Never A Dull Moment

I'm sure I've used this title before, at least something similar, because quite frankly, there really is never a dull moment. Especially not when you have four dogs mucking about. This morning was no exception.
Today being Sunday, I decided that I would try to sleep in. As usual, it didn't quite work. The dogs always wake me up around 7, but Kyo decided that 5:30 suited him just fine this morning. I put everyone out to "park" and then ushered them all back to bed. They let me sleep into about ten, but then started snorting, snuffling, licking my face and whining from their respective crates. (Kyo and Aria are crated at night and when we are not home). So, I finally gave in and got up. I fed everybody and gave them water and then put them all out as per our normal schedule. Since Aria is so small and still is a puppy-4 and a half months old-I try to make sure that all of the dogs have frequent bathroom breaks to reduce the house accidents she may have. Her pottie training is coming very well-I don't think she's had an accident in about two weeks. (Knock on wood).
I was feeling rather lazy, so I went back into the living room and curled up on the couch witha pillow and a fluffy blanket. I didn't dose or anything, just laid there and enjoyed the peace and quiet. About thirty minutes later, Roscoe barked at the back door to be let back in. (Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't let the working dogs off leash unsupervised, but ever since I moved here, I have been letting them out to play in the backyard because they don't get neough work. I'm worried they will get over weight and out of shape if I don't let them out. I can't wait ntil I find a better location to live, but that is another story).
I went to the door and let the dogs back in, but there were only three. Roscoe came in first, followed by Glacier and then Aria. I thought that maybe Kyo wasn't ready to come in yet, but I called him anyway. There was no response. I pulled the treats out of the cupboard by the door and shook them calling him-a definite way to get him back, but still no Kyo. I began to panic. Kyo has escaped our backyard before. We originally thought he jumped the fence, but today's experience shed some new light on that.
I immediately went to the front door and called him and he still didn't show. I grabbed my phone and started texting everyone I knew with working eyeballs to come and help me track him down. It's really scary when you're blind and your dog takes off. I mean, it's terrifying for anyone, but when you can't see to go look for him, you feel helpless and panicked. You are wasting precous time waiting for other people to show up to help look for him. In that time, he could be getting further away, or worse, eh could be hit by a car. I was still in my pajamas as it was supposed to be my lazy day, so I ran to the bathroom to have a shower, but for some reason something distracted me-I think it may have been a text from someone-and at that moment I thought I heard Kyo knock on the door. He raises one paw and whacks the door with his paw. It has a very distinctive sound.
Trying not to get my hopes up, I ran to the front door and opened it and called him softly, but no big Moose dog. I ran to the back door and opened the door and shouted his name. To my great relief I heard thundering paws running toward me and a big panting face came through the door. I wanted to hug and throttle him all at once. He was so thirsty eh ran straight to the toilet and began drinking out of until I put water down in a bole for him. I started to think that I was going crazy and that I had over reacted. Had he been in the backyard the whole time? Maybe he just ignored me when I called. But, why was he panting so hard and so thirsty? Did he jump back over the fence?
Some of my questions when a neighbour friend called me. She explained that he busted through the fence at the back of the yard and had gone down the street to play with a Yorky. Kyo and his love of little dogs. She explained that the woman of whose yard Kyo broke into, saw him and went to get him. She said he was very friendly and happy to see her and let her stick him back through the hole into his yard. The only reason she knew who he was and was comfortable approaching him was because our neighbour friend's husband ha filled in on who we were and who each dog was. She thought he might be a guide dog or something. Regardless, I'm so greatful for her and that Kyo is safely back at home again.
Now, we have to get someone to check out that fence and see how big the hole is. The first time Kyo escaped we had bought a run lead for him from Pet Smart and had used it until this week. I had been letting him free to play with his brothers and sister to burn off some energy. Well, I've learned my lesson. No more lazy dog owning for me. Kyo is not to be off leash unless I'm back there and he's got his collar with the bear bell on it. That may go for the other guys too, depending on this hole.
What is odd to me though, is that all of them were back there. Why didn't they follow him? I mean, I'm really glad they didn't, but what made them stay? Maybe it's because Glacier and Roscoe are trained that certain sizes of spaces are obstacles and they shouldn't go through them-like if a doorway is too narrow or something. Maybe Aria thought it was too far to follow him, since she is so tiny. Either way, I'm just so thankful and glad everyone is home where they belong, snoring away curled up together on their blankets.

