"With this dog, I'm going to be able to go everywhere..."
"see the world in a new light"
"I'm looking forward to having a companion here at home"
"It'd just be great to have a dog who can handle the city life"
Paco, hup up
"You really want these dogs to be an effective safe guide"
"for someone"
"At this point, I don't know if Paco is prepared to take on final testing"
Pacino would benefit from being transferred to someone
with your experience level
"I definitely feel defeated with Pacino"
Pacino, forward
"Pacino, from the beginning we had to develop a little bit of a rapport"
"He's kind of reserved little bit sensitive"
He was looking at me like "Who are you and where's Jesse?"
"Today my goal is to work him on a familiar route"
"which he's done a few times"
"There's some challenging situations where he has to make a decision"
Good thinking
No, hup up
There you go!
"He's still developing that confidence to override my body mechanics"
"Push me to the right or to the left"
Nice, good I'm a lot bigger than he is
"so he's got to be pretty confident in order to push me around things"
Very nice! Yeah! There you go!
Here's the playful side
"He likes to play tug, so I was using that to bring out his personality"
Forward
"After that, then we started focusing more on the guide work"
"Challenging him with situations where he has to think more"
"Jesse really put the foundation on Pacino"
"All I had to do was just kind of slow things down"
You did it, attaboy!
"Pacino's been making some good progress"
"His attitude seems pretty upbeat"
"He's got a nice little trot going"
All right, buddy Wanna play?
That's it
"Just want to make sure that he's got the confidence"
to make those decisions when I'm not able to help him out
"Only the best of the best make it to become a guide dog"
"So, we'll just have to see how he does"
Give me a kiss, give me a kiss Come here
Tulane, heel
- Tulane, forward - "At the end of the training cycle"
"final testing starts and that's a series of five different tests"
starting with final guide work as kind of our benchmark
that we need to get done first
"Assuming that that all goes well we're going to move on to buildings"
- Okay, let's go - Down
- "obedience... traffic..." - Oh, Good girl
"and a sidewalk-less assessment"
"Our final tests are quality control gates to becoming a guide"
Up
As an instructor, I mean this is an important day for me
Most of us can lean towards being perfectionists...
so, we really put a lot of investment and...
passion and energy into our dogs not only passing...
but doing really well
Every time I test I have a little bit of anxiety
We've worked our butts off to get to this point
and kind of anything can happen
- Okay, ready - Yep
Tulane, forward
"We start out with guide work So, it's their mechanics on the street"
"Crossing streets stopping at curbs"
Oh, good girl
"Moving you around obstacles"
"Dealing with all of the distractions that can be in an environment like that"
Good girl
- Nice job - Perfect
I keep having to tell you that you're passing dogs
- because she's so sly about it - I know
"Tulane showed really nice initiative Great command response"
Paco, forward
All right, good boy
"Paco is a little bit of a wildcard today"
"Last week he was definitely more of the C-minus range"
"So, hopefully, what we worked on sank in"
"and we just have a nice straightforward route today"
Oh, my goodness, good boy
Good boy
Overall, his fundamentals very much there
He knows what he's supposed to be doing
He's... He's a safe accurate worker
Oh, look at him and that trot
Looking good
- Tartan forward - Away we go
Good girl, Tartan
- Good, go with her, yep - Good girl
Makes that move around the outdoor patio of the café
Good girl
"Tartan has one of those types of personalities"
"that is really a go-getter"
"and she's always kind of wanting to do more"
I love watching a dog like her work She's so driven
Like, you really see her lean in and get into that work
- Good, he's got his trot again - Good boy, good job
We're going to heel off the escalator on this one
and make our way to another escalator that's off to the left
Okay, ready, ready, let's go
- Good - Nice
Nice purposeful exit
Good, heel
"This is an important test for our dogs"
"to be calm in a dynamic environment"
Let's go
Hey, ready? Let's go
That's it, buddy Good boy
There's a lot of activity and a lot of obstacles to avoid
- Oh, that was beautiful - Good girl, okay, Tartan, forward
All right, ready, ready Tartan, forward
- Good girl, let's go - Perfect
- All right - So, whenever you're ready
- heel in the forward direction - Paco heel
Paco sit
Good boy
"This is a mixture of practical obedience"
"and formal obedience commands"
Tartan, down Good girl
I like how she kind of goes right into position there, that's awesome
Good hold on the sit space She's got really good positioning
next to the chair too
Tulane, sit
Good
Stay
One minute
Got your timer going here
"Sit, stay is hard because you're kind of in the middle of the room"
"and you're just standing there and a minute seems really long..."
