Rochester, Michigan
The following installments were written during my stay at the Leader Dog School for the Blind, in Rochester, MI. Each installment was written fairly soon after each event. When I got home, I decided to go through and add observations and more details. Any omissions regarding training, policy of the school, etc. are mine alone. Keep in mind that attending Leader Dog can be a stressful experience for almost everyone involved. The students are away from their home situation, they are learning new things, and they’re meeting their dogs for the first time, and then getting to know them over the next 3 to 4 weeks.
Sunday and Monday, July 5th and 6th
My trip to Leader Dog started when I arrived on Sunday afternoon at the school’s main campus and entered the dorm. I was assigned a room, complete with roommate, and unpacked. The building was pretty much what I remembered from the last time I was here, but there were some minor changes. My roommate was Dan, a 55 year old guy from Maryland who worked at the Census Bureau. He had just returned his Leader Dog that day, and I spent some time listening to him talk about the friend he just left behind. I know how that feels, and I hope I helped him in his grief.
On Monday morning we were introduced to the trainers, and given table assignments. We sit with our trainers, and they give us our dogs when the time comes. Dan and I were both assigned to Art Fleming, who had trained dogs for both of us in the past.
In the afternoon we started "Juno Training". "Juno" is the name of the "default" dog, or generic dog that each student uses to learn the commands they will need to know in order to use their dog. They also use this time to gauge the students’ walking speed, working environment, and a number of other factors. "Juno" is actually a trainer, walking the student around by the harness. Don’t get the wrong picture here. The trainer isn’t on all fours, they’re holding the chest and shoulder straps of the harnemm while the student holds the harness and leash. Some students are actually fooled by Juno, thinking it’s a real dog until they try to pet him/her.
At this point, no one knows what kind of dog they’re getting, what its name is, and the trainers aren’t telling either. I’m certain, in the trainer’s heads, they know who goes with what dog, but they don’t tell the students in advance of dog issue day.
Tuesday, July 7th
Today was an emotional day, to say the least. First, in the morning we did more Juno training, except we did it in the school’s downtown Rochester building. For some, it can be rather embarrassing, because you’re talking to an "invisible" dog, and everyone, including you, knows it. We survived though, and we, the retrainees, found out that we would be getting our dogs that afternoon, a day before the new students. Even after finding this out from Art, he still wouldn’t give me any clues as to the breed, name, or color of my new dog. Sometimes I think playing poker with Art would be a losing game. Easier to just give him my money. That shell rarely cracks.
Dog issue was after lunch. We are told to go to our rooms, and wait for the trainers. When they’re going to bring your dog in, they come and get your leash, tell you your dog’s name, and go away. After a few minutes, they come back to your room with a dog. I called Cooper’s name, and he came to me, and Art handed me the "keys" (the leash). Cooper is a 78 pound Black Labrador, and he's male (obviously!).
The rest of Tuesday afternoon went like this. We spent about an hour talking to and petting our new dogs. After that, we actually went out to the training course behind the school. I was amazed. I must say that I had really missed having a Leader Dog, but hadn’t really fully appreciated that fact until Cooper was walking the course with me.
Tuesday night, we spent on grooming, gently of course, and just talking to and soothing our new friends.
Wednesday, July 08, 1998 8:52 PM
Today was the first day Cooper and I got to actually work together. We had three trips, one in the morning, and two trips in the afternoon. All three times we took a fairly short route. In the morning, we worked in the practice track behind the dorm, and in the afternoon when the new students got their new dogs, we retrainees went into Rochester and worked in town.
As I said before, all three were short routes, and Cooper did wonderfully. His new master didn't do perfectly, but considering that it's been a number of years since I've used a dog guide, that's to be expected. The third trip went very well, and we're slowly getting to know one another. As in most cases, Cooper's trainer does a wonderful job, and his dogs are very attached to him. Yesterday Cooper had some stress related to separation, but today that seems less of a factor.
Thursday, July 09, 1998 7:15 PM
It's the second full day of training with the dogs. Cooper and I spent the day working in downtown Rochester, at the building the LD school owns there. In the morning we had two trips out. The first trip was pretty simple, amounting to about 4 or 5 blocks. Since this is just the retrainees, we had a chance to go out a second time, but this time we doubled up with another student. Dan (my roommate) and his dog Milo worked together in the second run. When two students work together, usually they trade off the lead so both dogs can be in front.
Cooper worked well both times, and I made a couple of easily correctable mistakes. First, I crowded him off to the left while crossing the street. I actually corrected that in the next street crossing. Milo and Cooper worked well together, and didn't compete at all.
The other change in the second trip was that we reversed the route we took at the start of the morning workout.