The Waiting Game

So, the word around here is that we must find a new home for Kyo. It makes me sad because I did adopt him from the Humane Society and I was supposed to be his forever home, but unfortunately, he is interfering with the guide dogs. He is a great dog, but extremely needy. He is incredibly trainable-I've trained him to pick up objects and bring them to me. For example, he can bring me shoes, leashes, telephones Etc. We think he is part lab and part Great Dane and it is the Dane in him that brings out this needy/separation anxiety behaviour. The good news is, I think I've found a good alternative to him living with us. I contacted an organisation called PAALS that trains service dogs for varying cognitive/physical disabilities. One of their dogs was recently placed with a soldier that returned from the Middle East with physical disabilities. They have only been in operation for about six years, but they are growing and doing some really cool things.
I had Kyo temperament tested almost four weeks ago ad he passed. He has a few issues-like he doesn't like people touching his paws-but these problems can be fixed. He also is a huge counter surfer. He is so tall already it doesn't take much more for him to lift his front paws up off the floor and place them on the counter. Again, this is an issue that can be fixed. It's something that I have been working on with him, but being blind, it's hard to catch him every time. I've started keeping him on leash in the kitchen, or locking him out of the kitchen with a baby gate. I figure prevention is the best method right now.
Anyway, after the temperament test, Kyo was sent to the vet a week later and had his hips/elbows/joints checked out for any potential weakness. When all was said and done, the vet thought that the joints looked good and that he could not see anything that would stop Kyo from becoming a service dog. The only thing now is that we're waiting for the official evaluation to come back. The vet-who specialises in this sort of thing-does the tests, which consists of a bunch of X-Rays and knocking him out. Then the results are sent off to two different organisations, OFA is one of them, and then we wait for their evaluation.
I hate waiting! Kyo had the procedure done three weeks ago and the results were sent in about two and a half weeks ago. I would just like to know. If everything is okay, then it will be one of the happiest days of my life. It will mean that Kyo will go to a great home and may even graduate and serve a great purpose. Even if he doesn't make it, they will find him a fantastic home that will love him and make him the centre of their world-and that is just what he needs. If the tests come back positive, then I'm back to the drawing board, trying to figure out where Kyo can go to live. I want him to be somewhere he is the centre of attention. He needs to be doted on and with having the guide dogs, we just can't give that to him. He can't thrive in an environment like this, but if he were the service dog, getting to go everywhere and being a person's number one guy, then he would grow and probably be one of the best dogs out there. I don't even want to think of what will happen if the tests are positive-I guess I've kind of thought I'll cross that bridge when I get there because it's quite sad for me.
So, now all I can do is pray that Kyo's hips and elbows check out and that we find out soon. This waiting is driving me nuts. :)

