[nagdu] Monty's graduation

[Julie J]

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