In the afternoon, we had a more complicated route, going some different places. The route itself was mostly left turns, but some of the curbs were tricky, meaning they were difficult to detect. Dan and Milo worked with us again on the afternoon second run, but Art threw us a curve. He placed a barrier in our path to see how we would handle it. In our case, the obstacle was a Jeep with two young women in it. The dogs did well, and worked us around the Jeep without any problems. Overall, it was a fine dog working day. Currently, Cooper is "resting", since it's fairly warm and a little humid here in Michigan.
Sunday, July 12, 1998 8:15 AM
It's Sunday morning, and the first week of dog school is coming to a close. This is the 5th day we've had the dogs, and things seem to be going well. Both Dan and I are doing well with our respective hounds, and Art seems pleased with our progress.
Yesterday, Saturday, we worked in Rochester in the morning. Cooper and I went out for two walks around the route for that morning. This route involved some interesting walking situations, including a bunch of sidewalks that had steep hills, some civilian dogs who spent their life barking at "smarter" dogs, (probably in envy) and an interesting street crossing that goes off at an angle. Cooper did very well, and handled the crossing perfectly both times.
For both trips, we worked in teams. First Cooper and I went out with Dan and Milo. Those two always work well together, and sometimes we wonder if the dogs aren't clones or something. I think Cooper and Milo were kennel pals, and would like to just play now and then together. Next time we went out, it was with Melissa and Kelly, Melissa’s yellow lab. Kelly is very sweet. She and her mom sit next to me at dinner, and sometimes Kelly quietly says hello to me when I sit down. Usually, she just lifts her head and touches my hand, but sometimes I get a lick.
On our second run, we did well. I think Cooper likes to be in the front of the pack, but it's hard to say.
In the afternoon, the class went on a "park walk". This involves going to a local bike path in one of the local parks and walking a couple of miles. All of the students went on this walk, both retrainees and new students. Anyway, the weather was very nice, and the walk was very enjoyable. There's no traffic, and every now and then you'd see a bike rider or roller blader. There is an asphalt walkway, and a bunch of wooden bridges to walk on. Cooper and I went about 1.4 miles, and I had one tired puppy at the end of the day. I could have gone another 1.4 miles, actually walking back to the bus I started on, but decided to give Cooper a rest.
Today, Sunday is "a day of rest". There are no scheduled training activities, but Dan, Milo and Cooper and I will probably go out onto the training course at least once today.
The next week should be more interesting, in that we will be experiencing a large variety of new situations. So far, the traveling problems have been pretty basic. Now things get interesting.
Cooper does seem to be "warming" up to me a little. He's obedient, of course, but he's looking to me more for things, and not spending all his time trying to find Art.
Monday, July 13, 1998 8:48 PM
Today was an interesting work day. It's Monday, and according to our trainer, sometimes the dogs are a little sluggish because of the break on Sunday. For Cooper, this wasn't the case.
In the morning, we once again worked in Rochester. The retrainees did the route called 7-Up. This is a fairly complex route, and consists of going west 7 blocks, and then over a block, and then coming back down to the school building. It sounds simple, but the route contains a number of tight working areas, strange curb cuts, dogs, barriers, and lots of other stuff. Cooper did very well on this route. We were working doubles for this route, as we had been for some of the earlier routes, and that always makes the routes more interesting. By working doubles, you have someone to compare your work with, and you find out that others are having some of the same difficulties that you might be having. Cooper and I worked with
another of Art's students, Doug, and his dog Louis, pronounced Louie.
In the afternoon, we did "store work", which takes the dogs into a store setting and works them there. This is very stressful, because you have to have very good control of the dogs, and they must take traveling in the store very slowly. Cooper did well here too, and managed to avoid some small children and knocking any store displays over.
This afternoon's store trip was short, mostly because it was fairly hot today.
Thursday, July 16, 1998 10:54 AM
First, night training. On Tuesday, Team 3 (Art's table) went down to the building in Rochester and worked the dogs at night. The dogs had never done this before, so it was a new experience for them.
As an aside, it's also very stressful for Art because he has to keep track of us in the dark, and apparently some of the telltales he was depending on were not working. He told us later that some security lights that usually come on as we walk by them didn’t work that night, so he started wondering where we were.
The other thing that was different about night travel, especially on Main Street in Rochester, is that there were lots more people on the sidewalks, and they seemed, at least that night, intent on spilling as much ice cream onto the sidewalk as they could.
We didn't have any problems. Cooper seemed to work well, except he spent a little more time sniffing things as he went.
Yesterday, Wednesday, we did a very long route in Rochester while the new students did 7-Up. It was very hot and humid, but we survived. The route was around 18 blocks, and we had partners as we went.