I'm not Broken; Just different

Another post that has been inspired from that Facebook group I was telling you about. This post is a bit of a mess, but it's written more from an emotional place than a thinking place. I thought about deleting the page and not reading it anymore, but it seems to be good material for my blog. :)
The forum question was something along the lines of "if you could tell the public anything, what would you tell them about being disabled and a dog user?" It wasn't worded exactly that way, but that was the gist. Again I was appalled at the answers and then realised it shed some light as to why the able-bodied public thinks that disabled people are useless/rude/whiners. (Not all of the able-bodied public).
A lot of the answers were along the lines of "I'm in pain, my life sucks, but I do the best I can." Great freaking attitude if you ask me. One person wrote "I'm broken." Those were her exact words. Really? That is what you want the general public to know about being a service dog user?
Yes, it gets annoying people pointing, shouting, petting, commenting Etc., but if it's such a big deal, then don't use a stinking dog. A lot of the people commenting have invisible disabilities and so could get away with being in public without people knowing they are disabled. So, if it's such a big deal, get rid of the dog and quit bitching. My disability is visible all of the time. The only time someone doesn't know is if I'm out in public without the dog sitting down-then I just look like a space cadette eating my lunch. My gaze doesn't focus on anything as my eyes are both prosthetic. Plus, my right eye is shaped strangely due to radiation treatment I under went to try to eradicate the cancer that was in my retina. So, basically, I always look disabled. And do you know what I say to that? Who the F*** cares. I am who I am and if the general public is uncomfortable with that, that is their problem. I'm not broken, I'm just different. I do things differently and sometimes certain things are a greater pain in the ass for me than sighted people, but oh well. It's the cards I've been dealt and it has helped shape who I am.
Sure, I've had some horrible experiences because of it, and I'm sure I'll have more. Yes, I get annoyed at the pointing, shouting, staring, petting Etc., but everyone has bad days. How is the able-bodied community going to be able to respect disabled bodies if we ourselves do not respect our differences? We're not broken. I'm not usually all in your face with my disability-if people ask questions, I will answer if I have time. I don't only talk about being blind to my friends, nor do I get all up in arms about someone who looked at me the wrong way. But, what I do get worked up about is when people with disabilities think we're "broken." Things will never change with that kind of attitude, especially coming from people who are experiencing it.
There is this British artist-I can't remember her name-but she is disabled and she sculpted herself nude and pregnant. She depicted her disability and just put it out there. She was, of course, ridiculed by some. They said it was ugly and horrific, but others saw it as beautiful. We need to be like her and embrace our bodies and see the beauty in them, regardless of your abilities, shape, size...whatever people may discriminate for. It's something I struggled with as a teenager. I never thought I was broken, but I was uncomfortable with my difference. It wasn't until I went through university and grew up a bit that I realised that difference is beautiful and definitely not broken.

Can I have Your Attention Please! Would All Potential Landlords Please Stand Up!

My latest endeavour is to find a new living space. Since my parameters are quite particular, I am finding the task a bit difficult. I need a house that is within my budget; that has access to bus lines and other important things like grocery stores; and a house that isn't about to fall down around me or stink of old cat urine. It seems I can find one or two of my criteria, but not all of them. There was one house that was in a great location, but smelled so badly of cat piss that the ten minutes it took me to wander around it, cost me 25 minutes of cat pee smell in my nose. Today I looked at a house that is actually in really good condition, with enough room and within my price range. I'm not entirely sure that it's completely accessible, so that is one thing I will have to look into further, but I'm not sure I will get the house even if I put my application in.