"and that's the longest minute of your life"
Good girl, nice focus
"Perfect behavior would be for them to stay focused looking forward"
but they have something going around them, they're allowed to look
- There you go - Stay, best sound all day
- Best sound all day - Good girl
You're a good boy!
- He's so proud of himself - Yeah, we're so proud of you!
Great job with her Hey, miss!
"What I'm looking for is the dog to have an appropriate buffer"
- "from the vehicle that's moving" - Oh, very nice
"Holding their position if the car comes too close..."
Good girl, Tulane
- "and refusing commands" - Tulane, hup up
Good girl
Woah, good job buddy Good boy
- Good check in - Beautiful
- Okay - Tartan, hup up
- Good, good girl - Good hold
"We really want to have a solid intelligent disobedience"
"That's one of the things we're really looking for here"
"so that the dog can ignore all of the things that are going on"
"with the handler and just hold their position"
- And go ahead and tell him - Paco, forward
- Good choice - Good boy
What I love these dogs are just so... They're just gems
and they, they want to please So, you see that initial, the reflex
to want to do, and then he... then his... it got to his brain
and he realized "Oh, no, I can't" So...
- so, what a good boy - Yay, you passed!
She passed Yay for you!
"We want the dogs to be able to travel safely in this environment"
"that they don't have that straightforward sidewalk"
"and so they hug the left edge of the street"
"to keep the team safely out of the way of cars"
Good girl Round the corner
"We want to make sure that their line is consistent"
"We want to make sure that they're targeting the front of vehicles"
- Good girl - Nice job
Good girl
Paco, hup up
All right, so stop He's not rounding the corner
- Okay - So, tell him hup up
Paco, hup up
- Attaboy - Oh, yeah, there we go
Halt
Wanna take my elbow and we'll head back to the last car
that you just went around?
- And we'll try it again - All right
- Paco, right - "We strive for perfection"
"but we don't necessarily always achieve it but we get close"
Attaboy Good job, buddy
- A little bit farther into the block - Paco hop up
- He needed to re-work that - Halt, good boy
He completed that successfully If he hadn't
that wouldn't have been a pass I think he has a...
a basic understanding of an application of it
- Yeah - He did need some reminders
It wasn't great, but you know, it met expectations
Excellent, yay Paco Good boy! Good boy
He passed! Paco passed
Yeah! All done good job, Tulane
Good girl, yeah, yeah, yeah!
Good girl, Tartan! She says, "I'm very hot!"
- Yeah - You finished your finals!
Yeah, your college exams are over
All right, mister
"All the dogs successfully pass all five final tests"
Which now announces you know, to the puppy raiser...
that their dogs made it all through formal training
and the dog is being considered class ready
- Who is it? - It's Joelle
- Hello? Joelle? - "Hi, Claudia, how are you?"
- Fine, how are you? - "I have some good news"
- "This is the best part of my job" - Oh, Okay
Oh, my God! Tell me
Yes!
June... Oh, my gosh!
- "Your puppy Tulane is in class!" - Oh, my goodness!
- Finally! - "Tartan is in class!"
I knew it!
