Dog Log....Day Two

No one wants  to be woken with a heavy German on their chest, Well! Unless you are  Angela Merkel. At 6am this morning I had the crushing sensation of a dogs front paws pressing me into the mattress. At first I thought I was having a heart attack, but no it was Renton giving me an early morning alarm in more ways than one.

Eventually I was able to peel myself off the bed and get him fed watered and toileted. Sheperd’s can be fussy eaters. unlike the Labradors I’ve had previously that would eat anything,anywhere, at any time, but  not Renton.  He will eat some of his meal and then return at some point later and finish it off. As he settles down to a routine and gets used to working with me, this should improve. If not, when he returns home Moss my retired Labrador dog will no doubt help him out with any unwanted left over’s. 

Today Renton and I  were out doing our first walk with the Guide Dog harness. In these early days the Instructor still has a training lead on the dog as we are trying to establish me as the new handler. This training extended lead is to help the dog out a little to give him some confidence with someone new holding on to the harness. It’s also to insure that neither Renton, nor I for that matter do anything unpredictable . What a fantastic feeling it was getting out this morning again with a dog. Since June I’ve been using my white stick moving along at a snails pace, or being guided by someone else. However, this morning it was like going from a skate board to a formula one racing car as we sped effortlessly along the pavements.

I do realise , however, it is still very early days, but still..great