Day 1 of Guide Dog Training

It's been too long since my last post but I won't dwell on that as I've got far too much to talk about!

Since my last post I was put onto a Guide Dog waiting list and within 2 weeks of being put onto the waiting list (I'm incredibly lucky to wait only this length of time) I received a call about meeting Odene, a beautiful black labrador bitch. Our matching visit went really well and we did a short handled walk with the harness to which went better than even the trainers expected.

Once the decision had been made for me to be matched with Odene I had 3 weeks to make arrangements with work to have 4 weeks off! 2 weeks located at a training hotel and 2 weeks at home doing familiar routes. Had a bit of trouble arranging the time off as working for the NHS meant that policies had to be drawn up and staff had to be made aware of the new doggy member of staff joining us in case anyone had any allergies.

Today though is the first day of training at the hotel. I'm at the Hunton Park De Vere Hotel very close to where I live luckily. Normally I would only get to meet Odene for the second time tomorrow but due to Odene's borders being away this weekend it was offered to me that I have her over the weekend prior to training. I of course was delighted to have her so I met her again once before the weekend to run through the house rules and lead work.

The weekend was a real success, Odene settled in really well and gave us a chance to bond before official training started. The only hiccups were regarding Jammy and Jinx, our cats. Didn't really see much of them this weekend as they spent most of their time on top of one of our cupboards!

So I'm now at the hotel, as I say I've got Odene with me now even though normally I would have to wait till Day 2. We've already done some heel work, which I must just say she performed brilliantly well at, the only problems were with me forgetting what commands to say or saying the wrong ones! Kelly, my truly awesome trainer, has been brilliant along with Mike, another trainer who is also training me and the other 2 recipients of Guide Dogs. The 2 other people training with dogs during my time here are Nikki with Rita, a black labrador cross golden retriever and Paul with Zeus, a german shepherd. They both seem like really nice people although their eyesight is currently a lot worse than mine. Nicky seems fiercely independent and has had Guide Dogs before. Paul has only recently gone blind and like me is getting a Guide Dog for the first time.

There are loads more updates to give but I'll leave them for other posts! For now take a look at the picture of Odene!

Cute or what?!