Wednesday afternoon we had ID pictures taken, and visited Dr. Smith, the school vet for a final checkup. Cooper was down to 78 pounds, but he could stand to lose a few pounds.
Today the retrainees went to Birmingham, and I'll be going with them this afternoon. This morning I stayed home to rest, and try to get rid of this cold.
Friday, July 17, 1998 7:20 PM
On Thursday and Friday of the second week of training, we ventured out of Rochester and went into some other areas of the region. Thursday we went to Birmingham, which contains more "city" like traveling conditions. There are many different kinds of curbs, and a large variety of different building situations. Some of those included elevators, escalators, revolving doors, and even some construction. The afternoon consisted of mainly different kinds of curb work, which is always helpful.
On Friday, we went to Royal Oak, which is another suburb near Detroit. Again we encountered some different things, mainly railroad tracks. In most cases, the dogs treat them as up-curbs, and stop at them for us to find. If the tracks are "flush" with the street, they still stop, because they see the difference in traveling surface.
Also in Royal Oak, there were a number of strange obstacles, including some weird sidewalks, some construction, things in the sidewalks, and cars in our way. Cooper did a fine job with all of this stuff.
In the afternoon we did "country travel", which deals with travel on streets with no sidewalk. The dogs are trained to follow the shoulder of the road, usually going against the flow of traffic. In order to cross the street, you do something called "indenting". To do this, you and your dog follow the curve around to the cross street, then cross straight, follow the opposite curve back to the street you were on, and so on.
There are always things I "relearn" as I go through training this time. I'm finding that there are many things I vaguely remember, and some that make sense to me because of "common sense", though that may be because I've heard it before. It's difficult to say for sure, but it's all very interesting.
Saturday, July 18, 1998 5:44 PM
Today was interesting in a number of ways. It's Saturday, and it's also a weekend when Lions organizations send representatives to Leader Dog to see the facility and get some idea of where their donations are going. So, here's what we did today.
The morning was pretty cool, because we did the "obstacle course". Now, don't worry, they don't make us climb walls or jump water hazards, but it's close. What happens is this. Behind the dorm is the training course, which has a lot of sidewalks, and some simulated street crossings and stuff. To make it more difficult, the trainers go through and put barricades, road cones, cars, trucks, and whatever else they can find to see how the dogs will handle them. Cooper, and all the other dogs, handled these new problems well. In most cases, it was me learning to read Cooper, so I could tell when he was telling me I was about to hit something. We did a couple extra runs, and then we were done for the morning.
In the afternoon, Dan, Milo, Cooper and I went on the "P" Route, which is about 10 blocks long. It was a nice walk, and we chose it ourselves. We were also going to go to the drugstore, but then the Lions groups showed up at the Rochester center. The four of us did a demo route for the Lions, and Cooper thought he was some kind of star. I think he knew people were watching him. I thought for sure he'd be tired, since we had already been out once already, and on a pretty longish route, but when I got him started, he pranced right off. I was smiling all the way. Milo was a little sluggish according to Dan, but we both, or I should say all, did very well.
The route for the Lions was only a couple blocks, and they took pictures and videos. The same thing is on for tomorrow morning, at least for us.
Monday, July 20, 1998 5:44 PM
Well, today was quite a little adventure for the hounds.
In the morning, the entire class went to Stoney Creek Park, which has a fairly large lake with a 6.2 mile bike path around it. For those of you worried that we had to walk the entire circle, you needn't worry. I think the only person here up to a hike of that distance is Art, one of the instructors.
Anyway, we had the option of walking a mile, 1.5 miles, or 2 miles. Cooper and I opted for the 1.5 mile hike, and that was plenty. By 10:00 AM, it was almost 80 degrees, and the humidity was pretty high as well. Cooper must have had an upset tummy, because he had an accident along the last .5 miles, but we got off the path before he went.
After lunch, the class separated into three groups. The first group went to Royal Oak for residential travel, the second group went for country travel, and 5 of the class went to downtown Detroit. The downtown group included Cooper and I, along with Dan and Milo, Melissa and Kelly, Don and Kato, and Carlos and Jack.
In Detroit, we went into a number of interesting situations. First, we went on the People Mover, which is a train that goes in a 2.5 mile circle within downtown Detroit. This involved going through some turnstiles, going up some escalators, and then entering this train thing. It's very similar to those trams that you might find at large airports. We also crossed some very large streets, went into the Federal Bldg, and into the Detroit financial district. All of this in 90 degree heat.
