Kambo's Blog

Hello everybody

I have had a big change since I last wrote to you, I have moved house, complete with potted plant!! and started my advanced training.  It was a big move from Norfolk where I lived with my Puppy Raisers for 15 months, to Chesterfield, where I now live with Debbie and family.

It took me a while to settle in but now I have, complete with my own fluffy slippers.  Mini human Aaron is my best friend, but Mum Debbie tells him to be careful when playing as I can get too excited – we do lots of controlled games to help me like, asking me to SIT and Wait whilst he throws my toy, I then have to look at him before he lets me go and get it.  I am learning to be calm, polite and have good manners.  Mum says this is very important in my line of work – I am trying hard – honest!

Since I started my training earlier than normal for a Pathfinder Dog, Mum Debbie is careful to set tasks that she knows I am capable of.  This makes me feel good about myself and keen to do the right things again.  Mum Debbie says us German Shepherds take a while to mature mentally and it’s unfair to expect too much too soon.

I am learning to stop at the kerb edge, this is important for safety so we don’t get hit by cars.  I am also learning to ‘bend’ my body away from an obstacle in front of me, like a bin left out for bin day.  It’s important I don’t ‘drag’ Mum Debbie away as this would be uncomfortable to follow in the harness.  Those ‘moving’ obstacles are quite tricky, I think you call them pedestrians.  They can’t make their minds up which way to walk and how fast or slow!!   Think it will take me a while to grasp the idea of avoiding those!

My biggest task is to learn to work through distractions, this is hard, especially when I see a dog I want to say hello to.  Mum Debbie is teaching me its fine to play with dogs and sniff all I want when we are playing on the field.  In harness its different, I have a job to do and in the future I will be partly responsible for a human’s safety – that serious stuff!!  Must get on the ‘dog and bone’ to have a chat with my big brothers Spook and Merlin and get some tips.

It’s an exciting life my life – I get to go and do things other dogs can’t – like go into shops and choose my own chews!  There is a huge shop called Tesco’s.  It’s like another planet!  It has a moving path, all the way to the top but I’m not allowed on that, it will hurt my feet.  We get to go in a moving box instead! Strange planet that Tesco’s.

I loved doing my clicker training to teach me how to locate things – I can now find crossing boxes all by myself.

Can’t wait for Friday, I have a date with a Border collie called Skye – she’s a nice bit of eye candy.  I have lots of play times; Mum Debbie says it’s very important for us ‘working’ dogs.

Anyway, must dash to the Grooming Parlour – us Pathfinder Dogs must always look our best you know.

Bye for now.

Kambo.