin was great at it, not even walking into the traps, but it wasn't very enjoyable. The delight of wet dog. Urgh!
Tuesday:
We still stayed in the village, but did the route to the co-op instead of the newsagents and then went around to the post office. Instead of turning back on ourselves we continued round in order for spoilt paws not to slow down. It worked, but it was hard for me learning a new route when I don't rate my mobility.
After arriving home I was taught how to groom again. I'm fine with the brushing side of things, but get all girly when it comes to checking his eyes, nose and paws!
Wednesday:
There's nothing like a nice long walk to Narborough train station, Oasis Health and Beauty where I get my massages done and waxing and then onto the doctor's. I was pretty impressed on the way there, but on the return route I was tired and found it difficult to locate where to cross over on a couple of roads. Spoilt paws wasn't much help either slowing down yet again on the way home and I was struggling to stay hyper with my 'hup ups' and 'find the way'! However, I will give Calvin brownie points for treating horse muck as an off curb obstacle! He was intrigued by the sheep we passed, but not amused by the staring goats.
Thursday:
The lovely walk back to Narborough train station and this time we got onto the train heading for Leicester. I was discouraged to discover that Calvin couldn't distinguish where the closed doors were and isn't able to find seats on trains. He squeezed in between the seats though and had fun scavenging for food.
On arrival we walked to the Adult Education Centre where I have my tutorials for my OU degree. He worked well in the crowds and found the crossing boxes well, but insisted on trying to take me into an insurance firm and recruitment agency. Do you think he's trying to tell me something?! Yet of course he tries to take me everywhere except the place I need! I'm not exactly sure where the door is down the street as there are no clues, so I was told it is unlikely he'll be able to find the place. Brilliant and the point of having a Guide Dog is…?
When we arrived back at Narborough train station Mitch said we had to walk to Oasis and the Doctor's again before returning home. God I was just sooooo tired.
Friday:
The walkie-talkies came out and Mitch was now going to follow us from a greater distance. We were heading back to the Adult Education Centre. By the time we got to the train station I was ready to ring Calvin's neck! He just kept looking back for Mitch, stopping, slowing down, taking me onto the grass, lots of sniffing and generally being a nightmare. I didn't expect it to be so tough. Since he was misbehaving it was disorientating for me too.
I had to take my cane to find the train doors and felt like a muppet with a dog and a cane. Calvin couldn't locate the doors to the Adult Education Centre again and on the way home got me lost in a car park. Oh yeah he couldn't resist the grass either and decided to do a busy.
Saturday:
A new day, forget about the struggles before and everything will go smoothly. In your dreams Selina! We had the walkie-talkies again and were just staying in the village. I cued Calvin in to find the post box and did he heck! He found the newsagents, but then I swear I was saying find the door for the post office forever and he didn't even attempt to find any door never mind the post office. I felt really lost doing the new route home, but was too stubborn to ask for help and managed to find the way. Every dog in Cosby was out to get me, barking at Calvin, which was awful. Then I had the usual of Calvin looking back to see where Mitch was, slowing down, stopping and sniffing. I corrected him so hard at one point the walkie-talkie went flying off me into the road! Whoops!
Sunday:
I'm feeling ill, but can't ignore my duties to the dog. I feel like I've had quite a stressful week and instead of going forward feel like I've gone 10 paces backwards! They say the first year is the hardest. Well on the bright side only 50 more weeks to go!
Saturday, 21 November 2009
Guide Dog Training: Week 1
Well I'm back from the hotel and will sum up my week day by day. In conclusion though, I'm truly exhausted!
Monday:
Arrived at the Holiday Inn in Leamington Spa late thanks to my dad being stubborn and refusing to use the sat nav! On arrival I met Mitch my trainer and we did a bit of mobility around the hotel. After lunch I was shown some obedience with Mitch at the end of the handle and then finally I got to see Calvin again.
I was left in my room with him for half an hour and the mad lab cross retriever clearly couldn’t have been more excited to see me. Extreme tail wagging, sniffing and legging it up and down the room. I heard him drinking in the bathroom and wondered to myself I can't remember any water being left out for him…he was only drinking out the toilet! Urgh! There after the lid remained firmly down!
After doing some obedience with him we got to go on a walk in a quiet estate. To be honest I can't remember details of it now, but I enjoyed walking with him again.
Tuesday:
One drags herself out of bed at 7am after constantly waking up throughout the night just to check the dog was ok. Which he was, of course. We took a trip to the Guide dogs training centre and did some obedience work around there. As we were leaving to go on a walk, the DM appeared and claimed he had nothing to do, so jumped in the car with us. No pressure eh! On the walk Calvin was ok, but not fantastic. He did a busy, which apparently he never did on walks, sniffed a fair bit and over shot some curbs. On a brighter note Mitch took the support lead off and I hadn't even noticed that I was flying solo with him!
