Before all that, drop a reminder into your calendar for Thursday 3 November, as I am doing a one-day-only discount on A World To Lose, at $0.99 on Amazon

The Day Job (for now?)

If you've come across my Author Bio you will know that I train guide dogs for the blind. This month I'm sharing a recent "blind" training with the lovely Usly (despite the ugly name....). After about 2 months of training, I train dogs a special way, as a "blind" handler. I wear a blacked-out eye mask that completely blocks my vision, and a colleague follows close behind me, to provide guidance to me as needed. Being "blind", I cannot anticipate a dog's moves in advance, consciously or sub-consciously, and I react later to a dog's movement than normal. Many dogs leading a blind handler for the first time get nervous when they experience this delayed reaction. 

Usly did really well. It didn't matter if I made a step late or in the wrong direction, she just looked at me like I was an idiot (I'm told, I couldn't see her myself 😉), and pulled me along with a strength I had never expected. The main thing she needs to work on is when she is wrong - but she thinks she is right (does that sound familiar 😁?). To steer her then in a direction that she doesn't want to go, is tough. Usly will have another few months to learn the complete ins and outs of guide work. In that time, I will handle her with a mask a few more times to see if she improves. I'm sure she will, she's a smart cookie!