My Guide Dog Training experience with Guiding Eyes For The Blind!

Guiding Eyes For The Blind is an amazing organization! I highly encourage you to donate to them! It’s not only helping me, but helping other blind and visually impaired people receive guide dogs: www.guidingeyes.org
Intro song: Vexento-Oh Look, Aliens
Outro song: Ampyx-Glide from NCS

[@joaoermensongomes]

tHE YOUR DOG IS VERY BEAUTFULL.

[@mariaritafattori1980]

Hello Christian. It is very nice see a blind boy as you is happy to have Zeke your first guide dog. I am agree with you that have a guide dog you have take care of it. Fantastic I think it is as a person when it gives you an help. So you have a friend who can help you in the society: at home, in the school, at work and when you go out abroad or when you go out to walk and across a street. Friendly greetings and have a great Thursday.

[@ChristianSullivan]

Thanks! I agree, Zeke has definitely given me the freedom that I’ve always wanted! He doesn’t wear his harness or leash at home, so he’s just a regular dog. Out in public, yes. I am considered Legally Blind, which essentially means, you have to have a best correction in your better seeing eye even with glasses or contact lenses by your Ophthalmologist/Eye Doctor. So I fall on the spectrum of Visual Impairment, since I have some functioning vision in my left eye and blind in my right eye.

[@cynthiaswift6463]

Informative video, Christian. I love seeing you and Zeke.

[@ChristianSullivan]

Thank you, Cynthia! Happy New Year!!!

[@khanhhm5762]

I watched this video while grooming my boy. I'm not totally caught up on your dog adventures yet, but I've really enjoyed learning about your experiences. How did you choose GEB over other schools? That's really interesting that you met your dog and hung out with him for a while, then the match was confirmed the next day if I understand it correctly. At Seeing Eye, we arrive on a Monday and meet our dogs on Wednesday morning. We go to our rooms and wait. The instructors bring the dogs to us, and we spend about an hour "making friends", then it's the first parc time, a meeting, lunch, then into town for our first walk. We don't get any info about our dogs until we meet them. When I got my first three dogs, we arrived on Saturday and met our dogs on Monday afternoon. I miss the two extra days. Dog day is always so interesting because it's different for everyone. HughBrew, my current boy, was all excited when he met me. But then once Kristin left and he heard other dogs in the hallway, he whined like: "Hey! Lemme out of here! I hear other dogs out there, and I want to know what they're doing! Let me out! I said hi to you, now let me out!" He scooted as far away from me as possible, to the end of his leash. I love this kind of stand-offish greeting because it makes me work harder to earn the dog's affection. By the end of our first day, the Brew dog was kind of starting to like the idea of being with me. Three days later, he was definitely mine. Now--two years later--he's definitely definitely mine. ::LOL::

[@ChristianSullivan]

That’s interesting! Zeke just started kissing me and wanted belly rubs when We first met, ha ha! I got to Guiding Eyes For The Blind through another nonprofit organization called the Chicago Lighthouse for the blind visually impaired. They were doing a program called “Operation Cuddle Up” and collaborated with the guide dog school. They were giving out dogs that didn’t make it to become working dogs, so they gave them out as companions to other blind individuals in the my local area. I did apply to that, but I didn’t realize the age limit and I got rejected unfortunately. But someone from the Addmissions I Guiding Eyes For The Blind reached out and asked if I wanted to apply for a guide dog. I said, “sure!“ My family and I talked about it and we all agreed it will be right for me in my long term life.

[@khanhhm5762]

@@ChristianSullivan Gotcha. I'm familiar with the Chicago Light House. I'm glad you ended up at GEB; sounds like you got the best match. Yup, the first meeting with every dog is different. When I met my first dog, Filly, she greeted me, wagging her tail amiably. Our trainer also happened to be the one who trained her formally, so she was super attached to him. When he left, she didn't whine, but every time she saw him for the first minute or so, she'd wag and look at him with big eyes like: "Hey! I'm so happy to see you." Second dog was a female Lab/Golden Retriever cross. She greeted me by flopping on the floor, chewing her leash, snorting loudly llike a pig, and trying to drag me around the room, wagging and sniffing. She leaped onto the bed, hopped off when told and was essentially a little tornado. I was like: They expect me to trust this dog? Seriously? She was a different dog in harness and one of my best guides. Shepherds in general tend to be more aloof initially, so you often have to really earn their trust; they look at you like: "Tell me why I should trust you. Prove it. Until you do, I'm just going to ignore you and pine away for my trainer. You don't exist."

[@eatveggies8058]

Wait- you said the guide dog training used to be three or four weeks at Guiding Eyes but because of the pandemic they shortened it to two? Or did I hear that wrong? Just want to know since I’m going to get my first guide dog from there

[@ChristianSullivan]

At the time of my training, yes, It was two weeks. I don’t know how they’re doing it now currently since I’ve heard they switched stuff. I would much prefer three weeks though if I had the option, but they sent out a trainer in my region to see My Dog and I adjusting at home + to finish off our training. If I needed any help.

[@joaoermensongomes]

What care should you take with him?

[@ChristianSullivan]

It’s a lot to take care of a dog. You have to be ready for the lifelong commitment.

[@cynthiaswift6463]

Informative video, Christian. I love seeing you and Zeke.

[@ChristianSullivan]

Thank you, Cynthia! Happy New Year!!!