Catching Up With Melanie

It seems like I post about once or twice a week these days. Melanie and I have a regular routine in the morning and we keep working on the things that I feel are important. She really is doing a great job as my little Guide, even the dog distractions don't seem quite as "distracting" as they used to. Of course, many people are keeping their dogs from interacting and some ask if it would be okay for the dogs to meet. Sadly, right now, I tell them it would not be a good idea since Melanie still needs more discipline in that area, but, hopefully, eventually, as we walk and meet some of the regulars, we can stop and have a calm hello. But, all in all, she's doing much better. Yesterday, we walked to "Pet Extreme" and bought her 3 new nylabones, regular, bacon, and chicken. I also ordered an extra handle for her harness as a backup.

Today was our first time together when I went to have blood drawn for a annual lab test. She was her usual "lady-like" self and everyone said how well-behaved she was, not realizing the amouut of time and money it took to get her that way. However, I still have to be the one to be sure she follows the Guide Dog rules. My husband picked us up there and on the way home we stopped for breakfast at Coco's restaurant. Again, she was very polite but found it hard to get all the way under the table because of the way the booth tables are desined. But she worked it out and all the staff loved her. We went for one of our "power" walks to burn off some energy and now she's in the TV room with my husband "loving and teasing" him. Every day I'm so thankful to my puppy raiser and GDB for giving me this opportunity to live my life with such a special little person (I mean dog).

Melanie's Beauty Appointment

Today, was Melanie's first bath and nail trimming since October. We went to Petco and they said to come back in 2 hours. It seemed like a long to me for one little dog, but I saw more people bringing in dogs so I assume they had some sort of assembly line. We stocked up on bags of her special food, bought a new brush, ear wipes, and body wipes (so when we come back from a walk I can wipe her fur down and she'll smell as sweet as a flower; although, I prefer her Melanie odor). My husband loves her and teases her by telling her she smells like a dog (well, of course, she does, but a sweet dog).

Well, after 2 hours, we came back and boy was she happy to see us. She had a certain worried look on her face as we were driving home and then I remembered I had taken her out early before her appointment and when we got back I gave her the usual bowl of water. Well, we had to leave pretty soon after that and poor Melanie must have been holding it in all that time. She could hardly wait to get to her outside bathroom at home. It must have taken her 30 seconds to go. Poor thing, she almost ha her legs crossed trying to keep it in before we got home.

When we got back in the house, she was a happy maniac. She ran all over, threw her bone around, and just seemed happy to be home. And that made me happy to think that she really thinks of us as her family now and The Butterfly House is her home.

Keeping Up With Melanie

I haven't posted for a while, Melanie is doing real well. She has great guide work days, moderately good ones, and some days, WELL! But all in all, she really is coming along very well, really working the curbs and she finds signal poles, benches/chairs, and trash cans (most important). Of course, she gets a treat for these good deeds, but I keep them to a minimum.

Looks like this week I'll take her to Petco for a bath and nail trim. Her nails have really gotten long since October. It's especialy noticeable when she does her dance with her nylabone in her mouth on the wooden floor. Looks like she's doing the tango.

Busy, Busy, Melanie

We have had some really good days out walking and working. I've been listening more closely to the GDB CD's on obedience and training and have realized that some things I was doing was getting a little lax, which, of course, Melanie picked up on. I have really tried to be consistent with her, ie., when she slows or stops at a curb, I probe with my foot to find the edge of the curb which makes her wait a little longer before we cross a street and she also notices the foot probe as a signal. Also, during dog distractions, I more often use the command "NO" in a very firm voice with a encouraging hoppup. Using the correct terms, ones that were used with her seems to help get her attention most of the time.

Yesterday, was her first visit to the mammography center for my annual screening. Instead of putting us in with the other patients and having to use a locker to put my belongings in, we went right into one of the screening rooms. It was much quieter and more room and except for one little "down" command, Melanie lay there, leash outstretched on the floor until I was done. I asked the tech the direction to the waiting room and Melanie took me right there, she found the stairs to the outside door and we walked a long way home. It was such a beautiful day, we went on the rec trail and she was happy.

Today, we took a shorter walk in the morning and went to one of my BVIC board meetings in the afternoon. There were a lot of people there, but she was a very attentive and alert Guide. I am really proud of her.

Melanie is Pooped

I've been working so consistently with Melanie on all proper Guide Dog responses that today she'is just pooped. I still had her take a walk in the early afternoon, but it had warmed up a bit and she "acted" tired. However, yesterday, we had a really super Guide Dog experience, and, of course, when she does the right thing, it also means that I've been working to do the right thing as well. I think she knew I was tired today, so being so insightful, took full advantage of it.

Yesterday, I decided to go to a different beauty salon than I was going to as Melanie and I could walk to it as opposed to asking for rides or getting a cab. It was about a 25 min. walk and she had to wait for about an hour until my hair was done and then we walked back home. I had already taken her out early in the morning just to make sure she was nice and calm for my afternoon appoinment. It did help and my new hair dresser just loved her, of course.

Last week, I stopped at a local pet store to see if they carried the type of nylabone she likes. They did and I bought her a regular and bacon flavored one, which she's never had before. She knew it was in the bag and could hardly wait to get home. She's been having a ball running around with it and sharing it with me and my husband. She is such a doll. I let her have a good night's sleep and see what adventures we can find tomorrow.

Melanie Continues to Shine

A couple of local high school students have a project to do a documentary and they chose to do it on the BVIC. This, of course, means that Melanie and I will be a part of it. If they win the cash prize, a portion of it goes to the BVIC, so Melanie needs to start shining up her sparkly smile. Also, she is doing much better with dog distractions in the last week, noticing and anticipating meeting another dog but still responding to my "corrections/commands" to stay focused on her job. Part of the focus is the "super treats" she gets when she does so. But right now it's working pretty well.

Also, in April, we'll be in Pebble Beach with a couple of board members displaying a table scape of the BVIC. There'll be many other tables and all profits go to a local boys and girls club. However, the advertising of our special table, which will celebrate 40 years for the BVIC, will help bring our message into the community even more. Last year and again this year there will be a table featuring service (search) dogs. So, Melanie has her work cut out representing the BVIC as a product of the training I received and the training we both received through Guide Dogs for the Blind. Looks like a lot of fun.

Every Day is a Work Day for Melanie

Melanie tries so hard to be a good Guide Dog but her puppy habits are hard to overcome some days. We have good days and not so good days, depending on her attention to other dogs. If there were no dogs around she would be perfect, but, alas, that's not the case. So, we keep working on it. Sometimes, she's great the first half of the walk and the second half she just can't help herself. We're also working just as diligently on pace and pull, getting her to slow down and not pull so hard all the time. She's doing better with that. The best thing she did yesterday was when we had to cross a two-way street with a divider that we can walk around to cross the other side of the street. This street has a crosswalk but no stop signs or lights, so I worked with her to stop right at the middle divider before crossing the rest of the street. Yesterday, without my giving her verbal command, she stopped right in the middle, looked up at me and "said" okay, where's my treat? I gave her the treat, the love and thanks for a job well done. Melanie always knows what to do and learns so fast, she astounds me. It's just that she knows how to push the cuteness button and try to get her own way. Well, we have a long time to work these things out and I wouldn't trade her for the world!