A Little Excited and Nervous

Well, here we go.  It's countdown to London.  Bracha has already written down all the dates when I have to have treatments against parasites (yuck, I'm sure I don't have any but that's what we have to do!) and even Noach is a bit nervous.  He probably imagines that the stuffy Brits will find some excuse to tell Bracha that I can't enter the UK and has visions of me being kept in a cage for a week and going home without seeing London at all, and the beautiful plan to make me the first Israeli guide dog to enter the UK will be blown into smitherines.  But I secretly think things will be OK.  After all, I am beautiful and healthy and we are following all the instructions on the British government website that Bracha and I read together.  Bracha has taken out a large suitcase and is beginning to toss a few things inside.  And I am working extra hard on getting used to my Halti and walking nicely.  Bracha is very proud of me, and tells me she is happier when I don't pull too hard, and she is careful to give me opportunities to run and play in the yard and let off excess energy.
Today we were in Nahariya and the street was full of water from the rain, and a car drove past us as we were standing on the traffic island.  I jumped back in fright, but that didn't keep me from getting sopping wet from all the water it sprayed at us and all the other people standing there.  When we got home Bracha toweled me off and we laughed.  I guess I'd better get used to it.  It's going to be cold and rainy there.  Right mate?  Cheerio!

I'm Going to London!

I guess it's really true.  Bracha and I are going to London!  We will be the first guide dog team to visit the UK from Israel, and that's very exciting.  Bracha has talked to me about it, and we have decided to work very hard to make sure that I am on my best behavior.  I've been doing my best, and Bracha has told me that in the last few days I've been working very nicely, and not pulling on the harness or rushing down the sidewalk too fast.  This is because I "consented" to wear my Halti almost all the time.  It really doesn't bother me too much, and it reminds me that I have to slow down and not pull on Bracha's arm, which is getting more than a bit sore.  This is part of our agreement, and it's working out well.  Bracha doesn't want my collar to be pulled all the time, because she knows it's not pleasant for me, and I must admit that I prefer walking with a Halti.  So we will take it with us to London, too.  We may meet some important people there, and I want to make a good impression on  them and be on my best behavior!
So here I am - DInka, the first Israeli guide dog to enter the UK!  And there is even a member of the British Parliment who uses a guide dog, too!  I'd better start brushing up on my English!

Getting Checked Out

Yesterday Bracha and I went to Tel Aviv on the train to meet Y. from Beit Oved.  The idea was for her to see how we are getting on and how we are working together.  Well, she saw some things that were very good and some things that need improvement.  As Bracha explained, I get a bit excited and energetic at times, and that makes me lurch ahead - even if there are a lot of people around.  And I admit that I like to skirt over to the edge of the sidewalk, where interesting things lurk such as crumbs and papers to sniff.  I know this is out of bounds and Bracha is going to keep me in the center where I should be.  So Bracha and I made some decisions together.  We discussed it, and agreed on the following:
I will keep to the center of the sidewalk when I am reminded to do so.
If I'm too excited Bracha will try and let me have a short run in the yard before we go out.  That will help me let out some energy and keep us from getting into a struggle to slow down.
If I can't have a run Bracha will put my Halti on sometimes.  I don't like it, but it's better than Bracha pulling on my leash.  And Bracha's arm is getting sore!  That's not fair to her.
Bracha will reward me when I walk nicely and slow down.
Now at home I clearly need some better defined boundaries.  I've been getting into far too much mischief.  Bracha loves mischief and would not like a dog that does nothing wrong, but I must admit we got a bit out of hand stealing tomatoes and oranges out of the basket and rolling them onto the rug.  So the kitchen is being declared OUT OF BOUNDS.  That means I get fed in the entryway so there will be no doubt as to where I am allowed to go.  I'm allowed all of my toys, and I guess that will be enough.  I promise to try.  I know Bracha loves me a lot, and I want to do my best.
And now I am soft and fluffy because Bracha gave me my first bath at home!  And she even told me a secret last night - we are going to England!  And we will be the first Israeli guide dog team to go there because until now guide dogs were not allowed to enter the UK!  We'll be making our own little piece of history!

Alligators and Crocodiles

It's been raining so much that it's all I can do to get out even when, er, I have to go out.  When we come back my paws and tummy are all wet, so I curl up next to the stove and warm up and dry off.  But don't think for a moment that I'm spoiled.  I've been working hard all week.  Even Bracha says I have a phenomenal memory, and that I only have to go somewhere once in order to find it again.  SO let me tell you about the last week.  First of all, I had a wonderful time at the festival.  Everyone loved me, and we forgave them when they called me "Suki" by mistake.  Bracha would be sad for a moment, and then pat me and say, "This is DInka, my new guide dog."  Bracha got me good and tired out running on the beach so I was quite ready to curl up under her chair and listen to music.

