Solo flight

In my last post, I mentioned that a lot has happened that I haven’t had a chance to update you all on. One of those things was that a few weeks ago, I did venture out with G on my own. It sounds monumental, but I did choose the situation very carefully. I was going to the hair salon during a time when I knew it would be only my hairdresser and me there. This meant that I could avoid some of the potential distractions that I wasn’t sure I wanted to deal with while out on my own for the first time. In addition, Cindy, my hairdresser, whom I’ve known for over 20 years, is a major dog lover and one of the kindest people I’ve ever encountered. So, I knew she wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize my service dog training. 

Ever since G’s come into my life, it’s made me more aware of my mobility issues and limitations. Typically, before when I would go anywhere on my own, I would use my cane to help me get around. But, in all honestly, in some places like the salon or anywhere where the floor could be a little slippery, I don’t always feel 100% stable as I walk through the area. When I first got G a few months ago, we chose to train with a walker because I was so worried that I would get knocked off balance and fall if he bumped into me. Now that we’re over 4 months into our relationship, I realize that I just feel so much safer walking with the walker. Sure, it’s a total hit to my vanity and makes me feel like a 90-year old woman—but it sure beats whatever potential permanent injuries that might occur should I wipe out. And it’s a little less taxing on my muscles which makes me able to go a little longer before feeling too exhausted. So now I use the walker pretty much everywhere inside the house and beyond. The catch 22 is that taking the walker out of my vehicle and putting it back in by myself is extremely difficult. I bought one of the lightest ones they make, but it’s still really challenging for me since I lack the upper body strength in my arms and the strength and stability in my legs.

But I knew that Cindy would be there to help me literally every step of the way.  When I got to the salon, she came out to the car, got the walker out for me, and waited for G to get calm and settled before we all proceeded into the salon. Walking in, G did very well with the “Heel” command and did not pull too much as he tried to sniff his new surroundings. Once we were by the hair washing sinks and had stopped moving, he tried to interact with Cindy, but she did a fantastic job of completely ignoring him as I had instructed her to do. 

I put G in a “Down” and “Stay” where he could see me but be out of the way. He listened to the commands well when they were given but broke the “Stay” whenever Cindy would walk by him to get something she needed. While it wasn’t the perfect behavior I’d hoped for, I’d repeat the command in a stern voice, and he would immediately get back on track. This happened only twice, and then after that, he was fine. After an hour, while we were waiting for my color to process, I gave G the “Free” command so he could interact with Cindy. She spoke to him in very calm and gentle tones so as not to get him too excited while she stroked him. His tail was wagging a million times a minute to show how happy he was, but he remained fairly composed and well behaved.

When it was time to wash my hair out and then when I needed to move to the chair for my haircut, he followed all my commands flawlessly. It wasn’t until the mailman came to the door and Cindy went to greet him that G seemed to forget himself. He immediately broke his “Stay,” got up, and went to investigate. I called for him to “Come,” but he paid no attention to me.

It’s situations like that where I feel helpless to do anything. I simply couldn’t easily get up from the chair and go grab him to give him a correction. And to keep calling for him was futile and only served to undermine my authority as his pack leader when he didn’t listen. I really didn’t know what to do and knew that my repeated attempts to call out his name were only sabotaging things further. So, eventually, I just let it go and let things be. The mailman was only there for a minute or two, and once he left, G came back over to me, looking as if nothing was amiss. I was frustrated with his behavior and my inability to do anything about it, but in the grand scheme of things, it really wasn’t the end of the world. It was just an indication that “Come” was a command that we would need to continue to work on together.

When my hair was almost done, another customer came to the door. Cindy went to explain the situation to her to make sure that she didn’t interact with the dog if he were to approach her. Miraculously, G stayed in his spot like he was supposed to. After we were finished, Cindy helped me out to my car so she could put the walker in for me. We walked right past the other customer, and G didn’t interact with her at all. 

My verdict on the outing overall? Not too bad, really, considering that this was my first solo attempt, and  I didn’t have the safety net of having my son, husband, or Connie there to help reinforce things. There were more positive aspects than negative, which all contributes to boosting my confidence for the next outing.