8:30am- Dad picked me up and we went to the Indianapolis Airport. We parked in the garage and made our way inside. It was a new experience at the ticket counter as we checked in at a kiosk first- checking in, printing my boarding pass and paying for my 1 bag of luggage. Then we went to the counter and turned in my luggage and it was under the weight limit at 49lbs! whoo! I was worried about it being too much. We got a gate pass for Dad to help me back to security.
The further we walked into the airport the more I hated my cane and the more I realize how much my vision has changed since I last went to NY with Boomer. :( We got to TSA and they were phenomenal in assisting us to the scanners where there we unpacked all the electronics, removed shoes,belts, and coats. Because of having a CI, I do not do the bio scanner and thus this meant I needed to do the personal pat down.
The TSA agent, a woman was very good with me but I'll admit I was a little surprised at the extensiveness of the pat down. Maybe I've just been lucky in the past and the agents took pity on me and just did a quick down the front and down the back and between the legs from about my knees down. This was a full on pat down several times down my front, down my back, up to my inseam, and even pressing on my chest to make sure I didnt have something tucked away. She explained what she was going to do before she did it and that she would hold her hands a certain way to be as least invasive as possible, but had I realized that this would be a 10 minute process I certainly would have opted for the private screening area that she had initially offered to me instead of the glassed in area for all to see. :P I appreciate that they are taking the job seriously though, but was a little surprised at how extensive the check was.
Once I made it through the inspection, we made our way back to the gate and checked in with the gate attendant to let her know that I was hard of hearing and would need assistance onto the plane. Dad and I talked and took it easy as we waited for time to board.
The time came to board and I was in seat 11A, next to the window right on the wing. We settled in quickly and took off without much turbulence and honestly the flight went by faster than I thought it would. We landed and it was 1:10 pm and the moment I stepped off the plane a Delta employee took my arm and guide me to the baggage claim area and made sure I met up with Jody from GDF and got my suitcase as well. I was quite impressed from both places at the customer service of all of the Delta employees.
Jody grabbed my bag and I tried to follow her with just using my cane but the lighting was not good and I nearly fell over another person's bags. I resigned to taking Jody's arm and having her sight guide me to the van where I met 3 other classmates. I quickly ate the packed sandwich and chips that Kevin had packed for each of us coming in. We took off to Smithtown and arrived at GDF, and started to put everything away in my room.
There is a dog bed in the room and all of the dog supplies were already here in my room to my surprise. The training program has changed up considerably since the last time I was here. I received a bowl, a brush, whistle, tie down, clicker on a springy bracelet, collar bells, a martingale collar, harness light, treat pouch, and poop bag dispenser.
3:00- I worked on unpacking my bags and setting up my room when trainer Anna knocked on the door and we went through the building for orientation purposes. Not much has changed since I was here the last time, which is a good thing- as it means I remember where things are. :) After the "tour", I went back to the room and finished unpacking and getting my electronics set up on the wi fi.
5:30- Dinner was an amazing Chicken Marsala, green beans, and garlic mashed potatoes with cheese cake for dessert. Talked with trainer Cameron and made the connection that she had been at UGA as a puppy raiser and she knew Boomer from that time period too. We had one person come in a little later with a flight delay and we have one more person that will be joining the class tomorrow morning since they won't be getting in until late tonight due to some delays.
7pm- Everyone gathered in the leather lounge for introductions, a general overview of training, and the schedule for tomorrow. We met the trainers for this class and they are Jody E, Barb, Christina, Anna, and Cameron who each will be working with 2 students. There are 8 guide dog trainers at GDF now and 5-6 service dog trainers. I was surprised to hear that Mike D has moved to the service dog side of training too. I hope to at least get a chance to talk to him sometime before I go home.
They gave us a run down of the rules and expectations and the general overview of the training for the two weeks,which are as follows:
Tomorrow/Tuesday-
6:30 wake up (only sleep in day)
7:20- breakfast
8am- meet in the leather lounge and meet Brad Hibbard, the Chief Training Officer, do a fire drill Then we will do Juno or short handle walks.
11am- We will receive the names of our dogs, breeds, and the trainer that we are working with if we don't know yet.
11:30am- Social Media lecture with the Media Relations person.
12pm- lunch
12:30 - 1pm receive our dogs.
Afternoon work- We will work up and down the hallways and to the break area and work on obedience.
4:30- Water, Feed, Break the dogs
5:30pm- Dinner
6:15pm- Water dogs
6:30 pm Those that have had dogs before will go to the transition lecture and those who have not will have the equipment/dog basics lecture.
8:30pm- last break for the dogs and wrap up for the day
10pm- quiet hours
Wednesday will be more short handle/Juno walks, working routes on the square with obstacles- which will happen each trip out, and then everyone loading up in the vans to go to the library where it will be our first walk with our dogs. The afternoon will be routes to the van, how to do grooming, and working on obedience.
Mornings for Thursday through Monday morning- Every day will be goign to the town of Huntington and working the same route. The goal of this is to allow you to work your dog in a familiar route and work on improving your fundamentals and footwork over the course of time and to allow the student to see the progress between them and their dogs as they improve on their route.
Afternoons for Thursday, Friday, and Monday- will be going to the mall to do indoor work, working through stores, doing escalators/elevators and such.
Saturday afternoon will be free time for the Student and Sunday afternoon will be another trip to the mall and mid class interviews and determining what we need for customization during the second week.
Monday night will be a night walk on the same route we've been working in Huntington.
Tuesday afternoon will be traffic checks.
Wednesday will be a full day trip of going to Manhattan.
The rest of the week is more customization work
Saturday- Work the morning routes- Afternoon is Celebration Saturday- where we meet the dog's puppy raisers if they are able to come. Evening- pack stuff up to head home the next day
Sunday- Say our goodbyes and head home!
Tonight before I sign off and head to bed, I am reviewing our lectures for tomorrow which are the following (these are pretty short 2 page word docs):
Obedience
Directional Cues
Footwork and Positioning http://www.guidedog.org/GDFDocs/Main%20Lectures/GDF%20Lectures/Guide%20Dog%20Basics/FootworkPositioningLectureTXT.txt
Feeding and Watering
Performance Management
Night all!
