I don't think Prada's ever been on a footbridge before because when I walked her across the one bridging the Mighty Muddy Willamette River she kept sticking her nose through the bars to see why the walkway didn't fall into the water that was clearly visible below. I don't think it made her nervous, just confused, so I'm going to take her there a couple more times. Other new experience? Screen doors. "why can't I get through this?" Doggy vision is best with moving objects so screens are harder for them to see 'cause they don't move unless you're opening them. She sniffed ours thoroughly several times before deciding it was OK.
This morning I took her grocery shopping with mom and she got quite confused by the doors of the refrigeration units used for dairy products. It had a door handle but it didn't touch the ground...what was she supposed to do? Dog guides are trained to find doorhandles when you approach a doorway. They point to them with their noses so we don’t’ have to feel around to find them. At first she showed me every single refrigerator handle, then decided that since I wasn't interested it wasn't worth her while.
We stopped at the next store over, a kind of everything miscellaneous store, and worked through there a bit while Mom looked for tablecloths, and then came home. I hope to take her out on a longer walk tonight with Dad since Mom's kicking us out of the house for the evening (ladies Bible study group dinner). Prada has reduced her food-intake since we're not working as hard, which I’m sure my wallet will appreciate, but I expect that it will increase again when we get back to school. It's harder right now since I'm not working or taking classes anywhere so I don't have set places to go and I find myself having to look for opportunities to get out. I expect Christmas break to be a bit like that but slightly more busy (Christmas shopping, of course), and hopefully next summer I'll be working somewhere so we won't have as much downtime.
Our days are settling into something of a routine, at least the mornings are. Get up, play with puppy ("rub my tummy!"), feed, water, park, then into the kitchen where I seal off that area, take the leash off, and throw the kong toy for her. Can't do that in my room, kongs don't bounce on carpet, but the kitchen is a contained area so I can keep track of her and it's got wood floors, perfect for kong play.
I usually try to take her out into the back yard to play on leash a bit (no fence, gotta be on leash) if the weather's nice. Mom bought Prada a rope toy--long twisted rope with a knot at one end and a loop at the other--and sometimes when I bring her back to my room she'll go get it and throw it at me, a suggestion that tug-of-war would be appreciated. It takes her a bit to get a good grip on the thing, though, 'cause she can't decide if she likes biting the knot or somewhere between the knot and the loop better. Then breakfast time for me, and I usually try to get a walk or a trip in at about 8:30, 9am-ish. I'm trying to get Prada out at least twice a day, if only for long walks in our area. Where I live there are no city blocks, no sidewalks, and very little shoulders on the road so we get a lot of practice with country work.
For the first few weeks as Prada adjusts to the new rules of the house, I’ve kept her on-leash unless we’re in the kitchen with the pocket-door closed. This means she has fewer things to get into, feels closer to me, and continues to establish the bond between the two of us.
Tomorrow I'm taking Prada in to one of the state offices here in town where my father works so she can meet his coworkers. Good education opportunity for them, good practice for us. Then we have to run a few more errands to keep her active during the day. The quirk in tomorrow's planned route is a cube farm. Lots of those little office cubicles, lots of filing cabinets, tight spaces, all sorts of fun obstacles!
(I mentioned an educational opportunity for Dad's coworkers. Whenever I have the chance, i try to take time to explain to people the etiquette of interacting with dog guides and explain some of working team challenges in daily life. There is a very low concentration per capita of dog guide teams in the world, so it's possible to go your entire life without meeting one. But the more people know the rules and challenges of our lives, the easier our lives become. That's also why I'm writing this blog.)
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