- "Clear your calendar next Saturday" - Oh, my God! You have no idea
I had kept all my Saturdays free for the next two months
"You'll get to meet her person, and get to have a little reunion with her"
So, you know what that means, guys?
Whatever you thought you were doing, it actually worked
That's really cool
All that hard work Finally
This might be the last time I ever see her like, goodbye, you know
I don't think I'll be able to hold myself together
You'll probably cry more than at my graduation
This is very emotional
Actually, last year on this day I lost my father
He loved Tulane He would ask me about it all the time
When I said goodbye to him I promised him...
that I would continue to raise these puppies as long as I can
- How are you feeling about today? - I'm very excited
- You should be - I think it's going to be...
a great experience all around I'm just super-excited
to meet the other people and meet my dog, of course
- And get to train... Thanks - Your suitcase is ready
- I can't wait to meet your dog - Me too
I've been joking that we're getting a third roommate
- and I really can't wait - We are
- It's going to be great - It's go time Kendal
- It is go time - Yes it is!
- Show time, go time - That's right!
"A guide dog is going to change things for me"
I can go anywhere and feel totally safe
Oh, my God!
I think... Yeah!
- Okay, I love you! - I love you too!
- I can't wait to meet your dog - I know it's going to be awesome
- I can't wait to for you to meet him - you wanna hug her?
- Yeah - Bye, Kendal
Can you hold this?
- Thanks! - Happy mother's day
- I'll see you soon! - Bye, Dad
- You're gonna do good - Be good!
I'm so proud of you
"I'm definitely a range of emotions as I get ready to leave"
I just retired my now former guide dog
So pretty, pretty, sad about that I miss him a lot already
"So, there's the emotion of just sadness"
"but excitement to meet my new guide dog"
Now to get it shut
"I have no guess what... what the dog will be"
"I always tell them, I just want the best guide dog there is for me"
"It's just such a fun crazy experience"
"to have the trainer come up and put the leash in your hand"
"to this new dog and get to feel them"
"and wrap your arms around them and meet this new dog"
"that you're going to trust with your life"
"I still need a dog that can walk through my busy life with me"
"I live in DC so things are pretty fast paced"
This summer alone I have something like three
or our different flights and trips for work
so I still need a dog that has that oomph to get up and go
"I just want a dog that likes to interact with its human"
"and is loving and cuddly and that kind of thing"
So, hoping for that kind of relationship again
"This is my third time going back to GDB"
"It's been eight years since the last time I went"
"so, definitely I'm sure things will be different"
"but I know what to expect so..."
"that kind of relieves a little bit of the anxiousness"
Wow, this is heavier than I thought
Okay
This is exciting
- You mind taking that? - Yes
- Thank you, honey - I know
- Yes, yes - Yeah?
- A little nervous about it? - A little, a wee bit
I'm really looking forward to a whole different chapter in my life
- Deep breaths - Deep breaths
- You got this - I got this, huh, honey?
- Thanks for the confidence - Yeah, it's a good nervous
A good nervous
"We're here!"
I know it's going to go great it's going to go great
You are going to have so much fun
- Enjoy your puppy! - I will
- Say hi for us - It's going to go great, Mom
I love you
Getting ready to go into class is a little bit bittersweet
We've been working with the dogs for 12 weeks...
"so you develop a relationship"
"You're sad because you're not going to be interacting with them"
"one on one anymore"
"but I think it's so cool to think of..."
"what kind of life they're going to lead"
"once they leave our campus"
"The day that our clients are issued their dogs, they call it dog day"
"It's kind of goodbye as their handler"
But our clients are so excited to get their new dogs"
"It can be somewhat emotional for us as well"
"I love Tulane, I mean she's my straight-A student"
"She was pretty rambunctious initially..."
"and she has channeled that into the correct avenues"
"and I'm so proud of her"
"I'm really excited for her client and to follow their story"
"and see where they go"
"I'm so proud of Paco and how far he's come"
"With his type of personality it's kind of hard not to love him"
"He's got that sweet, goofy outgoing playful side"
"but then he can also be really calm and reserved"
and focused in his work Oh, good boy!