Then we did a lot of traveling in the car to a place called Hamat Gader.  The man at the gate told Bracha that I could not go into the water, but Bracha assured him she had no intention of letting me go into the pool, because it was too hot.  And it smelled awfully funny. But let me tell you that when we got to the place where there were alligators, crocodiles, a huge snake, and a large monkey, I freaked.  I started barking and didn't want to go in there at all!  Bracha realized that even with all my training, deep down inside, I'm still a dog. 
And oh, my, it's raining....again...

Can I Give your Dog a Bone?

I've got to admit that when it comes to food, I have a short memory.   The other day a man in the pet store sold Bracha what he claimed was a beef bone.  It had some meat on it, smelled to high heavens, and was all wrapped up in plastic.  When we got home, Bracha opened it, took one sniff, and immediately gave it to me outside, probably because she couldn't stand the smell.  (Bracha, unlike me, is a vegetarian).  When she came out a short time later, the bone was, er, gone.  Bracha's fears were well - founded.  It was a bit too much for me, and despite the fact that she cut down my dinner ration to make up for it, I was pretty sick the next day.  Bracha and I discussed it, and she said that from now on only sterile bones would be permitted, because she doesn't want me to be sick again.  And I agreed.  I realized that the day and night I spent begging Bracha to go outside and the tummy ache were just not worth the 15 minutes I had of chewing on that bone.  And if that wasn't enough, I had to undergo the indignity of eating that fluffy white stuff Bracha cooked for me!
And if that wasn't enough, today Bracha and I are walking in the moshav and along comes a man in a car.
"What a lovely dog!  Can I give him a bone?"
"Thank you, but no," replied Bracha.  "She's a guide dog and only receives food from me."
"Can I give you a bone to give her?"
Bracha agreed, and to her surprise, and horror, he extended not a bone-shaped dog biscuit, but no less than one of those large leather bones - the kind I would eat in one go!  Bracha stuffed it in her pocket, and despite my turning my head and making longing eyes at her pocket all the way home, she didn't give it to me.  Then she slipped it into the kitchen drawer, far from my chomping jaws.

I know it's there.  And I know that for my own good, she may never give it to me.  I am, indeed, deeply  deprived.  As you can see by my soft bed and basket of bones and toys...

Out in the Big World

I can't begin to tell you how much fun I had last weekend in Jerusalem.  I know that Bracha promised me travel and adventure when we first met, and it seems to be coming on fast.  We arrived at a wonderful hotel with a grassy lawn, a place for my friends and me to run, and places for Bracha and her friends to eat, sit, and relax.  There were so many of my friends there: Petel, who was Suki's best friend and whom I really like a lot, Peter, Tango, Wendy, Alice, Casey, Polo, and many many others.  We all went on a tour on Friday that was very difficult work for me.  I did everything: stairs, ramps, tunnels, crowded alleys, and all the places in Jerusalem.  There was only one place that I would not let Bracha cross, and that was a place in the tunnel where there was a wide abyss in the floor going deep deep underground!  Bracha started telling me it was covered with glass and that I could walk on it, but there was no way I was going over that hole.  So she told people to stop coaxing me forward and we turned around and went back.  I was glad to get home to my own soft bed, but it was a wonderful weekend.  Unfortunately, by the time I learned my way perfectly around the hotel, even knew which room was ours, it was time to leave.
Now, Bracha lets me lounge on the patio in the sun by myself with the fence gate is closed.  But today she was surprised to find me out in the yard.  I didn't go far - just upstairs where there is a lovely view.  But Bracha soon discuvered the hole in the fence where I had slipped out, and to my disappointment she repaired it.  So no more wandering.

But I did hear her talk about building a special place outside, just for me, to, er, do my busy.  I hate walking on the wet grass in the morning.  I work hard and try to be good.  Can't I be a little spoiled in one small way?

Coming Along All the Time

I've been handling things a lot better lately.  I've had three big problems:  getting into cars, pulling on my leash, and agreeing (or rather, not agreeing) to go into the avocado orchard.  Getting into cars has been a lot easier for me, and Bracha encourages me with the clicker every time I get in properly.  So I hope I have that problem licked.  Now I would love for Bracha to stop putting that darned Halti on me, but I know she won't unless I stop pulling on my leash.  So I'll make an extra effort.
Now, I see through Bracha's tactics.  She takes me around the other side of the avocado orchard and we end up coming to the entrance from inside.  Yesterday we even passed two tractors and that big yellow thing that looks like a giraffe, but it makes an awful racket.  One was standing still, and Bracha took me up to it to sniff it and explore so I wouldn't be afraid of it.  So this morning I agreed to go into the avocados!  Maybe it's not such a bad place after all.
Bracha has told me we are going on vacation this weekend.  She put several little bags of my food in her suitcase, so I brought her my rope toy and she put that in, too.  I hope I'll meet a lot of new friends there, including Petel, who was Suki's best friend.  I know that if Petel liked Suki, she'll like me, too.