Out and about

One of the wonderful benefits of raising a Guide Dog is being able to take it on public outings.  Its quite a privilege and a necessary component to exposing the pups to situations they would naturally be in with their sight impaired handler.  For a newbie, it was intimidating.  One wants to be at ease and not be worried about your pup having an accident inside a public facility or mishandling a situation.  So this was a challenge for me as much for the dog.  These dogs are so perceptive that your state of mind has to be calm and assertive as Cesar Milan would say.  If you're uneasy the dog is too.  So little by little we would make our way into grocery stores for short, short visits and then libraries and restaurants.