I always take Glacier with me when viewing houses. I really like to be upfront with people and let them know I have a guide dog. I don't know why, but not bringing him kind of feels like lying. So, as usual today, Glacier came along with me. Now, Glacier is a big guy, but he is well groomed and usually quite well behaved for a three-year-old labrador. He was especially good today when we were wandering from empty room to empty room feeling walls; checking electrical outlets; flushing toilets and all of the other things you do when investigating a potential living space.
When I first viewed the advertisement, it was stated that pets were conditional. That was fine with me, since Aria weighs no more than four pounds and is a very good little girl. I didn't think much of having Glacier or Roscoe for that matter, and the guy showing the place didn't mention anything about pets until we were nearing the end of the viewing. He mentioned something in passing about pets being conditional, but that Glacier seemed like a very well behaved guy. I barely noticed what he was saying as I had my head stuck in an empty closet examining its depth and width. When we made it back to the kitchen, he said that there was a pet deposit that was non-refundable and that he wasn't sure how much it was. I thought he was talking about Aria because I had just mentioned her, but it turned out he was discussing Glacier. At that moment, while I was processing what he had said, he stooped down and picked up Glacier's paw to inspect his claws to see if they were trimmed or not. I was so horrified that I didn't know what to say. Ironically enough, I just had Glacier's claws trimmed on Monday, so they were looking their best. He said that the "deposit" was non-refundable because dogs do damage and that he would have to check with his father about the exact cost.
I was still in "Jess is polite" mode and hardly registered what he had said, but as we got back in the car, I began to realise that he was intending to charge us a pet "deposit" for my guide dog. This is an issue for two reasons.
1. First and foremost, Glacier is not a pet. He is a "guide dog." The laws that apply to pets do not apply to service dogs. Landlords or other places of accommodation who try to charge a patron for a service dog, is committing a crime. The problem is, I can't prove that the pet "deposit" was being applied because of Glacier. He knew about Aria and he could state that it was because of the four pound miniature weiner dog that he was charging.
2. It's also a problem that he is calling a non-refundable charge a "deposit." Does e not know the meaning of the word "deposit?" I would say that the word "fee" is much more appropriate. Deposits you get back, fees you do not.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that we won't get the house because of the dogs and we have no way of proving it. Discrimination is a funny thing. You have a feeling it's happening, but you usually can't prove it. I understand he wants to keep his property nice: it is an investment for him. That doesn't mean he shouldn't rent it to us because we have service dogs. Our dogs do not destroy things and they are both very quiet. We keep their claws trimmed down and just from the walking we do, they get worn down. I can't prove it, but I have a feeling that that house will go to someone else and it will have nothing to do with me being a good or bad tenant. It is because I have a service dog. The comments he made when I was leaving were vague, but they would suggest to me that the house was being rented to someone without a guide dog. From this, I guess I have learned that, Glacier just has to stay home. I don't want to do things this way, but in order to get a fair chance at renting a house, I will have to omit certain details. What he is doing is illegal and I have no recourse. It is frustrating and infuriating! So, no more Mrs. Nice Guy!