Later we did another walk in a quiet area and practised indenting. Calvin generally didn't need correcting, but again did a busy, sniffed a lot and over shot curbs. At this point I realised it wasn't going to be as easy as I hoped!
Wednesday:
Erm my memories letting me down! Oh yes now I remember! We walked from the Guide Dogs centre into town. This gave me an opportunity to test Calvin on steps and we went into a shopping centre. Whilst waiting for Mitch outside the toilets I got my first awwww isn't he gorgeous and suddenly I can't read so I'll stroke your dog who is in harness and clearly has a great big sign saying 'I'm working, don't bloody touch me'! I tried to stay calm and say nicely 'please don't stroke him', but the woman seemed a bit offended! Get over it love!
Again, Calvin spent on the walk and was over shooting curbs. It was getting quite frustrating and I wasn't sure what I could do to make it all better! In the afternoon we did an obstacle course that Calvin found completely uninteresting and decided to eat the berries on the bushes instead. He did walk me into a few things, but it was a good opportunity to learn how to teach him to watch it! Afterwards we did another walk in a quiet area and I had the chance to correct him when he walked me into over hanging bushes.
Thursday:
I'm very tired by this point and just dying to go home! This was the most challenging day for me and exhausting too. We walked to the train station and on route had to go through the park. Pretty cruel working your Guide Dog through a place where they just want to run around and play with all the other dogs that get to have fun. Naturally, Calvin tried his luck by attempting to go on the grass, chase dogs, birds and anything flying in general and by the time we got out my arm was throbbing from all the pulling! He didn't wince at the train station and fitted in-between the seats, but only because they seemed wider than your regular train.
We walked down to Warwick high street and stopped off for coffee. Well hot chocolate in my case. He did some great work around scaffolding and people, but was still over stepping some curbs and attempting to kill us both!
After the break we walked back from Warwick to the Guide Dog training centre, which was quite a trek. Calvin suddenly decided that he needed to find things for me and thought we needed to go in every shop and stopped at every crossing, which were not in his straight line of travel.
That afternoon we got to do traffic where a car is driven at you and you and the dog are meant to stay still so we don't get squashed. Well, Calvin sort of enjoys the danger I think, as it took a few goes before he realised we're not meant to move!
Friday:
Thank god! First thing we did was traffic and Calvin had improved. We then did a walk in Kenilworth, which I'm sure I've spelt wrong. We went from a quiet estate into the town and Calvin deserved a gold star! Finally, he figured out how to sit at curbs and didn't do a busy on the walk. He lost a couple of points when he walked me into a post and bush, but was good on correction.
I got to hear him bark for the first time though, which made me jump a little. When we got out of a shop he saw a guy playing ball with a lab across the road. He couldn't contain his jealousy and barked refusing to move forward. Bless.
Saturday:
Home sweet home, but no rest for the wicked. We walked to the newsagents in Cosby and then onto the post office. He found the doors no problem, but wasn't impressed when we were walking home and slowed down a fair bit. On route we also tried teaching him to find the post box.
After a short break we then did a block route. He was in great form and it went nice and smoothly.
He's settled in well at home and seems to get bored of me in my room, so spends most of his time downstairs. It's been a long week and I get tomorrow off thankfully, but still have to get up and feed, spend and groom the dog. It's a big responsibility owning a Guide Dog, but although so far it's been tough with my highs and lows, there's no way I'll be giving him back! The feeling of flying through the streets is amazing and makes getting around that much easier. I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Monday:
Arrived at the Holiday Inn in Leamington Spa late thanks to my dad being stubborn and refusing to use the sat nav! On arrival I met Mitch my trainer and we did a bit of mobility around the hotel. After lunch I was shown some obedience with Mitch at the end of the handle and then finally I got to see Calvin again.
I was left in my room with him for half an hour and the mad lab cross retriever clearly couldn’t have been more excited to see me. Extreme tail wagging, sniffing and legging it up and down the room. I heard him drinking in the bathroom and wondered to myself I can't remember any water being left out for him…he was only drinking out the toilet! Urgh! There after the lid remained firmly down!
After doing some obedience with him we got to go on a walk in a quiet estate. To be honest I can't remember details of it now, but I enjoyed walking with him again.
Tuesday:
One drags herself out of bed at 7am after constantly waking up throughout the night just to check the dog was ok. Which he was, of course. We took a trip to the Guide dogs training centre and did some obedience work around there. As we were leaving to go on a walk, the DM appeared and claimed he had nothing to do, so jumped in the car with us. No pressure eh! On the walk Calvin was ok, but not fantastic. He did a busy, which apparently he never did on walks, sniffed a fair bit and over shot some curbs. On a brighter note Mitch took the support lead off and I hadn't even noticed that I was flying solo with him!
Later we did another walk in a quiet area and practised indenting. Calvin generally didn't need correcting, but again did a busy, sniffed a lot and over shot curbs. At this point I realised it wasn't going to be as easy as I hoped!
