Did you ever think that guide dogs sleep during the night? Well, think again. This guy had only one thing in mind, turn and turn again, flop oneself down, get up and tap the gate with one’s claw , scrape one’s claw along the bottom of the crate, repeat as necessary until morning. I decided that I was going to go to bed at 10:30 PM last night because I was tired from not sleeping very well the night before; well, that was a mistake because Jeter wanted to get out of said crate. While I was watching Star Wars last night, during the battle between Luke and his father, Jeter let out this gigantic woof at full volume and then growled. That growl was vicious and you should have seen me jump, like some had touched me with live wire.
Oh, did I mention to you that he smells? Well he does; he smells gamey. Today I groomed him and this helped, but the Smell is coming from around his neck area and from his mouth. I do not think he has an ear infection . If anyone has ideas on how I can keep the small down I would appreciate it. It is pretty strong. I want to see if I can get rid of it before I get used to and do not think of it anymore.
On to today’s training. When Pete came, he had parking issues. In this area parking is limited and where there is parking, it is by permit only. Yesterday he had parked behind the buildings (one row of building beyond where I live). I was able to find parking back there for Pete. Today, we could not; he parked in the metro lot since it is free on Sundays. I need to ask him if that lot is free also on Saturdays. Pete came in and Jeter was happy to see him, but was not overly excited like some dogs are. I think Jeter is a cool customer who where’s his “I just do not care” attitude on his shoulder. Pete asked me how Jeter was eating this morning and I had noticed that Jeter would not eat all of his food. I tricked him in to it by putting more water in the bowl. I was waiting for him to complete the task of eating; Pete had mentioned that I should not do this because Jeter needs to learn how to eat without someone there with him. Even then, Jeter was not all that excited about his food. Last night, he ate like he was starving and had never eaten since he left CT.
The Work
We worked out of the building and on the way out there was a Pug belonging to one of my neighbors. Jeter wanted to say hi; I corrected him for it. Pete had said that at this point he wants to keep the corrections down until Jeter gets used to me. After they greeted, I walked to the relieving area. Our task was to walk to a Walgreens located about a good 20 or 30 minute walk from me. Guess what! That Walgreens was no more. When we walked down to where that Walgreens was; it was an empty store front. There also is an empty grocery store in the same complex. You should have seen how disappointed Pete was that the Walgreens was gone; I was two. When Pete had mentioned to me that there was a Walgreens down there, I was very excited. When I first moved in to my currently place, my mother had walked down there helping me know what was walking distance from me. When we had walked there before, that Walgreens was not there; I knew that there was no Walgreens, but I thought that there may have been new store that just moved in. Guess who had to go number two along the route? Jeter. That guy refused to defecate for me this morning and he wanted to do so on rout. Pete had noticed that Jeter was starting to lift his tail and arching his back a little. He said to me stop I think Jeter needs to do some business. We stopped, took of the harness and walked to the curb. Would you believe that guy (Jeter) just wanted a sniff? We waited for about five or six minutes. After Jeter realized that I really did mean for him to do his business , he went. Boy did he go I am glad I had a bag with me. I always carry a couple of bags with me now just in case said dog needs to go. After our little side tour of the local fauna and streets, we got under way again. Today was the first day that I worked Jeter without Pete having his leash attached as well. The first of many issues this morning was crossing streets. First was getting to the down curb. At first, he wanted to just keep on going and did not want to get to the down curb. Wince I was able to get him to the down curb, all was well. He crossed the street successfully, but when we got to the other side, he wanted to go in to traffic (did not want to find the up curb. Pete and I talked about this and he thinks it is because I did not keep the line of travel. I need to go with Jeter, but keep my upper body faced in the direction I am wanting to go in. Once I had made this decision, Jeter started finding up and down curbs better. He is still not perfect, but is better. All and all, the trip went well. Pete had suggested that I keep the water intake down for now until Jeter becomes used to my place. Jeter only had one walk today; Pete wants Jeter to relax. By only working once today, Jeter will have more time to get used to the place. Pete had also mentioned that working a dog two much at the beginning could retard development. If people are wondering how Jeter's defecation is, it is well formed and is a little soft; Pete is not concerned.
Feelings towards Jeter
Today, Jeter was happy to get out of the crate and was excited to go outside. He went right away number one, but refused to give me number two. He is distracted by cards, dogs and people going by. I Shure hope he gets over the distraction issue during relieving. He is much quieter today, only groaning here and there; I think he will grow in to this. When he met Pete today, he was glad to see him but was not overly excited. Pete had stated that he is spending as little time with him as possible because he wants Jeter to bond quicker with me. Currently Jeter is all stretched out on the floor with head facing me. This morning when I ate breakfast, he was wining. As soon as I head this I said no and it stopped. Pete had said that Jeter is sensitive and takes everything personally; so, I will need to be careful not to over correct him.
Well, that about does it for today’s installment of a day with Jeter.
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