Harness Confusion

Last weekend, just like many other summer nights, I decided to take Mason to the dog park for some much needed exercise. Usually, I walk him in on leash, with just his training collar. I never worked him in since he was there for fun, and all the distractions would have set him up for failure. Anyway, the problem with the training collar is he pulls untill he chokes himself and allmost rips my arm off. So, last weekend, I decided to put him in one of those harnesses you can find at any petstore. It worked since he couldn't pull me or choke himself, but once we got in the park, it had the wrong affect.
I'd left the harness on him since I figured it would be fine, and there wouldnt be something else for me to hang on too. However, since it fits around him in a similar way, I guess he thought it was his working harness. So, instead of running around like he usually does, he spent most of his time sitting by the bench. I guess this is one of those occasions where I need to be careful about sending mixed messages.

Selective Obediense

Last week, the camp I was working at put together a scavenger hunt for the kids. The catch was instead of finding items, they had to find sounds. The goal was to listen for the sounds on a list they were given, and put them on a tape rechorder. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong.
One of the sounds they had to find was a dog barking. When I heard this one, I figured I'd easily be able to help my group out since Mason loves being vocal every chance he gets. However, when we got outside, I took his harness off, did all the usual things that get him excited, and got no results. We tried it 3 different times, but got nothing. I guessn he enjoys doing the opposite of what he's told. Therefore, since I wanted him to bark for a change, he decided that it wasnt happening. I guess this dog has a mind of his own. Lol.

BELL Camp

For the past 2 weeks, I've been volunteering at a summer camp. I know what you're probably thinking. Big deal, people work at camps all the time. However, what made this camp uneaque was its purpose. In the public school system, if a child is visually impared, and they can manage to get by with print, then they are not taught braille. This is a major problem since some eye conditions are not stable, and straining to read print can be too hard on some people's eyes. So, they should be learning braille. This camp was put together so we could make this possible for them. The camp was named BELL, or Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning. We taught the kids their braille alphebet with a variety of activities and games. Not only did they have fun, but they learned something in the process. I think the most rewarding thing for me was knowing I was helping them to learn things that I was privilaged enough to learn early in life, and they had to wait longer for. Hopefully, if school officials realize how beneficial this is for visually impared students, changes will be made, and camps like this won't be needed. In the meantime, I've enjoyed working there, and am allready looking forward to doing it again next year.

More Fun Gajets

Earlier, I posted some information about some of the gajets I get to play with at my job. Today, I have two more for you, the intell reader and the I-talk. Let's start with the intell reader. The intell reader is a device that has the ability to take a picture of text on a page, and read it back to you. Also, it's possible to store several pages on it, and go back and forth through them. I thought the coolest part was the handy docking station. Sure, it makes it less portable, but it makes it much more simple to scan stuff. I'd say that the best use for this device would be for reading text books, or something you need read to you in a hurry.
The I-talk is a colck that runs off voice commands. The word, "talk" comes in to play not because of the voice control, but because you can rechord voice reminders to use for certain times of the day. I find this handy since it's easy for us to lose track of time, and forget we have something to do or somewhere to be. With the I-talk, you get out of having to constantly keep track of what time it is. All you have to do is rechord your reminder, and chose when you want it to go off. The I-talk will take care of the rest.

The Ins and Outs of Dog Parks

Recently, I've began visiting the dog park with Mason. I figured it would be a good way for him to get some socialization and exercise at the same time. Plus, bringing their dogs to the park creates social oppurtunities for people. Some people are completely against the idea. They say that normally calm and friendly dogs can start fights when put in a large group, and some owners will say that their dog is nice and plays well with others when nothing can be farther from the truth. So, these people feel that it's much safer to keep their dogs far away from those types of settings. However, there is another group of people, which I happen to agree with, that feels that bringing dogs to the park is fine as long as you are responsible, and as long as all the dogs are being closely supervised. This way, if a fight were to break out, you could break it up before anything serious happened. Here is a list of things that will make the park more enjoyable for both you and your dog.
1. Make sure your dog responds to his or her name. This way, if there is an altercation between others in the area, you can get him or her to come to you before he or she gets involved and possibly injurred.
2. Don't bring any toys with you. For one thing, some dogs can become protective over them, and it's allways good to prevent a fight. For another, you probably wont get them back. So, it's better to just leave them at home.
3. Pick up after your dog. Noone wants to step in or have to clean up after your dog. For a blind person, this could be difficult, which is why I allways have someone with me.
4. Watch your dog, and pay attention to what is going on around you. This way, you can prevent a possible fight between your dog and others at the park.
5. If your dog has any issue with other dogs, leave him or her at home. It makes things a lot easier on you and everyone else.
6. Make sure your dog has all its shots. Even with the best intentions, having a large group of dogs together can spread disease if your dog isn't fully vacsinated.
If all of the tips above are followed, then the park can be enjoyable for both you and your dog.

Out to the Moovies

Last night, Mason went to his first moovie theater. Taking dog guides to the moovies has allways been a debated topic. On one hand, some handlers don't have a problem with it. They feel that if their dogs go everywhere else with them, then they might as well go see a moovie too. However, there are a couple of things to consider. For one thing, due to the fact that us humans aren't allways the cleanest creatures, the floor could be sticky, or there could be food that a dog might find to snack on. Also, the loud sounds are a concern for some dog human teams.
Dispite all of this, I decided that it wouldnt hurt to give the moovies with Mason a try. At first, he was a little excited. I think it was all the food smells and people that got his attention. However, after I got him in the rowe by my feet, made sure the floor was clean enough for him to lay on, and petted him for a while, he went right to sleep. So, even though I know some dogs may not do well in a setting like that, I'd say it was a success for us.