According to our fearless leader, the dogs all did very well both on the navigation and in also dealing with the heat. We managed to escape the downtown area before the afternoon rush started, and got back to the school around 4:20.
Overall, a very productive day.
Tuesday, July 21, 1998 1:57 PM
It's been two weeks since dog issue, and things are going well.
This morning we worked in one of the large stores here in Rochester called Miejers, (pronounced Meyers). We learned a number of things, but the main thing is to work VERY SLOWLY. You also have to be very aware of what the dog is doing. The dogs have a tendency to sniff at things, and even pick things up from the floor if they're just laying there.
When working with someone, like a spouse or friend, they walk on your and the dog's left, and they can hold your arm over the dog if they want. If they walk on the right, the dogs feel they can't move us to the right, since there's another person standing right there. This configuration is new for me, and will take some getting used to.
We also learned how to use shopping carts, both with sighted guides and alone. In the first situation, you have the sighted person pull the cart, and you follow by holding the right side of the handle and having the dog heel along.
Using a cart by yourself is only for experienced dog/owner teams, after a year or more. You have the dog lead you, and you tow the cart behind you with your right hand. This, as you might imagine, is extremely awkward, and is one of the reasons for the caution. The user has to be very aware of the dog's actions, and the dog yours.
This afternoon we're splitting up again, in more or less the same configuration as yesterday. Some are going to country travel, some residential, and some to Detroit.
Thursday, July 23, 1998 7:37 AM
On Wednesday, a few of us went to campus at Oakland University, which is around 10 minutes from the Leader Dog School. We did some inside travel tips, and that was pretty helpful. In most cases, finding rooms can be very tricky, but the dogs pattern to where you need to go very quickly. After the campus work, we still had time to go to the Rochester downtown building and do the 7-Up route, just for the practice.
In the afternoon, the entire class went to the Lakeside Mall. Mall travel can be some of the most difficult. There are very few "landmarks" and there's loads of distractions. The dogs are basically trained to follow
the right side of the hall, all the way around the mall. The trick here is that if you follow that wall around the entire mall, you'll get back to where you started. While we were in the mall, I told Art I'd like to go into Victoria's Secret, but at the last minute I decided it probably wasn't the best idea.
Cooper did very well in the mall, as you might expect. He didn't even flinch away from the railings on the second level. He just looked over the side to see if there was anyone down there he knew. After walking the mall, Dan, Milo, Cooper and I hung out at Arby's, drinking a beverage and waiting to go back to the school.
On Thursday, our last day of training, we'll be down in Rochester. One of the things the trainers will be doing is "traffic checks", which are when one of the trainers run a car in front of Cooper and I to see how the dog reacts. What they should do is stop on a dime, and even step back. This has already happened to Cooper and I once, but I'm guessing it will happen again. The reason for these checks is that most drivers don't really look before making turns and such, especially at right on reds.
Thursday, July 23, 1998 1:59 PM
This morning we had our last working session in Rochester. This was interesting, mostly because starting today the businesses were having "Sidewalk Days". As you might imagine, this creates some almost impossible traveling situations. There's people shopping, things crowded onto the sidewalks, tents in the pathways, and just general confusion. It's also difficult for the dogs because in many situations, they have literally no place to go if things are very tight.
Also, the replacement students received their brand new harnesses this morning. They are very different from the training harnesses in that the leather is new, the handles are different, and overall they're much lighter in weight. All these factors combine to give a different feel through the harness handle, and so it takes a little while to get used to the new feel.
Today I was responsible for getting whacked by a parking meter. We were turning onto a cross sidewalk, and the turn didn't go well. I was also crowding Cooper pretty hard, and he was trying to push me out of the way, but the parking meter got me before I could get the message. I'm fine, but I had a little headache, and a little scrape under my left eye. I'll live.
We also encountered a little of the sidewalk sale stuff, and that went pretty well. Mostly the best way to do that stuff is super slow, as if you were in a store.
This afternoon most of the replacements are staying in to pack, do exit interviews, and just relax before departing tomorrow morning.
It's been 13 years since the last time I came to Leader Dog to get a dog. My stay here has been a tremendous learning experience, as it always is. The trainers here are some of the best in the world, and I have the greatest amount of respect for what they do and how they do it. Their job must be one of the most difficult I can imagine. First, they pick these dogs to train, spend four months training them, loving them, and getting to know them. Then, we show up and they have to give their children away, not once, but twice, first on issue day and then when they put us on the plane. The amount of love and dedication the trainers put into their job, hence into their dogs, is super human. I think this instills, at least in me, the sense that I have taken on a special burden. That being to care for my trainer's child with at least as much love and dedication as they did, for as long as that dog belongs to me. That's a promise, Art.