Erin Lukacovic lives in Colorado and has been volunteering as a puppy-raiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) since she was 16 years old. She has applied for an apprenticeship to become a guide dog mobility instructor, and if anyone from GDB is reading this, hey: you’d be fools not to hire her! She not only loves the dogs, but she studies, researches, and reads everything she can get her hands on about guide dogs and the work that goes into training them. That’s how she found my book, my blog, and now… me! Whitney and I had a ball with Oscar, Erin and Erin’s family at Coors Field Tuesday night, and I was so pleased when Erin agreed to write this guest post about our Rockies rendezvous.
Laughter in the rain
When I read on Beth Finke’s blog that she was coming to Denver I had hoped we might meet, carrying along the realistic expectation that nothing would probably come of it. But what
Beth, Erin, Whitney and Oscar at Coors Field
started as an idle comment on a blog post and a vague hope turned into a wonderful night at a baseball game filled with enthusiastic conversation.
Less than a week after leaving that comment to Beth’s post, I was on my way downtown to meet a fellow blogger and the author of a book I had found by chance at my college library a few years previous.
My last puppy-in-training, Matilda, has returned to campus in San Rafael, so I borrowed Oscar from someone else in our puppy raising club so he could get some socialization. We met Beth at her hotel and after a brief introduction, began the short walk to Coors Field.
Although Oscar was a little distracted, Whitney was composed as she led the way in a strange city. The only break in conversation was a short “you have the green” or “let’s go” as we crossed intersections. We entered Coors Field and found our seats. They were perfect for our purposes: just under the roof and protected from rain. We had a perfect aerial view of the field and even better acoustics: we could hear the strike of ball on bat as if it was yards away.
Our conversation continued throughout the game, touching on topics of puppy raising, family, writing, books, and training with a guide dog. We had a traditional baseball meal of a foot long dog, although the green pepper instead of the more common pickle relish was a little odd.
The game sadly ended in the middle of the 7th inning due to rain. Luckily however, the Rockies broke their losing streak to win against the Chicago Cubs 10-5, despite a lack in fan base. The walk back to the hotel was slightly less pleasant than the walk there. As you can see from the picture, the rain caused both people and dogs to become pretty drenched by the time we had completed our route. We said our goodbyes with a promise of meeting again in the future.
Sounds like fun, despite the rain!
It was!
Why does she still have to do an apprenticeship if she’s already trained all those dogs?
As a puppy raiser, I have the puppies until they are 15 months old. My main job is to socialize them, teach house manners and basic commands. This provides a good foundation for when they go back to puppy college. It takes a three year apprenticeship to learn how adn to get certified to train them to stop at curbs, go around obstacles, watch for traffic and to find things such as doors, counters, and empty chairs. I have a good basis but I haven’t learned everything yet! I hope that helps.
Erin (& Beth),
Are there any current books about becoming a guide dog trainer, a sort of “Memoirs of a Guide Dog Trainer”? I’ve read three books from the point of view of guide dog users and one (by Peter Putnam) about how the dogs are trained. I’m an animal trainer, horses and dogs. I also use behavior modification in my work with developmentally challenged adults. I’m wondering about another point of view. If not, Erin, get that apprenticeship, become a trainer and take great notes. There may be a future author in our midst!
Kim, I totally agree. If you read the blog Erin publishes (the link is on the intro to this post) you will se that she is a very, very good writer.
. Like you, Kim, I have found many books and essays by those of us who use guide dogs but rarely, if ever, find a published work by a puppy raiser.
Erin? You ready to submit a rough draft to an agent?
In the meantime, I thank Erin here for explaining the role of a puppy raiser. I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times people have seen me with my Seeing Eye dogs and boasted that they have a friend who trains guide dogs.” 99.9% of the time they mean they have a friend who raises puppies.
Believe me, those of us who use guide dogs worship you generous volunteers who raise puppies for us. I just like people to understand the work involved in raising puppies to become guide dogs and then the work involved training them to do the work.
Thanks for this explanation, Erin.
As I said in my introduction here, I hope GDB hires you to do an apprenticeship soon.
I passed that game with the remote–was struck by how few people there were in the stands.
You know, it *was* a lot like a minor league game, and I’m not just saying that because of the two teams out there on the field! All in all not a bad thing, the minor league feel: crowd was small and relatively sober, fans and staff members very polite and helpful. A nice atmosphere to get to know Erin and her family – and for Whitney and Oscar to learn how to behave at a game!
