A lot of dogs will chase a car. Chase will stop a human when he sees a car coming. As with all guide dogs, that’s what he’s trained to do. And we put that training to the test today.
We went for a walk in downtown San Rafael this morning. Lying in wait for us was an instructor driving a Prius. First she pulled out of a driveway, right in front of us. Chase stopped. I stopped. Then she parked in a driveway and blocked our way. Chase stopped so I checked to see why. There was a car in front of us. So I worked him around the back of the car and back on the sidewalk.
She went ahead of us and came back to make a left turn in front of us as we crossed the street. At one point, she pulled into a driveway in front of us and then pulled back and forth until Chase backed me away from the car. In one last maneuver, she pulled out behind us and Chase sped up.
For Chase and me, that training is more than theoretical. It’s life and death sometimes in the real world. From all appearances, he knew what to do, and I knew to do whatever he did. Stop. Backup. Maneuver around total sidewalk barricades.
By the way, they use a Prius so the dogs will learn to read visual cues and not just sounds.
Tonight, another student and I walked from GDB’s lounge in San Rafael about six blocks up Fourth Street to Cold Stone Creamery. (For the uninitiated, that’s really good high-end ice cream.) We had a cone and headed back. Our instructor, Angie, hung back during the walk to see if we knew what we were doing. We passed with a little constructive criticism here and there.
High Speed Chase is still living up to his nickname. And the more crowded the sidewalk, the faster he seems to want to go. He’s still looking left for the passing lane when someone’s too slow in front of us. He also feels like he’s tailgating at times. I occasionally have to give him the “steady” command which means to slow up just a bit. But mostly, I just hang on and enjoy the ride.
I can see the wind whistling through your hair!
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