Together (7 page)

He learned
the history of guide work when he came into the field after his years in the
air force. The work began in Germany at around the turn of the century and
found its way to America just after World War II. A remarkable woman named
Dorothy Eustis became aware of young German soldiers blinded during the war who
were using dogs as guides. She had the vision to bring the work to America, and
over the years her work changed the lives of countless blind people across the
country.

When he
became a guide dog trainer, Smitty learned that only three out of every hundred
canine candidates found their way into the work. Today with the scientific
sophistication of excellent breeding programs and puppy raisers who teach basic
socialization and obedience skills, that ratio had improved dramatically.
Smitty was delighted that six or seven out of every ten dogs who made it
through the difficult training process now went on to take their places with
blind people around the world. He so admired the people who were willing to be
those puppy raisers. These were the best of the best, as far as he was
concerned— human beings who poured their hearts into the animals during their
first crucial months and then gave them up to a higher calling. True, Smitty
also had to endure the same parting when he completed his work with an animal,
but somehow the civilians, as he thought of them, really deserved a lot of
credit.

His string
began its third stage of training, and, as always, he was behind in his
paperwork. The animals were graded on a one-to-five scale, with no dog going
into the field that didn't score a three or above on every criterion of
behavior. So as Smitty labored to complete his overdue report on the animals,
he considered the training cycle the dogs were going through.

First and
foremost, all of the animals who arrived at Guide Dogs for the Blind had to
become comfortable in kennel life. They had been living with families, and all
of them hated the restriction of the kennel. So in the first few days of
association with their new handler, a whole lot of TLC had to be doled out, and
the dogs generally responded gratefully to the love.

Smitty always
looked for patterns in the animals as he worked to reinforce the basic
obedience instilled by the puppy raisers.
Sit,
down, stay, come,
and
let's go,
a more informal way of suggesting the traditional
heel.
He always watched the dog's
eyes for any hesitation or fear or to see if the dog was too sensitive when
given gentle suggestion or correction. Smitty also looked for any extended
lapses of attention as the dogs interacted with other dogs in the string.

He sat at his
desk reviewing his notes on Nathaniel, a yellow Lab with much the same
personality as Nelson. Nathaniel loved it when they employed the new technique
of treadmilling the dogs. Treadmilling occurred the first few days after the
animals got to know their trainers and enjoyed working through simple
obedience. It was critical to the overall success of the work to create in the
dog the desire to move forward in a straight line while maintaining a forward
pressure in the harness. With that forward press, the blind master would be
able to read every nuance of the dog's motion. This technique was called
"harness pull," and it was critical if the dogs were ever going to
perform appropriately in the field.

Using a
treadmill and treats, the dogs would be encouraged— first for only fifteen to
twenty seconds, and then eventually up to five minutes—to keep up with the pace
of the treadmill, with the handler holding the harness. In this way the dog
both felt the pressure of the harness on his chest and received rewards for
maintaining his forward momentum.

Smitty was
amazed at how well the use of the treadmill improved the way the dog translated
his behavior to later work. Also, Smitty loved the idea that early in the
training the dog and his new handler were having a sort of adventure that they
both enjoyed.

Nathaniel did
very well on his treadmill experience, and Smitty turned the page to take a
look at Nathaniel's response to the next phase of training. This was called
"pattern training."

The dogs
spent about four weeks with their instructors literally patterning every
behavior that would eventually be part of the real work. The catch was that
none of it involved the use of the harness. The dogs were only asked to walk
with their trainers and encouraged to understand the patterns that were
presented.

During this
four-week period, trainers provided the dog with every answer. They made sure
that the animal moved in a straight line, avoided obstacles, stopped appropriately
at the edge of curbs, and entered buildings safely. There was also the search
for elevators and escalators, along with finding an empty chair or a car in a
crowded parking garage. Then there were the overhangs. These were the most
difficult obstacles to teach any animal, and instructors spent a lot of time
reaching up and rattling the potential danger with their hands and encouraging
the dogs to look up. In this process of positive conditioning, the animals were
being exposed to the work they would eventually have to do for real with the
blind people they would serve.

Smitty made a
note in the margin that Nathaniel was one of those very good ones that seemed
to take on the behaviors, even during this first month. He stopped at curbs on
his own and even seemed willing to pick up his pace—"hop up" as they
called it—whenever the trainer wanted the dog to move faster. He also noted
that Nathaniel was a "little doggy," meaning that he could be
distracted by other animals they passed in the street, not a good thing in
guide work but certainly correctable.

In the second
month of the animal's training, Smitty was amazed when he thought of how much
positive reinforcement came out of the first four weeks, when the handler
provided the animal with all the answers. As an example, Nathaniel moved
immediately in a straight line when the harness was put on, maintaining
constant pressure and providing the handler with good harness feel. He also
stopped on a dime whenever they came upon a curb, though he still demonstrated
a certain affinity to being "doggy."

One of the
most complex issues facing dog and trainer is that of traffic check. For
Smitty, this was critical in training any animal. He constantly reminded
himself that dogs were colorblind and that their relationship to traffic motion
needed to be a constant process of conditioning to the idea of danger.

