Day by Day, Dog by Dog

Well, it’s been a bit since my last post.  I suppose that’s because the routine is settling in.  Walk to BART.  Ride BART.  Get off BART.  Walk to work.  Work (or sleep if you’re the dog.)  Reverse the process to come home.

I’ve discovered a new question people ask.  “Are you training him?”  I suppose that might be because I wear glasses and they can infer I’m not totally sightless.  I tried to think of some clever answer, but I’ve settled on, “No.  He’s my guide.  I’m legally blind.”  Not much style, but it does the job.

Cody and Chase are getting along.  As you can see from the video below, they play and they lie down in proximity to one another.

 

Chase has been having trouble getting distracted by other dogs.  We got to the top of the escalator at BART the other day and someone had a little dog on a leash.  (I’m guessing it was a pet, there in violation of the BART rules, but I don’t know.) Chase made a “let’s be friends” lunge for the dog.  I had to use a technique they taught us called a time out.  I didn’t say anything.  I just dropped the harness handle and used the leash to pull Chase against my left leg.  I silently counted to ten, and then gave him the forward command.  I have had to do that a couple of other times in the past few days. 

He knows a new trick.  When we come out of the BART station, I’ve been removing his shoes.  I have him find a bench, then jump up on it.  That lets me reach his back feet without killing my aging back.  It took only about two times for him to get the idea. 

Chase gets a few visitors every day at work.  Sometimes he just lies on his bed and eyes them until he’s sure they’re there for him.  Other times he greets them with a waggily butt and a curled body. He seems to enjoy the company.