Beth, Thanks for replying. I didn’t notice the link to Erin’s blog. Until I discovered your Safe and Sound blog through one of your articles for “Bark” magazine, I’d never followed a blog before. Now I’m hooked on many covering a variety of topics. So thanks for that. And thanks also for patiently answering my questions and responding to my (sometimes over-enthusiastic) comments. I hope we can meet one day. If not, I’ll see you on my computer screen!
You may want to check out this blog as well. It was written while I was doing an internship at GDB.(http://thegreatinternadventure.blogspot.com/)
As far as finding a book written by a trainer, I haven’t found one yet. I have however found a few by puppy raisers. “A Gift of Puppies” is a compilation of puppy raiser stories by Carolyn Wing Greenlee (a guide dog user). “Around the Next Corner” is a fiction book written by a puppy raiser. “Guide Dogs for the Blind: Looking Ahead” and books by Clarence Pfaffenberger would probably interest you too but they are hard too find as they are out of print.
Erin, thanks for that link. As for a book written by a guide dog trainer, I found one! Check out my favorite used book website: Abebooks.com. The book is called, Eyes That Lead: The Story of Guide Dogs for the Blind by Michael Tucker. He’s a trainer in the UK so probably they do things the British way. Still, the book sounds interesting. Good luck to you getting that apprenticeship!
Kim and Erin, I think there are plenty of books like the ones you’ve mentioned on how guide dogs are trained (Peter Putnam wrote a bunch about the Seeing Eye). I’m not sure I’ve come across *any*, however, that is written by a puppy raiser and focuses on the importance of volunteering to raise and socialize a puppy and then give it up to be trained to dog guide work.
I cover this aspect in “Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound’ but like so many other authors, I just give it a short swath:
“I stayed at the school with my mama and brothers and
sisters for eight weeks. Then a family came to take me to
their house for a while. They were volunteers, called puppy
raisers.
My time with the puppy raisers was like
preschool. They taught me all the basic
commands.
Sit. Stay. Normal dog stuff.
A special scarf around my neck set me apart as a puppy in training. The puppy
raisers took me everywhere, including the bathroom stall at the library. I
even went on a Ferris Wheel once! They trained me to feel comfortable in all
sorts of places. And with all kinds of people.”
Seems to me it’s time for a book about puppy raising written by a puppy raiser! Erin, you up for it?
Go for it, Erin! You’ll be able to describe an interesting topic from a unique viewpoint.
Thank you, Beth, for the name of the author, Peter Putnam. I’ll check the library (and Abebooks.com) for one of his books. I’m especially interested in “intelligent disobedience.” As a long time dog and horse trainer, I know that it’s relatively simple to teach an animal to obey a command. Teaching a dog when she should disobey a command is way out of my league! Hopefully Mr Putnam delves into that. If not, I’d love to pick your brain sometime, Beth. Maybe I WILL fly to Chicago and have a drink with you at Hackney’s. Or, when you finish that “memoir” book, you can do a reading at Parnassus (A. Patchett’s bookstore). I’ll be the lady in the front row asking off-the-topic questions about Whitney!
I just got Eyes That Lead: The Story of Guide Dogs for the Blind by Michael Tucker so I could read it but have only gotten the chance to skim through it so far. I would keep in mind that due to the year in which it was written, a lot of the training is different now. For example, curbs were taught by correcting the dog for not stopping. Now the dogs are taught through clicker training to target thinks like obstacles and curbs. It still looks facinating and I can’t wait to read it.
Erin, I’m enjoying reading the blog you wrote during your internship at GDB. I feel as if I’m there with you as you go through your days. I hope you get the apprenticeship. Good luck! Even though lots of the info is out of date, I’m glad you found Michael Tucker’s book.
Erin, I just finished reading the blog posts from your GDB internship. Loved it! You wrote the most concise, clear description I’ve found on how guide dogs are taught “intelligent disobedience.” Finally, I understand. Thanks!
[…] Adventures of a woman and her Seeing Eye dog BlogAbout « They’d be fools not to hire her […]
That is just so cool you were able to spend such a wonderful evening! Agree – a book would be so great and a visit to SLC. Best wishes on all you are doing and great article, Erin! Wishing you the very best in your ap hope it goes well with GDB!
Thanks Becky! Hello all, Just wanted to let you know that Matilda graduated last Saturday and is now settling into her new home in MD with her wonderful partner Jo Ann. Best of luck and many happy years of Guiding to them.
From the breeding program, through puppy raising, training, and matching dogs with blind people, Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, California and Boring, Oregon provides an exceptional service. Dedicated to fostering lifelong partnerships between trained mobility dogs and blind or visually impaired individuals, Guide Dogs sets a standard for what can be accomplished when teamwork is the goal.
Leave a Response