Volunteers Among Us - Becoming a Seeing Eye Dog Trainer

September 22nd, 2015 by Anonymous

We asked our agents how, where and why they do volunteer work in the community. Our Roscoe agent Barbara Fry has shared the story of her journey in becoming a Leader Dog trainer to share with you! Below is an entry in her story first posted here: Volunteers Among Us – Becoming a Seeing Eye Dog Trainer

Barbara Fry, Broker – Dickerson & Nieman Roscoe

Last time we talked about the "jacket". This is blue vest that he wears when we are in public. This lets the businesses know we are legal to enter, and the public know Oci is in training. I keep this jacket in the bag of supplies that I take everywhere we go. Also in this bag is a bottle of diluted bleach water (in case of accident clean up). Well….. the bleach bottle leaked. Oci is now the only puppy with a tie-dyed dark and light blue jacket! I'ts kinda cute. Oci made it through his second set of obedience classes. Next week we start CGC (canine good citizen) classes. This is an AKC certified class and he will get to be called CGC if he passes the test at the end of the classes. I have no doubt he will pass. The warmer weather is helping with the training. I still can't walk Oci in the street in our neighborhood. I'm afraid the neighbor dog will get out, so I still have to pack him up to go for walks. I have been using the Rockford Public Safety building quite a bit. It's large, has open hallways and lots of stairs and people. All things Oci will need to get used to. He has become a sort of mascot to the people of this building. When we go I have to stop in several offices to visit. This also teaches Oci to lay down and wait quietly till I say we are ready to go walking again. It's working out nicely. We joined a fundraiser dog walk this weekend. 160 dogs all walking the bike path. I took both of my dogs and we walked a 3K walk with tons of people. It was a great experience for Oci and "leave it" as we passed other dogs was repeated many times! Oci is not allowed to sniff or ever go nose to nose with another dog. He can look at them but not greet them. Ha!!! Try and tell a 6 month puppy that! But we made it and he walked nicely for an hour. Oci is behaving better in public so I am feeling more comfortable taking him places. You may see him out and about during a shopping trip or grocery store run. Stop and say hi. Leader Dogs is changing the policy about not touching the dogs while they are out in public. It is now allowed as long as the dog is in down or sit position and can stay calm. So even meeting new people is a learning experience for him. We look forward to seeing everyone as we are on a learning walk! __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Oci is now 9 months old. He is gaining self control (thank God). He weighs 75 pounds and he is all energy. The training is paying off and he is doing well. He walked in the Rockton Parade and after the parade I had people tell me it was their favorite part! He is learning to remain calm when I approach another person and stop to talk. He FINALLY got the message that he can not charge the door every time someone comes over. He has learned to go find his mat. This is a rug that we named Mat. We have used this mat when he was little to settle down and to stay down. I use it at church and office meetings. Now I can hide Mat and tell him to find it. He will run to the mat and lay down. He is walking on leash without pulling my arm out and recalls are getting much better. He likes training sessions and thinks we are playing games. I took Oci to the airport this last week, but there were no planes that he could see. We practiced walking indoors with lots of distractions and he did just fine. I am preparing him for a test he has coming up. It is called "In for Training" and it is a very important test for his future. The scores he will get on this test will be a big factor in his future as a Leader Dog. I need strangers to help me with this training so if anyone wants to be a stranger in our practice sessions... just let me know! Oci has met so many people, he knows everyone, so its hard to find a stranger! Volunteers Among Us - Becoming a Seeing Eye Dog Trainer, Oci's Blog

Categories: OCI'S Blog

Tags: agents, Volunteers Among Us - Becoming a Seeing Eye Dog Trainer, Oci, Volunteers, Oci's Blog

Volunteers Among Us - Becoming a Seeing Eye Dog Trainer

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