This week is three years since I qualified Guide Dog Ben.
Despite Ben being my third dog, this was the first time I had trained ‘on class’ rather than from home (known as domicillary training)
There are pro’s and con’s to both and I was really looking forward to gaining the experience.
For me the biggest difference was that my training took place in Blandford; an area I had never visited before. Meaning that I couldn’t rely on ‘muscle memory’ as I can within my home town.
There were also some minor changes to the wording used and commands. Thankfully Ben’s puppyraisers had trained him with multipul commands, so when I slipped into old habits he knew what I meant!
And what have I learned in the last three years?
Firstly, just because the training was over and we were ‘qualified’ and ‘signed off’ as a partnership, did not mean that we stopped learning from each other.
It sounds like a cliché, but there are still times now when I am learning from Ben.
In the most part, he is a ‘bomb-proof’ dog. But only if I am confident; when I get stressed or agitated this flows from me into his harness. And then he has little ‘tells’ to show me he is nervous; interesting this one ‘tell’ can also show when he is worked up or frustrated.
I never knew it was possible for a four legged dog to only walk on three of their legs? What I mean by that is, when Ben is nervous he will keep walking, but will use one of his back legs to scratch the elbow on the matching front leg.
As I said, this isn’t always about being nervous. This can also happen when he has been excited, maybe with another dog giving off play signals or even if a dog is barking and giving off aggressive energy.
So, with some help from our guide dog trainer we worked on a simple word command for Ben to release the tension.
And that is simply for me to stop, ask him to calm down and wait with him until he ‘shakes it off’
A good body shake is a great way for dogs to release pent up energy or simply to ‘reset’.
I think it is a Goldie thing, but I see so much of my first guide dog Vicky in Ben, she would always happily put her head into her harness, but after a step or two, she would have a good shake. As if to get the harness into position for her and move her fur.
”Calm Down” is said with a soft voice, patience and reassurance.
Given my employment, volunteer roles and varied friendship groups Ben is not a stickler for routine. He knows some days are busy work days for him and then when I go to work, I am the busy one and he gets to snooze through my shifts:
Saying that, he is very particular about walking in a set way on our more familiar routes. He will adapt if there is an obstacle or road works, but for the most part he likes his familiar routes.
With my daughter having just finished her second year at LMA in London, Ben has regularly found himself guiding me through Waterloo station onto the tube and regularly visiting Stratford or North Greenwich, his memory for where the lifts are is amazing. And maybe also helped by the fact that there is a Caffè Nero directly opposite one of the lifts at Waterloo.
When it is busy this is when I need him most, which I am sure he knows, as he absolutely thrives in a busy environment.
It’s only when we are local to home and on a large pedestrian area that he isn’t as engaged or focused. And I have been known to end up following a walking pigeon! He doesn’t chase them, but he does look at times as if he doesn’t understand how they can be walking one minute and then flap their wings and fly away.
At the moment (June/July 2026) Ben has found himself ‘grounded’ due to exceptionally high temperatures and humidity. As a double coated dog I am still amazed that he isn’t bald given how much hair he is dropping!
The reason for ‘grounding him’ is because the paths are hot, the temperature is over 24 degrees and as much as I hate using Candy my Cane, his wellness and health comes first.
He has spent many a day heading out for a sniffari walk at 5am or 10pm. This is where he isn’t in harness, but rather on a long lead; he can literally sniff all he wants. A sniffari is a great enrichment and means he is still getting some brain work in despite not putting on his harness and guiding.
Last week when we had a break in temperature and he did get to work in harness; he was so excited, he was literally bouncing the entire walk.
Ben loves to work, he also has a cheeky side and if he spots a Starbucks then I am often walking through the door before I have even realised.
He will do this especially in London, I sometimes think if he could talk, this is his way of saying:
Let’s just take a moment to decompress, you need caffeine and I need a little paw rest.
Although there was a long wait for Ben, in-fact he wasn’t even born when Fizz retired; he was certainly worth it!
in one way I can’t believe we have been together three years and then at other times it feels like he has always been here.
So, here are to many more years ahead of us; to the adventures; the new experiences and to growth.
As I said earlier, Ben feels confident when I feel confident, he is a sensitive soul and this is something we are working on together.
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