day 2: juno walks and training talks

Well, it’s 7am on Tuesday morning. I’m happy because the alarm on my cell phone actually went off when planned. It’s not like I had much sleep mind you but that is to be expected in a new place.

Yesterday I arrived at the school in the late afternoon after enjoying a nice picnic down by lake Ontario with my family. It was quite an interesting sight as my 10 year old and 5 year old nieces were pulling my two suitcases, one big and one smaller one, into the school. We all came up to see the room which was nice. After everyone left I unpacked, realized I probably don’t have enough of the right clothes but such is life.

I should report that the rooms are very spacious. They are about the size of a large hotel room with laminate floors, a large washroom, TV (important to follow the Vancouver Canucks progress through the Stanley Cup playoffs with) and a computer hooked up to high speed. The computers seem a bit old but are apparently being replaced this week. I’m using my own laptop which makes things easier. If I can figure out how to upload photos to the blog I might have a couple to share with what the room looks like. I know I was feeling quite anxious about the room the day before I came here. (or was I just feeling quite anxious about everything and focused on the room? ;)

Once we were set up in our rooms we went down stairs to the lounge to meet the other clients as well as our two trainers. We began the process of getting comfortable with our fellow classmates and the trainers. Basically they told us what the agenda was for the next couple of days and had us sign all the necessary forms to keep the administrators busy. We then had our first meal here and so far so good.

There are 8 class members. There are 4 girls around high school age, a woman returning because her dog had to retire due to health reasons, a man in his early 70s, myself and a fellow coming next week since he has had a dog from here before. , 

So today, Tuesday (Day 2), we are meeting for breakfast at 8am. Meals are at 8am, 12pm and 5pm everyday. We then meet in the trainers room at 9am to head out today to do Juno walks. A Juno walk is where the trainer holds an empty harness and pretends to be the guide dog. This is the last test to see how fast we walk and the tone of our voices giving different commands as the trainers prepare to match us with a dog. By the time you arrive at the school they have pretty much decided on a match for you but sometimes, seeing you in action live, may cause them to change their minds. Usually they have 1 or 2 dogs who they feel will be the best match for you and the Juno walks finalize their decision. For this class of 6 poodles and 2 labs they have 8 dogs and 8 people so lets hope they got the matches right. They will also be teaching us all the commands we need to learn. Sounds like fun.

Lastly, we have been told that we will get our dogs either Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning. Now that is exciting news!


ps: I have had my first tragedy of my adventure. My hair dryer doesn't seem to be working! For those of you who know me you'll be having a good chuckle over this. So the lesson learned is always to check your equipment before travelling!