A Little Fired Up

So, again I've been slacking on the writing end of things. A lot has been going on I suppose, but nothing has really fired me up, at least until now.
Today's post is about an issue that has always bothered me. It probably won't appear too sensitive to non-service dog users, but I may offend other service dog users: so I apologise in advanced for that-but this is how I feel.
It all started with a Facebook group I signed up to be a part of. I normally don't do that, but it seemed like a good cause. The page was designed to inform non-service dog users about service dogs and the rules surrounding them; a pretty solid endeavour if you ask me. I haven't really been paying attention to the page lately, but today a status popped up and I read it and then read older posts. The posts themselves were completely harmless. It was something about one woman's dog having an allergic reaction and her asking the group how to cope with an "out of commission" dog. I've been there, so I started reading the responses to see if I could be of any help. Jetta used to sprain her toes every two years or so and wouldn't be able to guide me because she would be hopping along on three paws. It was annoying, but I managed. Almost all of the responses were the same and they horrified me. Maybe I'm uneducated or ignorant to the ways of service dogs, but I felt very differently than the rest of the respondants.
By the sounds of things, most of the people had self trained dogs. None of the dogs were guide dogs, but rather performed some other valuable service. That I don't have an issue with. In fact, I''ve joined a group who train service dogs and Kyo has under gone an examination to see whether or not his hips are stable enough for him to become a working dog. So, that is absolutely not what bugged me. What did bother me, was that out of twelve responses ten of them told the woman that they took a dog out of retirement and used him/her. There are many reasons why I feel this is irresponsible dog handling.
First of all, the dog was retired for a reason in the first place. Whether the dog was too old, or maybe suffered an injury, or perhaps the dog just didn't want to do their job anymore. Regardless of the reasoning, a retired dog is just that, RETIRED. There are exceptions to the rules and I understand that, but what if that exception to the rule messes up and hurts their handler or the public? One of the women commenting said that she takes her retired dog out of retirement, but only for one day because otherwise he gets aggressive if he gets stressed out. How is that fair to the general public, the dog or other dog handlers? Service dogs and their handlers still deal with ignorance and people telling them to leave public property. What happens if a dog who should have been retired is out working and does something horrible? It is not just tht handler who suffers the consequences of that dog's actions, but the rest of the service dog community does well. It's just the way society works-the lump alikeness together. Perhaps working a service dog who assists someone with doors and carries things isn't as unsafe as someone working a guide dog who is retired-I don't know. But I do know that if I had continued to try to work Jetta after she was officially retired-especially if she had been out of practice for a few months-it would have been dangerous. Part of the reason she was retired was because she wasn't working properly because she didn't want to. She would sit down in the middle of the sidewalk or cross a street and take me up on to the grassy bullivard. Again, I realise that my situation is not exactly like other people's and there will be exceptions, but it's not fair to anyone if something does accidentally happen.
Secondly, working a retired dog would be confusing not only to the retired dog, but to the new dog, if there is one present. Dogs are social creatures and they sort out social roles the same way people do. I am not suggesting they have governments and/or monarchs, but giving them a job and then retiring them gives them a specific purpose and role to fill. I remember the first couple of times I put Glacier's harness on in front of Jetta, she tried to get between me and the big yellow guy. Even when I started putting the harness on him without her seeing, she would try to be in front of him and by my left side when we went out for walks. Now of course not all working/retired dogs react this way, but is it really fair to put that kind of stress on a new working relationship or that kind of stress on a retired dog who is supposed to finally able to be a dog?
My last point may be a bit more touchy, so again I apologise, but this is just how I feel. I have never been comfortable with the concept of "self trained" service dogs. There are a few things that I find problematic with this concept. These dogs' training is not regulated. Some people may be fantastic dog trainers and may produce great working dogs, but there is no system in place to weed out the self trained dogs that should not be out on the streets. Having access to the public with a service dog is a privelege, not a right and if there are misbehaving dogs, then all service dog users will suffer for it. (This does apply to misbehaving dogs that are certified froma school too, but most schools are heavily regulated and dogs are triple checked before they leave the facility and even when they are out in a working team). Who holds the self trained dog trainers accountible?
I'm also not comfortable with this because of some people abusing the service dog title. There have been quite a few cases documented where dogs were self trained and the owner/handler believed that the dog had the right to have public access. The problem is, people use such things for their pets just to be able to take them with them. There was a woman at my university who said that her dog was a service dog, when really it was a pet. She told me that she just wanted to bring her to work. She even had a special coat made for the dog. That makes me very angry. Her dog tinkled in the hallway and people started taking issue with Jetta being on campus. There was also another woman who got on toa train with a dog who supposedly self trained as a guide dog. Now I am the first one to say that you can never know just ow much someone sees, but this woman definitely was not blind. If she was low vision, she was barely. She never once gave her dog a command and lead it around by the leash all of the time-even on the busy train platform . The dog was horribly behaved and the conductor was concerned, but didn't know how to approach the situation.
So, I guess really, I had two issues burning up my brain tonight. Self trained dogs make me uncomfortable and re-using retired service dogs makes me particularly annoyed. It wasn't easy for me to retire Jetta and I know many other dog handlers who had to go through the difficult process of career changing or retiring a dog. It's not easy, but it is done for a reason. As for self trained dogs-I know there are plenty of great self trained dogs working out there, but where is the accountability? Who keeps misbehaving dogs in line? If your dog comes from a certified school, then that is the job of the school-and if they are not doing that, then perhaps that school needs to be re-evaluated.

