[nagdu] Monty's graduation

Sat Nov 7 19:06:33 UTC 2009

Tami,

chocolate and cheesecake!  That made my day.  I might just have to run up to 
the grocery and get some.

I think we have a bit of work left to do before we can kick back and relax. 
We are still very much in that new dog, working out the kinks phase.  The 
most tedious and stressful training is long behind us and I only forsee good 
things to come.

It is such a relief to make this milestone.

Thanks!
Julie

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tamara Smith-Kinney" <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, November 06, 2009 2:23 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Monty's graduation

> Congratulations!  Kudos to both of you.  And thank you for sharing so
> wonderfully.  Monty sounds absolutely superb, everything you were hoping 
> it
> would be.
>
> The scenery along that road you mentioned is spectacular, but once you've
> traveled it, it's nice to be able to kick back and relax in the 5-star 
> hotel
> and resort at the end. /grin/
>
> I think it was 19 months for me and Mitzi before I declared her graduated
> and promoted us both officially to team building.  Yup!  That's a crazy 
> long
> time. /grin/  Wouldn't trade it for the world, though, and can't stop 
> myself
> from planning how I'm going to do it again next time -- where next time 
> had
> better be no sooner than 8 years from now!  My current plan involves 
> finding
> a baby puppy and letting Mitzi help raise it.  That way, I can spend a 
> good
> 24 months wondering what the heck made me decide to do such a thing and
> wondering exactly how it is I expect it to work out the way I planned.
>
> The things some people do for entertainment!
>
> Many, many good dog treats to your new professional guide dog.  And lots 
> of
> chocolate and cheesecake for you!
>
> Tami Smith-Kinney
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Julie J
> Sent: Friday, November 06, 2009 9:45 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Cc: gdsdtrainingonly at yahoogroups.com; bviclickertraining at yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [nagdu] Monty's graduation
>
> Hello all!
>
> I wanted to write to update everyone on our progress.  As most of you know 
> I
> have owner trained Monty.  Owner training is a gamble and I had no
> guarantees of ending up with a working guide at the end of it.  it is what 
> I
> love though, and for now that is reason enough for me to owner train my
> guides.
>
> I got Monty August 14 of last year.  I have worked with him almost every 
> day
> for the past 15 months on everything he would need to know to work as a
> guide dog.   Most owner trainers, and programs for that matter, move a lot
> faster through guide dog training than I do.   That is for several 
> reasons,
> my preference to go slowly, Monty's age, his slow maturation and my new 
> job
> taking up more of my time.
>
> On October 7 he started going to work with me.  I considered this past 
> month
> to be a parallel to what most of you experience when you go to a guide
> program.  The dog is fully trained, but there is still a lot to be worked
> out.  My experience with Monty has been similar, I think.
>
> He is working out splendidly!  I really couldn't be happier with his work.
> He has settled in nicely to my work environment.  I work in the courthouse
> in the criminal justice section, so sometimes things can be a tad out of 
> the
> ordinary. *smile*  He is learningwhere the various offices are that I most
> often visit and is showing those to me reliably.  He is quiet and well
> mannered, for the most part.  He still likes to visit with people who come
> into my office but we are working on it and is most definitely not out of
> control.
>
> His outdoor work is absolutely wonderful.  this morning he saved me from a
> rather spectacular fall on the very slick brick street.  He slowed down 
> and
> pulled lightly after that and showed extra caution, but was not upset or
> flustered by my lack of gracefulness.
>
> Although I have still not totally finished up his traffic training, he 
> shows
> more traffic awareness than any other dog I have ever had.  He is very 
> aware
> of traffic and acts accordingly even though his training in this 
> department
> isn't complete.  I think when I do finally finish up his traffic training 
> it
> will be more for my peace of mind than his education.
>
> He remembers every place we have ever been and points them all out to me.
> He does this with a pause and a look back at me as if to ask, "Are we 
> going
> this way today?"  He's happy to follow whatever direction I give him. 
> He's
> also showing aptitude at reversing routs although I haven't explored the
> depth of his skill in this area.
>
> This weekend has a lot of things to celebrate.  I am going to graduate 
> Monty
> to full guide dog status.  There are a few things we still need to work 
> on,
> but he is doing all of the core behaviors a guide dog needs to be able to 
> do
> and he is doing them reliably.   This weekend is also 5 years since I got
> Belle and 4 years since I started working with her as a fully trained 
> guide
> dog.   Also to my and my vet's best guess Monty is now two years old.  So
> I'll dub the first weekend in November as his "official" birthday.
>
> It has been too long since I've had a fully trained guide at my side.  The
> past month has reminded me why the 14 before that were all worth it.   I
> know most of you will probably think that is a crazy long amount of time 
> and
> work to have no guarantee of ending up with a working guide.  that's okay,
> maybe you're right.  For me, though, it is the scenery on the road less
> traveled that brings me joy.
>
> Thanks for reading!
> Julie
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