"I think anyone would be lucky to have Paco as their guide"
"I adore Tartan"
"She holds a special place in my heart"
"She is such a stellar guide dog and so interested"
"and willing and excited by the work"
"This is, you know what we do this job for"
"is to see the dogs come to this moment"
"I'm glad you all made it safe and sound"
"Welcome to Guide Dogs"
This is going to be a fun two weeks
It's going to be two weeks of a lot of work as well
A lot of mental energy a lot of physical energy
Whether it's your first, second forty-ninth, guide dog
you might have a mixture of emotions right now
I kind of coined it the "pre-dog jitters"
Today is Dog Day So, it's a very important fun day
We're here to match you with a new dance partner
You might step on each other's toes a little bit
when you first start to learn
But we're gonna be giving you the tools and techniques
to get you guys on your way and walking smoothly together
I thought it would be nice for us to go around
if you guys wanted to introduce yourself
My name is Eva Velez and I live in Seal Beach, California
I had a dog named Renee and she was a golden retriever
I'm Claire Stanley I live in Washington, D. C.
This will be dog number three
I had my little Corolla and my bigger Kodiak
and now I'm excited to meet dog number three
I'm Kendal and I'm a busy active college student
so I wanted to get a dog so that I can...
you know, have a great relationship with it
and work it, and just really have a great time
I want to just talk a little bit about learning a new skill
This process that you're gonna be going through can at times be...
somewhat difficult
The first few days are one of those times
where you're gonna be feeling like "Did I make the right choice here?"
"Am I doing this right?"
Cut yourself some slack, you know mistakes are gonna happen
We're really fortunate that the dogs are very forgiving
Your instructors will work with you to get you prepared to meet
and work with your dog this afternoon
You get paired with your dog and you start this relationship
We're on campus all day today
Tomorrow we'll start working with our guide dogs on the streets
We want you, in two weeks' time to feel ready
to be going home with your new guide dog
This is the longest half an hour
Oh, boy
"On the way to the airport my kids were all trying to guess the name"
So many names
Hi Eva, it's Jessie
Coming!
- Hello - Hi! How are you?
- How are you? - I'm doing good
- May we come in? - Yes! Come in
Thank you Paco, sit
- Oh, did you say "Paco?" - His name is Paco
Oh my God, that's so cute!
I love it!
Oh, you're a little Paco I love that name
Oh, I can't wait to touch you, Paco
- Hi - Actually, can I...
Hi Paco! Oh, my gosh, Paco you are so cute
They are going to love your name you know that?
- There you go - Oh, my gosh, you're beautiful!
- This is Paco - Hi there
- He's a black lab, male - You are so cute, Paco
I love you Oh, my gosh, you are so cute!
- He's got wavy hair - He does? You do, huh?
My nickname for him was "Party-time Paco"
Just because this is his energy all the time
- Oh, really? - always happy and ready to go
Oh, you like to party, huh? You like to party?
You and I are going to have a lot of fun
Everybody's gonna love you They're gonna want you
but I'm not gonna give you to them
You like that?
- That means "yes" - Oh my God!
Oh, Paco
Are you looking at me? 'Cause I'm looking at you
I can't wait to go walking with you
All right a couple of steps How's this feeling?
Feeling good You're doing good, Paco
Yes, you are, sidestep till you feel that handrail right there
All right, so, whenever you're ready nice and slow
- you'll just ask him to heel - Paco, heel
Paco, forward
Let him lead in front of you
There you go, and then follow him If you feel him movin'
follow him, don't hold him back There you go
- Good boy, hup up - Good boy, Paco
- Good boy - Good Paco
- How's this feel? Good - Feels good
- Different? - Yes
It does
No more cane
- This is nice - Yeah, that a boy
Have your body catch up with your hand, beautiful
- Good, good Paco - Very nice
- How did that feel? - That felt great!