Wednesday:
Erm my memories letting me down! Oh yes now I remember! We walked from the Guide Dogs centre into town. This gave me an opportunity to test Calvin on steps and we went into a shopping centre. Whilst waiting for Mitch outside the toilets I got my first awwww isn't he gorgeous and suddenly I can't read so I'll stroke your dog who is in harness and clearly has a great big sign saying 'I'm working, don't bloody touch me'! I tried to stay calm and say nicely 'please don't stroke him', but the woman seemed a bit offended! Get over it love!
Again, Calvin spent on the walk and was over shooting curbs. It was getting quite frustrating and I wasn't sure what I could do to make it all better! In the afternoon we did an obstacle course that Calvin found completely uninteresting and decided to eat the berries on the bushes instead. He did walk me into a few things, but it was a good opportunity to learn how to teach him to watch it! Afterwards we did another walk in a quiet area and I had the chance to correct him when he walked me into over hanging bushes.
Thursday:
I'm very tired by this point and just dying to go home! This was the most challenging day for me and exhausting too. We walked to the train station and on route had to go through the park. Pretty cruel working your Guide Dog through a place where they just want to run around and play with all the other dogs that get to have fun. Naturally, Calvin tried his luck by attempting to go on the grass, chase dogs, birds and anything flying in general and by the time we got out my arm was throbbing from all the pulling! He didn't wince at the train station and fitted in-between the seats, but only because they seemed wider than your regular train.
We walked down to Warwick high street and stopped off for coffee. Well hot chocolate in my case. He did some great work around scaffolding and people, but was still over stepping some curbs and attempting to kill us both!
After the break we walked back from Warwick to the Guide Dog training centre, which was quite a trek. Calvin suddenly decided that he needed to find things for me and thought we needed to go in every shop and stopped at every crossing, which were not in his straight line of travel.
That afternoon we got to do traffic where a car is driven at you and you and the dog are meant to stay still so we don't get squashed. Well, Calvin sort of enjoys the danger I think, as it took a few goes before he realised we're not meant to move!
Friday:
Thank god! First thing we did was traffic and Calvin had improved. We then did a walk in Kenilworth, which I'm sure I've spelt wrong. We went from a quiet estate into the town and Calvin deserved a gold star! Finally, he figured out how to sit at curbs and didn't do a busy on the walk. He lost a couple of points when he walked me into a post and bush, but was good on correction.
I got to hear him bark for the first time though, which made me jump a little. When we got out of a shop he saw a guy playing ball with a lab across the road. He couldn't contain his jealousy and barked refusing to move forward. Bless.
Saturday:
Home sweet home, but no rest for the wicked. We walked to the newsagents in Cosby and then onto the post office. He found the doors no problem, but wasn't impressed when we were walking home and slowed down a fair bit. On route we also tried teaching him to find the post box.
After a short break we then did a block route. He was in great form and it went nice and smoothly.
He's settled in well at home and seems to get bored of me in my room, so spends most of his time downstairs. It's been a long week and I get tomorrow off thankfully, but still have to get up and feed, spend and groom the dog. It's a big responsibility owning a Guide Dog, but although so far it's been tough with my highs and lows, there's no way I'll be giving him back! The feeling of flying through the streets is amazing and makes getting around that much easier. I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Thursday, 12 November 2009
An Elephant Never Forgets
I got my first assignment back last night and really wasn't sure what mark I'd end up with. Having never studied at university level before and it's been a good 3 years since I did my A Levels. At school everyone had high expectations of me and therefore I ended up getting them for myself too. I remember being devastated when I got a C in my GCSEs. It was only in RE, but seriously you would have thought it was the end of the world for me the way I reacted! Again at A Level I got 2 Cs in Maths and English Language, which I was really disappointed with. Though looking back I did really well due to the circumstances of having countless eye operations, missing school and dealing with my gradual sight loss.
I'm pleased I didn't go to university when everyone was pressurising me to after my A Levels, as I've had time to reflect, accept my visual impairment and study in a way that suits me. It's very easy for people to say 'oh you're smart you should go to university and you're obviously going to do well in life'!
Anyway, back to the assignment! I got 85% and couldn't be happier! I was so surprised and was aiming for 70% to be honest. I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep the standard up as the work increases in difficulty, but I feel I've made a positive start and now know for sure that The Open University is the right choice for me.
I'm pleased I didn't go to university when everyone was pressurising me to after my A Levels, as I've had time to reflect, accept my visual impairment and study in a way that suits me. It's very easy for people to say 'oh you're smart you should go to university and you're obviously going to do well in life'!
Anyway, back to the assignment! I got 85% and couldn't be happier! I was so surprised and was aiming for 70% to be honest. I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep the standard up as the work increases in difficulty, but I feel I've made a positive start and now know for sure that The Open University is the right choice for me.
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