This week Chester and I celebrate another huge milestone – one year since we started on class.

No matter how much they prepared me, I honestly didn’t realise how much goes into training with a new guide dog. Once the initial matching process is complete and you get that life-changing phone call, there are a few trial weeks with some practice walks, possible overnight stays (although we didn’t with Chester because he can get unsettled in new places) and then it is straight into two solid weeks of training. For this we tend to go away to a hotel meaning we can focus on the training without being interrupted by life! During this time, we spend a lot of time learning about how to care for our new companions, the guidelines for free running, how to groom them to keep them looking their best and to keep the shedding to a minimum (which is easier said than done when you have a furry Goldie like Chester). We learn about the do’s and don’ts of feeding, high value treats to avoid, medical conditions to look out for and, most importantly, we spend two solid weeks building a lasting bond with these amazing puppies. The bond is a key component of any guide dog partnership because it builds trust which is vital when we are literally putting our lives in each others’ hands (or paws) every time that harness goes on.

Believe it or not, but the harness doesn’t even come out until the end of the first week. I still remember that first ever walk with Ches not far from the hotel in Wokingham. He was so eager to please that he was pushing into the chest strap so hard I thought he was going to explode! I’m a fast walker (Mod+ in Guide Dogs terms) but the pace he was going, I really thought I’d bitten off more that I could chew and every few minutes I had to take the lead in my other hand and check him with a soft pull on his gentle leader and the word “steady”. By the time we got back to the van Chester had slowed down somewhat and we were at a much more suitable pace – still fast, but comfortable. Working with a dog is totally different to working with my trusty canes and back at the hotel I was completely exhausted after so much concentration.

The rest of the time in the hotel was spend reinforcing the training, doing many more harness walks around the local area and continuing to build that trust account. The more we worked on his familiar routes, the more reassured we both became. It wasn’t just me who had to adapt to working with Chester, he had to adapt to me. His trainer, Mollie, is no more than 5ft 2in, a whole foot shorter than me meaning I was using a longer handle that Chester was used to and I have a totally different gait. On top of all that there is the other obvious difference – I am blind. Although for much of the final stages of training before being signed off for class, the trainers will wear simulation goggles and blindfolds, it still isn’t quite the same as being blind all the time and the dogs need to get used to the individual idiosyncrasies of their new working partners.

One other final test that needs to be done before we are allowed home is the dreaded traffic training. Imagine the scene, guide dog and owner are stood at the side of a road, owner is confident that the coast is clear but they haven’t heard the car pulling into the side road in front of us. Owner gets into the first position (one foot in line with dog’s head and other behind), gives the command “forward” and swings their right arm in a sweeping gesture. Dog stays stock still, allowing the car to pass. Many people believe that these dogs are some kind of super-dog (they are in so many ways) but it is important not to forget that they are still just dogs, they do not understand the human world and cannot comprehend many of the complexities of the built environment, I can’t simply strap Chester’s harness on him, say “take me to Tesco’s!” And then hang on for the ride. We are a true partnership with me giving instructions (or requests) of right and left and Chester sweeping me along the pavement, avoiding trees, people and discarded bicycles and e-scooters. Along the way, their work is rewarded with the odd marker word like “well done”, “good boy” or a “yes” when we get to a stopping point – we never feed on the move and there is an implied understanding that owner gives command and dog obeys but, when stood at the side of the road and dog spots a danger, they are not only allowed to disobey, they are encouraged to. Thankfully since qualifying, Chester and I have not been put in this situation, but you never know when it may happen.

Once the 2 weeks is up, then there is still plenty more training to go – a minimum of 3 more weeks at home, leaning your main routes, familiarising this highly-trained and faithful hound with his new forever home and continuing to build the trust account but more of that to come as we reach our next big milestone – Qualification.