Not Glacier Approved

Since we have so many dogs-four in total, three of whom are huge-we are always trying out new dog toys/treats and any other dog products that we can get our hands on. All of the boys, and our one girl for that matter, love nyla bones, Busy Bones, Roll Over and a few other tougher chews. When we were at Leader Dog, we were told that nyla and Kong were the only acceptable toys for guide dogs-for various reasons. The problem I have run into is that Glacier can destroy Kongs and so I have had to branch out. I learned that very quickly when I gave him a King black Kong the second week I had him and he ripped the top off in twenty minutes.
I have managed to find a few other toys he hasn't destroyed yet. Like his purple squirrel for example. It's this gigantic purple rubberish squirrel that you can stick treats in. He loves that thing, so we now have two. Nyla bones have managed to stand up to Mr. Jaws of Steel as well. We also have a gigantic red ball, called a Jolly Ball, that the boys play with in the backyard; another Leader Dog "no no." The Leader dogs are not supposed to have balls because it teaches them that they can have balls, which could be potentially dangerous. That said, this ball is huge with a handle at the top and I'm pretty sure they won't mistake it for a kid's basketball or baseball when we're out working.
To further demonstrate Glacier's terrific chewing power, I gave him a hockey puck once just to see what he would do. Seven minutes later, I removed it from his slobbery mouth because he was pulling chunks off of it. So you see, finding toys for my "pretty boy" is a pain in the rear end. To look at him you would never know he was capable of such destruction.Everyone pegs Roscoe for that kind of behaviour, but alas, it's the pretty white dog that everyoen thinks is a girl. lol (How they determine this I have no idea because he has a massive head).
So, in the pursuit of a new chew that could stand up to Glacier's great chompers, Mr. K and I purchased three elk antlers; one for each boy. Everything I have read about them says that they are durable and can last up to three weeks. The woman at the pet store suggested them for us and picked out the medium ones for us. She was sure that they were the right size for our boys. In the excitement of getting our boys a new toy, I forgot to mention Glacier's chewing abilities. We have only started going to this store, so the owner is not aware of Glacier's history-so she is completely blameless.
We returned home and put each boy in their own area to chew their prizes in peace. I was getting ready to do my ride for the day and put Glacier in the exercise room with me. Kyo was happily chewing away in the kitchen and Roscoe was in the computer room with Mr. K. It too me a few minutes to get changed and get the room set up; water, music, heart rate monitor, Aria in her crate Etc. By the time I was ready to hop on the bike, Glacier had finished his antler and I don't mean a little bit done. I mean, all done. All scraps were cleaned up, no crumb was left uneaten. In less than a half hour, Glacier finished the treat that was supposed to last weeks. I was shocked. Here we had spent twelve bucks apiece and he had demolished it.
Concerned that the treats weren't all they cracked up to be, I went and check and Kyo and Roscoe who were still happily chewing away. They had hardly taken the tip off. Even now, a few days later and a lot more hours of chewing later, Kyo and Roscoe's antlers remain intact. They are whittled down to about half of what they originally were, but they are still in existence. Even baby Aria's had a go at the antlers. Now, she is a toy breed, but she must try everything her big brothers have. :)
I guess what I'm saying is, the elk antlers are good if you have average chewers, or even a little above average chewers. Kyo is an above average chewer and Roscoe is about average, so they are a good measuring stick. But if you have a labrador with jaws that belong on an alligator, elk antlers are not the way to go. :)

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Ice Cream!

Today was my first day of a double workout. All things considered, it wasn't all that bad. I started this morning with a core workout that lasted about 40 minutes and then biked tonight for 45 minutes. The bike was a bit more challenging because my coach gave me sets to do in the middle of the ride. They were hard! Exercise is a funny thing especially when you are training for a competitive sport. You work hard and just when things just start to feel sort of easy, your coach hands you something else that challenges you even more than before. I look back now the first ride I did and realise how easy it was, but I guess it's all relative. A easoned triathlete would look at what I am doing and think it was a warm-up. While I, on the other hand, get off the bike and have my quads quiver under the strain of just walking my tired ass to the shower. :)
After all of that, I guess I'll get to my point. After having two workouts today I found myself craving simple sugars-chocolate, ice cream, gummy bears Etc-even though I'd consumed pasta and meat sauce for supper and had some almonds and watered down Gatoraid after the bike ride. I tired to tell myself that ice cream is not a part of the necessary food groups, but my sugar hungry cells would not signalling my brain. So, finally I broke down and went on a hunt through my fridge to see what would satisfy my craving.
To my great excitement, there was one Drumstick left in the freezer. It sounds crazy now that I'm writing it down, but that first bite was heavenly. The mixing of the nuts and soft vanilla ice cream made every sweat droplet worth it. All I could think while I was eating it was that there were probably a lot of crap in that thing that my body did not need, but those thoughts were drowned out by the chorus my tongue and brain were singing. :)
I suppose the moral is, sometimes giving into those cravings is good for you. Our bodies crave things because we're missing something in my diet. Now that I've eaten the ice cream-chocolate chunks and waffle cone and all-I'm ready for bed and I feel completely content. :)

