Home Training Day Five

16 February, 2011:

Home Training Day Five:

Today was a huge, long day for everyone. Today was our road trip to Chicago!!

Mike-the-trainer, LD Mike and I took the 7:45 A.M. Metra train into Chicago so that I could make two eye appointments. LD Mike slept most of the trip in. So trains are obviously not going to be a problem for us. We arrived at Millennium station at 9:00 A.M and worked our way through the station to Randolph Street.

Then we headed to the El station at Randolph and Wabash. We only waited a minute or two before a Pink Line train (the one we needed to catch). We boarded and within a few stops Mike was snoring happily at my feet.

 

We got off the El at the Polk Street station where LD Mike balked at the head of the set of stairs heading down to street level. I used vocal encouragement and a bit of harness English to keep LD Mike moving. After we got onto Polk Street, I found a spot and offered LD Mike a chance to “park”. We worked over to Paulina and then down to Taylor Street. We had some time before my first eye appointment so on our way past the University Of Illinois Chicago (UIC) hospital we took a short detour to see how LD Mike would handle the revolving door. I found that I need to keep tight control of LD Mike when exiting the revolving door because if I did not he would erupt out of the revolving door like a bullet from a rifle. On our way out I did something, without thinking, that earned me a verbal “leash correction”. I failed to wait for the door to stop spinning, a stupid mistake, but luckily LD Mike was not hurt. We got to the sidewalk and headed along Taylor Street towards the UIC Eye and Ear Infirmary. I found the new place to check-in for the contact lens department. We did not have to wait too long in the waiting room before I was called into the exam room by a tech. 

Mike-the-trainer stayed in the waiting room while LD Mike and I followed the tech. LD Mike settled right down by my side as I sat in the exam chair. When the tech stepped near him he jumped up to say “Hi!” to her. He settled right back down though Go MIKE!! After the tech switched out the contact in the right eye, we waited for the doctor.

The doctor checked to see if we needed to change the lens prescription, but the current one was kept. After finishing the appointment the three of us went back along Taylor Street to the hospital to have lunch. LD Mike did fantastic while we went through the cafeteria, then had lunch. So LD Mike and I had two more shots at the revolving door. We both did awesome! We went back to the Eye And Ear Infirmary and checked in for my second appointment.

Then we waited, waited, waited some more and..., wait for it, waited some more... Even though I had checked in a half hour before my appointment time it was nearly two hours past my appointment time before a tech took me into the exam room. I have to brag on LD Mike! He was so patient in the waiting room and also very glad to meet and greet new people. LD Mike behaved very well in the exam room with the tech, then back we went to the waiting room to.. gasp... wait some more. After a short wait the doctor called me back and she and LD Mike got on well. Again, LD Mike lay patiently at my side during the exam. After the appointment we took a slightly different route back to the El statioin on Polk Street. As we were approaching the station Mike-the-trainer alerted me that there was another team coming towards us. I took the leash in my right hand as we closed with the other team. LD Mike showed interest in the other dog, but a firm “Leave it, straight.” to LD Mike and a bit of harness English and we were past the other team. It was so AMAZING!! To be able to go past another working team with so little effort, (More on this incident in a bit). We went on into the station and I decided to try LD Mike out on the escalator. BAD move! LD Mike balked, but I did get him on the escalator. This is something I will not try again any time soon, not with the way LD Mike freaked out. We boarded our train and on the way to the Randolph and Wabash El station, Mike-the-trainer mentioned that he had seen the handler of the other dog we passed very heavily leash and verbally correcting her dog. LD Mike slept most of the way We arrived at Millennium Station and Mike-the-trainer bought his return ticket when we checked the board we found the track number of a train to University Park that was leaving in five minutes. We found our train and boarded. Again, LD Mike slept most of the trip. He must have been very tired because he sprawled out and snored, loudly. When we reached University Park and were leaving the station LD Mike showed quite a bit of assertiveness in harness. I am not complaining, I was just surprised that such a young dog would have that assertiveness this early in his career.. I can only say that it felt very good to feel LD Mike's assertiveness as we were going down the ramps.

Mike-the-trainer dropped LD Mike and I off at home and let me know when to be ready tomorrow for our last day of training.

Today was HUGE and LD Mike again showed that he is a very patient pup. The icing on the cake, for me, was the ease with which we passed the other working team on Polk Street.

To Be Continued...