- Good! - It's nice
I'm anxious and excited...
and curious
Yeah
It's my third time So, I've done it before
but every time you're like...
They have it down to such a science of like matching...
the person with the dog, but you're like, "Who did they pick for me?"
"What's it gonna be like?"
- Hello - Hello
- Good girl - All right
This is your new girl This is Tulane
Hi
Hi!
Hi sweetie
Okay
She's very happy girl as you can see
- Are you a happy girl? - She exudes that joy
Can I sit on the floor with you? Yeah? Can I sit down here with you?
Come down and see you
Oh, thank you
Thank you for the kisses
Hi pretty girl
That's right I'm not afraid of a little slobber
That's okay I don't mind it
- All right, ready? All right - Yeah
- Go for it? - Yep
- Just heel her when you're ready - Tulane, heel
And just have that right arm out just to protect yourself
There is a... you are along the wall
Good girl
And this is going to kind of curve around to the right
You'll feel it
And now it kind of makes a 90 degree turn in the sidewalk
which she might show you the curb
Yep, she's like "We're going to stop here"
- Good girl, thank you - Good girl
Good girl
You guys look great, Claire
- How do you feel? - Good
I love that she's just got so much energy, I love it
- And halt there - Halt
Nice job, Claire You guys look great
Thank you, good job
"All the waiting is going to come to an end"
I get to find out what breed it is and what name and the birthday
and the gender and who the parents are and all that
I can't wait
I can imagine that the first walk feels like nothing
you've ever felt before So, I'm really excited
to experience that
The wait is over
- Hi! - Hi! Hello!
Oh, I got the door
- So who's my dog? - All right here's your little Miss
- Oh my... Hi, Tartan! - This is Tartan
So, I'll let you go ahead and attach your... your leash
Hi, girl! Hold on It's a girl, right?
- Yes - Oh, my God!
- It's a pretty girl - All right, this is Tartan
She's forty-five pounds... and she's only 21 inches tall
Say, I'm gonna give you a hug
She's beautiful She's perfect in every way
Oh, good!
Thank you for giving me a perfect dog
Oh! This is amazing!
- Oh, she's the best - Oh good
I can't even believe this is happening right now
All right, I'm going to let you spend some time with her
Come here, sit down Oh, yeah
We're going to be the best of friends, you and me
I'm super excited for her She's emotional too
which just kind of like triggers that aspect, she's... She's so excited
Her little hand was shaking as she's given the food
and so I know there's... there's a lot of that excitement
nervous energy going into it It's always more emotional
when you've trained the dog So, yeah, I'm happy
Unbelievable I can't believe I have a dog
She's so perfect!
There you go
Hi
"When we first issue a dog"
"there's obviously going to be a little bit of relationship building"
- "that has to happen" - Hi, pretty girl
There is a moment of "This dog is now mine"
"Do I..." "How do I care for it?"
"How do I manage it around distractions?"
"You know if you've never had a guide dog before"
"just developing a relationship and a trust in another animal"
"to lead you safely down the sidewalk"
"You know, you're giving up some level of control"
"as a human and trusting in your guide now"
"So that emotional struggle is something..."
"that everyone going through the class program has these..."
Ups and downs with, right? And... and, it's not always easy
Tartan, heel
- You'll find that wall again - Tartan, heel
Taking the stairs
Hup up
Good girl
- Good, let's stop and rework it - Okay
When we make matches there is a little bit of, you know
we hope that this goes well but we're making an educated guess
We've done this for a long time
Generally speaking it works out very well
- Paco, forward - Stop
So, a little more straight over her back
"We have to have a standard and we ultimately have to see"
"that everyone is safe travelling with a guide"
- Remember you've got to tell her - Turn right
Go with her, she's right Go with her
It's hard
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