He's a Popular Guy

Today Glacier and I attended a friend's bridal shower. There were probably at least fifteen women and a few random little children crammed into a very small space. Glacier came with me of course and although I was a bit worried at first, I learned very quickly that he's a super star.
When I first got Glacier, his distraction work was horrible. He was really good at Leader Dog, but after I got him home I think he realised that he weighed almost as much as I do and began sniffing/eating whatever he wanted. This was something I had to work very hard with him and I am happy to say that after almost two years, he's getting it.
There was food everywhere and some of the little kids tried to sneak him food whenever their moms weren't looking. I mean, you can't blame them-they were about a year and a half and were allowed to feed their pet dog. Glacier was definitely interested, but stayed lying quietly at my feet; only moving his ears every once in a while to listen closer. He'd also wiggle his eyebrows as he looked closer at the offered deliciousness, but he never moved a muscle. I was a very pround mom.
Even after most of the food had been put away and I took his harness off, he remained lying quietly at my feet. He would adjust once in a while, but as soon as he stood up to move I'd just gently remind him that he should be laying down and he'd resume his down position. There were evena few times when his leash slipped out from beaneath my bum and he stayed put. It was just nice to se him come so far.
He was also really good with the kids. One little girl kept crawling to him-she was only 8 months old-and would try petting him, which consisted of her clumsily whacking him lightly. She also crawled over his paws a few times, but Mr. G never budged. He did wash my friend's little brother's face, but the kid is almost seven and lives on a farm with cows, horses, 8 dogs and some chickens and donkeys. I'm not worried about him. :)
This outing made more confident in his ability to ignore people when I start working. As a massage therapist, Glacier will be exposed to new people almost on a daily basis and be tempted to greet the clients he knows. It's good to know he can stay focused on his job.
I remember Jetta at his age and there is no way she would have done as well as Glacier did. Jetta was my wild child. lol That said, I was at a different stage in my life and Jetta fit in then and Glacier fits now. It's funny how that works.
Either way, I'm just really proud of him.
PS: my triathlon training is coming along. Today I did a 30 minute walk/run; going 3 minutes running and 2 minutes walking. It was hard after yesterday's hour bike ride, but I at least finished. The running is definitely going to be the weak portion of the race for me. That just means it has more room for improvement. :)

Legs Of...Lead?

Today is the sixth straight day of training. The work load isn't exactly difficult, but my fitness base has definitely disappeared from when I was swimming competitively. My lower abs hurt, my left shoulder is so tight I can barely move it and my quads feel like they won't support me anymore. That said, I'm loving it. There are fixes for all of these squeaky body parts-stretches, eating high calorie/nutrient filled foods and just plain perseverance.
Today was a 25 minute run/walk workout just trying to build up that base fitness I am lacking. It didn't fel so good when I was running, but when I finished I had a great sense of accomplishment. I'm also feeling good because it was a rare occasion hwen swim coaches could get six consequitive days of training out of me. I would just get bored and not go. This triathlon stuff keeps my mind occupied and my mind challenged. I also think I'm better at this because I'm an older athlete now.
I swam competitively from the age of 12 and on the international scene since I was 17. The two years I took off between swimming and embarking on this adventure did me some good. I feel like I'm doing this for myself instead of coaches or teammates. I enjoy it a lot better and I kind of feel like this is a second chance for me.
Don't get me wrong; I was a good swimmer. I won medals, held records and travelled everywhere with my sport, but I always felt like I could do better. I could never get ahead and really go after what I wanted. Part of it was lack of motivation on my part, part of it was life circumstances that made training a lot harder for me. I'm definitely not deminishing my experiences at three Paralympics and various international competitions, but now I feel like they were just building blocks for this. And, that is exciting.
I should probably get my tired but satisfied bum to bed. Tomorrow is another day and I don't know if I have a workout or not. :) So, the more rest I get, the better.

