I will no longer be updating Iron Guide (see below). Instead, I am now writing at my new, personal blog. Though that will be about some of the newer things I'm doing in life, if you want to see updates about Louie, Lester, and now Dusky, add me on Facebook -- there's enough ridiculously cute pictures to go around.

I submitted the monthly report for Lester a couple days and it's amazing to see the progress he's making month over month. At this point, we're basically just cruising along: he knows what's expected him, and just does it. Not only does he listen to me without much ado, but he's so in tune with my habits that he sometimes does things without my even asking! As I write this, I'm sitting in Tully's and Lester is just laying down underneath my chair, mostly just quietly sleeping, occasionally getting up to people-watch, and being the model of all-around guide dog behavior.

He's been getting a lot of experience lately, attending the usual meetings, hiking up mountains, hanging out at coffee shops and libraries, and, last but definitely not least, being the social butterfly at parties. He's fantastic at work and at home and, minus dog and very occasional people distractibility, is doing just perfectly.

Dog distractions are really the only thing I'm worried about at this point. It's a little expected, what with him going through the teenage months right now. At the same time, he's posting definite, noticeable improvements every month and usually knows to control himself at this point, so I'm quite happy. Although Lester is officially on food rewards, I haven't been using it them frequently. Instead, I'm sticking to what's working right now. I've been intensively working him around other dogs, just going back and forth trying to keep his focus on me. That's involved a lot of crouching, some high-pitched baby talk, and a couple mildly embarassing conversations... but it seems to be working. :) At this point, Lester can usually walk by other dogs -- crossing in opposite directions, or even walking past in the same direction -- and still retain most of his composure. He had a mild fit at a party a couple days ago, but that was because another dog very unexpectedly showed up, kept sniffing around his private parts, and the general excitement of the packed house. We'll save that for advanced placement stage in a couple months.

Even Louie was a little dog distracted at this age and he obviously worked out wonderfully. An excerpt from my September report a year ago:

Louie is still dog distracted and garbage-mouthing as before. He can control the former most of the time, and has only garbage-mouthed once the past month, so they're getting better but still there. [...] What's impressed me about Louie this month is that his dog distractability is noticeably less than before -- he'll still show an interest in dogs, but he knows to control it even without a correction. Sometimes he'll need a gentle reminder, i.e. a tug on his leash or my softly speaking to him, but he's getting better!

Lester is a little further behind, but he's catching up to his big brother. And, on the flip side, Lester hasn't garbage mouthed at all in weeks! :)

Labels: Lester, Louie

Permalink | Written at 4:39 PM | Post a comment | 4 comments | Trackbacks

It is so great the Lester is following in Louie's paw prints. Crossing my fingers that he graduates as well!
Permalink   | Posted by  Brittany at October 10, 2007 10:34 AM

hey.. u stop comparing him with louie!! cut him some slack... he's doing good... and that's all we need to know!
i used to hate it when my folks would compare my report card (or anything, for that matter) to my elder brother... and the fact that things were mostly in his favor didn't help! :)
btw, for all his model behavior, instead of food rewards, i think you should reward him with more frequent time-offs.
Permalink   | Posted by  Karan at October 11, 2007 11:05 PM

Hey Kushal, I'm finally catching up here. Lester has grown so much since I saw him at Louie's graduation! He's a big handsome galooph now, wow. I cracked up at the door stop discovery. That's new for you huh? I've had both pet dogs and guide dogs have a blast with those. Very fun to watch. And the babies, ooooh. You can also explain Pran's pronunciation as "prawn". "Scooties" at the tennis court were funny except he didn't tuck his butt enough for *real* scooties. What equipment are you using to make these recordings? My digital camera has a movie setting, but I've never played with it... I'm still on the wait list for my special needs light pull dog... The month will come, I have faith.

hugs, liz Halperin and danged cane Penelope
Permalink   | Posted by  Anonymous at October 15, 2007 11:40 PM

Sigh. It's not "prawn" either. Instead of the W, it's more like an H, really.

Oh, the fun times to be had with Indian names. Reminds me of school -- substitute teachers, 3rd grade -- all over again. I'm hoping little Pran doesn't grow up with a complex. :P
Permalink   | Posted by  kushal at October 28, 2007 7:18 PM