Catching up with my blind mum for coffee | week in the life of a blind girl

[@empret7704]

Hello Mother, you are such a cool mom, like your smile. The way you are talking to you animals sure makes a big difference in their behavior 😊

[@melStephens1994]

Awww thank you. I will pass that on. Yes, it’s very important that you talk to your animals in a manner that is kind but assertive if it needs to be I always talk kindly and lovingly to my animals but as you could see when I was feeding Abby I was trying to get her to stay out of my space and not get too pushy with me so I used a more assertive and deep toned sounding voice which had quite a good result but then praised her after she had done the right thing

[@Blindbaddie]

Hello, I love that you’re posting more videos. Keep up the great work. I am currently in training for my first guy dog completed the first week. I am exhausted, amazed and overwhelmed with excitement. It’s a lot of information lol but it’s worth it.😊

[@melStephens1994]

Yes, like I said to you when you headed off, it's rather a lot to take in and to handle for a first time handler but it is also an amazing experience and you will come home not only with a new friend but with a lot of new knowledge. I've thought and felt for a long time that GD training is one of those experiences which is probably one of the most emotional ones which you may go through in your life. Unfortunately that's what comes with the decision to have a guide dog but it is very worth it. I'm glad you have been enjoying all the videos which I've been putting out and I'm sorry for the lack of content this week, I hope to do a post updating everyone on that situation today. I've enjoyed going back to vlogging so much that I've decided I will do it more regularly again as I know you all appeared to have enjoyed it. Best of luck with the second week of training.

[@asecretcourtofcrowsandcloc4084]

It was nice seeing you chatting with your mom. Glad to hear she had a good holiday and her dog is doing well. My friend recently got her first GuideDog. Any tips do you have on being able to work them together without distracting each other but also given them playtime/the ability to get to know each other.

[@melStephens1994]

Hey, amazing that you've now got a little working friend for your guide, it's so cute when they have colleagues who they can hang with out of harness! I think it's important to make sure that when the two dogs are together they still respond to the commandds of their handlers, without being distracted by the other dog. You can test and train this by doing a quick obedience session in the drive/hall or some other such quiet open space which is safe for you to navigate with a cane or your remaining vision and has very little other distractions. I'd only do about 2 or 3 minutes of walking up and down asking the dogs to sit, wait, heal, down ect to make sure they are able to listen to you before they work together. When they are playing, it's fine for them to go for it but the first time they play I do suggest having a sighted person watching, you can call Aira if you have that service and do not have access to a live person, to make sure they don't get too rough. let them play for a few minutes, call them back and give the correct dog a treat when it returns to the correct handler. They will always be excited and happy to see each other when you meet up in harness, for example if you've arranged to meet at a restaurant, but it is important that they do not make a diversion from their task to the other dog until you have asked them to find the other dog. I'd use which ever method of avoiding distraction your school has taught for this and positive reinforcement when they successfully do what you ask but then not make a huge fuss about finding the other dog when it's time. I'll talk to Mum because I think this is an important topic which not many other blind KZbinrs have covered and I'll see what her and I can do about putting a video together on this topic :) but I hope this helps for now.