Even in the
early stages, when an instructor took all the responsibility for teaching the
animal, dogs were encouraged to be acutely aware of traffic. Trainers
conditioned and tested their dogs with a sort of game. Every time a car came
close or sped around a corner, the dog would be asked to go forward, and then
firmly but with love the idea was imposed that the dog was to stop in spite of
the forward command.

In the entire
training process, the positions of go and stop had to be handled carefully. And
as Smitty reviewed the notes on Nathaniel, he was pleased to see that nothing
disturbed the dog's sense of well-being. Actually, Smitty had refined this
technique over the years by never applying the word
no
to the stop. He found that if he just used gentle physical restraint, the dogs
got the idea.

Smitty read
on. Nathaniel held up very well during the second month, in which the same
first-month patterns of training were reapplied, this time with the trainer
working the dog in the harness. At the end of the second month, all the
instructors went under blindfolds when they worked their animals as a sort of
final examination of the dog's development.

Smitty had mixed
feelings about this idea. The simple truth was that no sighted person putting
on a blindfold functioned in the way that a student would who had been blind
since birth or over an extended period of time. On the other hand, Smitty
rationalized that in many ways the dogs had to work harder to compensate for
their instructors' ineptness than they would when they took their place in the
field with a real blind person. In the end, he decided that blindfolding was an
appropriate exercise.

This marked
the halfway point in the training process. The third stage was probably the
most critical in the transformation of the dogs. Here the animal was asked to
demonstrate intelligent disobedience, and this was where Nathaniel scored
remarkably well. The theory was that the dog must be willing to countermand the
command of the trainer for the sake of safety. Forward only meant forward when
it was safe, because traffic, an overhang, bad footing, manholes, or any other
obstacle might threaten the safety of the blind person.

Smitty was
always amazed at the capacity of the dogs to love enough so that even if they
were aggressively corrected by the master because the blind person did not
understand what was going on, the dog would hold firm and never endanger his
person.

It was also
in this period that the trainers developed their dog's work inside buildings.
They took trips into San Francisco, where the dogs were forced to face
extraordinary complexity in traffic patterns and people movement. When the
animal freely took on the concept of intelligent disobedience, a working bond
was truly complete. Smitty loved watching dogs gain in confidence, becoming
ever happier as they took on more and more direct responsibility.

He loved to
see an animal work with bright eyes and a constantly wagging tail, as if the
dog was doing the thing he had been designed for. It came down to this: when
the dog was ready to meet his blind master, the animal had to have the
confidence to compensate for the hesitance and awkwardness that new students
often exhibited. That confidence was critical to being able to grow and work
together.

Trainers like
to say everything comes down the leash, meaning that in the beginning the dog
absolutely knows his job; it's the student who struggles. The turnaround happens
as the student gains confidence and provides the animal with the kind of
direction that allows them to become one—a team together.

Smitty knew
that students came to the program in all sizes, shapes, and ages. He understood
that his job was to make sure that the dogs were completely confident and ready
to take on any concerns that might be expressed by their new handlers.

Smitty sat
back in his chair thinking about Nathaniel's future. It was clear that this
animal would do extremely well in the field if Smitty could match him
appropriately. The key to good matching was to make the connection between
student and dog, based on the animal's sensitivity along with the student's
lifestyle, desire, and capacity to get the most from the animal. This balancing
of dog and person was the most important part of what Smitty did.

As he sat
reading Nathaniel's report, he couldn't help but think about Nelson. Over the
last few days, he had taken the black Lab out of the kennel and worked him,
astounded at the animal's talent. No dog he had ever known demonstrated the
immediate awareness for the work that he felt in the handle of the harness when
Nelson did his thing. This was simply the best dog he'd ever known, and as he
looked at the list of students that would be coming and meeting the N class of
guide dogs, he hoped to God there would be someone who could both handle and
get the most from this astounding creature.

chapter nine

The secretary
informed Brenden that Mr. Barnes would see him in just a few minutes after he
finished a conference down the hall. Brenden sat uncomfortably on the edge of a
couch, listening to the sound of a clock ticking in the far corner of the room
and wondering how much time he'd have to spend with this intake counselor.

Charlie brought
him to the offices of the Colorado Rehabilitation Center for the Blind for this
required meeting. Brenden decided he would answer this guy's questions and make
the session as quick as possible. He knew what he was going to do. This was
just a formality. Nothing would change his plans.

In the three
weeks since his accident, he rarely came out of his bedroom. In fact, his
mother brought him most of his meals on a tray. Until this morning, he remained
unshaven and just barely clean. Lindsey had been by to see him only twice, and
on other days she made excuses that her workload was extremely heavy. The
inevitability of where their relationship seemed to be heading deepened his
depression. And so he was sure that nothing this man could say would make any difference.

The big voice
from outside the door seemed to vibrate everything in the room.

"Annie,
is the McCarthy kid here?" It sounded more like a pronouncement than a
question.

"Waiting
in your office, Mr. B."

Instantly,
the door banged open, and Brenden heard the sound of an uneven step as he felt
the floor shake under the big man's weight. The guy was on top of him before he
could stand up.