The wheels on the bus

I have been totally slacking, but I finally am sitting down to write!

On Wednesday, we went on a fun adventure with a 10 month old guide dog puppy, Amity, and her raiser, Sandy. Sandy planned out our entire excursion and we decided to take the puppies on the bus to a local farmers market.

Raelyn and I met up with Amity and Sandy at their house and Raelyn was so excited to meet another puppy! Their little tails were wagging furiously as they sniffed and tried to jump on each other. After we let them meet, we went on a walk down to the bus stop. Raleyn did really well on the walk and didn't pay too much attention to Amity. She calmly waited for the bus and when the bus did arrive, she climbed right aboard! The steps are big and steep, but they didn't faze her in the slightest. We sat at the front of the bus and Raelyn sat right down and quietly looked at the other passengers and watched out the window as we drove. She eventually became bored, so laid down and went to sleep! I was totally amazed. I wasn't sure how she would do on the bus and she was great!

We finally arrived at the farmer's market at the College of San Mateo, but first we walked a little bit around the campus. To get down to the farmer's market we had to walk down a LONG, steep flight of stairs. At home, Raelyn is a little skiddish about going down stairs, but by following Amity's lead, she just cruised right down the stairs and without a care in the world!

The farmer's market was really nice. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies and people milling about. It was a fantastic place for Raelyn to be on good behavior and learn to be patient. She does pretty well. She does a good job of ignoring people for the most part when we are walking. When I stopped to look at produce she would get a little antsy, but not too bad. She makes shopping a bit more difficult as she isn't totally mellow yet, so you have to pay attention to what she is doing and try to get her to do what you want her to do. When she was able to meet people she had great manners, so we are making progress!

The outing totally tuckered her out, so on the bus ride home she slept the entire way...I wasn't sure if she was going to walk on her own once we got off the bus. Luckily for my back, she drowsily sauntered back to Sandy's house. We put Raelyn in the outdoor kennel as she didn't relieve the entire time we were out and about nor once we got to Sandy's house. This way she wouldn't have any indoor accidents. Sandy and I went into the house and as soon as Raelyn realized we were out of sight, she didn't like that one bit and started on one of her fits. Luckily for the neighbors, she calmed down when she saw us walking around the house. We still have work to do!

All in all, it was a fantastic outing and Raelyn surprised me yet again. She is becoming calmer out in public and is starting to develop the "on/off switch" so that when we are out she "on" and is all business.