And She's Off!

Just a quick update: Glacier is fine. After a few very tense days, his stomach returned back to normal and he is as happy as ever. We've also added a new member to our family. Her name is Aria and she's itty bitty, but I'll fill you in on her later.
It was just over a month ago that I decided that I was going to complete a triathlon. It was a thought I had been throwing around ever since I retired from swimming, but the massage program was way too intense for me to be doing anything other than study.So now that I was done with school and I have to wait on my practising license anyway, I figured now was as good of a time as any. So I began looking for triathlon coaches. I emailed a few and only got a response back from one. I figured that it was better to do something like this under the guidance of someone else. I know about elite sport, but I was a sprinter and swimming is only one discipline-a triathlon has three. I had no idea where to start training. There is also a lot of information available on the internet of course, but I wasn't sure what was actually legitimate or not.
After the coch and I emailed back and forth a few times, we established that he would be able to coach me. He lives about an hour and a half away from me, but we agreed to correspond every day via email and the phone. As needed I've also emailed him photosand videos of various things so that I can get some of his feedback. He also gives me direction on nutrition. I am pretty good with what foods are good for what and what foods are not good for anything, but a triathlon requires a very high number of calories and I wanted to ensure I was feeding my body the best fuel possible. Anyway, a long story short-sort of-I have a coach and today will be my tenth day of training. We've definitely run into sme glitches along the way that I hope will be rectified.
For example, I need a guide to actually compete in races and as of right now, I am guideless. I do all of my workouts on my own inside on a treadmill at a friend's house and on a road bike that we mounted on a "trainer." I thought I could build up my fitness on my own while I was in the market for a guide. For those of you who don't know, a guide would be teathered to me during the swim and run portions of the race and they would be in front of me piloting a tandem bike for the cycling portion. The guide needs to be in as good of shape or better than me so that they can keep up and also be able to focus on keeping us safe. I don't really know where to start looking for a guide. I'm currently trying to sign up for a YMCA membership and thought that maybe I could put up a notice on a bulletin board there or something. This leads me to my next problem.
This issue isn't as big as the no guide thing because I can pretty much fix this myself: it will just take a bit of time. Getting to the pool is proving to be a problem. I live in kind of a rural area and finding a local pool is difficult. Not to mention, pools are expensive. I'm trying to get a membership at the YMCA in order to have access to both the pool and the gym. I am worried once I get to the pool, my workouts will be disturbed by other swimmersand I will disturb their workouts. I'll be swimming on my own and won't know if someone is waiting on the wall resting. I may accidentally run them over, or just never fully swim into the wall so that I don't run anyone over. This all means that I won't get as much out of my practice as I need to. I also don't want to hurt anyone or annoy anyone for that matter. I was thinking I could ask the manager of the YMCA if I could use half of a lane to myself. That way, I can use the lane rope as a landmark (or water mark) and trail along it. That way, I can stay out of the other swimmers' practices.
The gym membership would be also helpful for the days when I have to do both running and biking on the same day to practice transitions. Monday of this week, I had to do a practice where I biked and then ran for ten minutes afterwards. It wasn't worth the hastle of getting my friend to pick me up to take me back to his place to use the treadmill, so I tried running on the spot. Do you have any idea how hard it is to run in one spot and actually try to get some kind of aerobic fitness from it? Plus, I kept running away from the spot I was on. :) If I were a sighted person, I could have done my bike workout and went outside and done the tenn minutes around the neighbour hood, but alas, Glacier doesn't guide while running. :)
Despite some of my dilemmas, I am thoroughly enjoying my new adventure. It's nice to workout and not have to do the same thing every day. One day I may run, another I may bike and then another I'll do both or a core workout. Once I get a better fitness base, I will be doing two workouts a day-at least I think that is what this is all leading up to.