Clare & Mabel

00:39

S1 (Speaker 1)

On Vision Australia Radio, you're listening to the Seeing Eye Dogs Show with me, your host Jack Moffett. In this episode, I'm joined by senior handler Clare Opie, who was part of our recent Life Changing Connections graduation event. Clare was partnered with singer Mabel earlier this year, so we're going to talk about the event, her story and her experience as a first time dog guide user. 

Then I'm going to play an interview from the Archives with Paige Coleman, puppy dog trainer, talking about managing multiple animals in a household and influencing the behavior that you'd like in the home. 

Now, without further ado, here's my interview with Clare Opie. Hi, Claire. Thank you for joining me on the show today.

S2

You're welcome.

S1

So just to start off, could you please introduce yourself?

S2

So my name is Claire Opie. I have recently got a senior dog called Mabel, and I've also got here with me my 13 year old chocolate labradoodle called Polly Waffle.

S1

Not just Polly, not just waffle, but both.

S2

So it's both.

S1

How does Mabel find Polly Waffle?

S2

The first few weeks, Polly didn't look at Mabel at all. Think she was going, No, this isn't happening to me. And it's, that's been part of the ride to get to where we are today. Two is to get them assimilated, and Polly and Mabel play really beautifully now. 

S1

Oh, lovely. I think she was probably thinking this is a temporary thing, right? Yes. Is going to go away if I don't acknowledge it.

S2

Yep. Exactly how it was. Yeah.

S1

So could you please introduce Mabel and how long have you been working together?

S2

Yeah, The marvelous Miss Mabel. I got her just under four months ago. So she's my first seeing dog. And it's been a bit of a journey so far. An interesting journey. Really hard but rewarding. And we're still really new to it too. So we're still learning. I'm still learning a bit of Mabel all the time. And I suppose she's still learning about me too.

S1

She's kind of quite young and new to being a dog. And I suppose you're still actually learning how to be a handler. It's quite unique, quite a unique position for you both to be in at the same time. At the same time.

S2

I have to pull myself up and be patient because we got her when she was only she was under 18 months old. So still so much puppy in it.

S1

Which I suppose is a nice thing because that means that you will actually end up with a dog, hopefully for longer. She'll be, you know, when she's kind of settled into that rhythm, you'll get a few more years of it.

S2

Yeah, that's... I hadn't thought of it that way. That's a great way to think of it. Yes.

S1

Yeah, I think that tends to be the reason that I've heard of. You could probably graduate a lot of dogs at five when they've calmed down, but then it wouldn't necessarily be the the lifespan that you want, especially when you have to go through that bonding.

S2

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And I'm still probably still pretty active. So I think having a young dog sort of probably suits my lifestyle.

S1

What made you decide to apply for a senior dog?

S2

Well, I've had retinitis pigmentosa since I was about 23, but it was always very manageable and very stable. I was sort of sitting under the 10% mark, so legally blind. But I managed without a cane or without getting help from anyone. I just pretty much had my head in the sand thinking I was going to be okay. People around me helped me a lot. And then I suppose just before Covid, I noticed that things started getting worse for me and I had to really acknowledge the fact that I was going to need help down the track if I wanted to stay active in Independent. 

So that was sort of my my path along the way. And then I didn't realise when I put my hand up for getting a seeing eye dog that I needed to be proficient on the cane. And I had done no cane training. So my training started just before Covid, using the cane first to be able to get through that step, to be able to then apply for the senior dog.

S1

So that is quite a kind of journey. I mean, that's that's been, I suppose, most of your life with the awareness of having the low vision. But to kind of get into that point where I suppose it was necessary and then actually getting that, getting that training.

05:15

S2

Yeah. I realised I really needed it if I wanted to stay independent and not rely on the people around me so much for everything.

S1

So you recently attended the graduation event. Life changing Connect Connections. Could you please tell us a little bit about the event?

S2

It was great, actually. There were, I think, 14 people there in person to graduate. And for me, probably one of the biggest things I got out of it was, and I'd never thought about this before, but how many people are involved in getting to the point that I am now where I get a dog... there's handlers, trainers, puppy carers, people in the office, people like you, sponsors. It was mind boggling actually, to see quite the amount of people involved. Yeah. Yeah. So that was a big. Eye opening moment for me, and I'm grateful for every single one of those people that are involved.

S1

How would you say that your life has changed since being partnered with Mabel?

S2

When I decided to go forward and and get help, skip the cane bit and we'll go straight to getting Mabel. But I decided that I wouldn't say no to anything anymore. So I'm going to be independent. I'm just going to get out there and do it. So I've trying to live up to that. So she has changed my life in the fact that I am I'm doing more things independently.

S1

What are the types of activities that you guys do together?

S2

Oh, probably on a daily basis... I'll take her to the supermarket every day just so she's got a regular thing that we do together. I live in Bendigo and we've got some great restaurants. She's been to every fine dining place in Bendigo and all the others. Pretty much. We just try to keep active. I'll give us a job to do every day and we'll go like whether it's to the council for a particular thing. Just got on to the committee, which is the Disability Inclusion Reference Committee. So she's been coming with me to that. I've only had one meeting, but just she's giving me the confidence to do things like that, which I didn't probably have before.

S1

Going back to the graduation event... and I've realised that I'm kind of just throwing questions at you and random orders. So thank you for rolling with it. What was it like getting to meet the other handlers and even meet like Mabel's public here specifically?

S2

Yeah, well, it's a bit like an adoption, trying to meet your puppy carer, so I had to ask Permission Australia if I was able to contact her. And it sort of goes backwards and forwards and she was quite delighted for me to text her and she sent me some puppy photos. The bits I've missed with Mabel when she was younger and then we actually saw each other on the day of the graduation and you could tell Mabel knew who exactly she was. And the reaction from Mabel was really special. And I suppose just talking to her puppy raiser, what an amazing person. 

And people that take that on, it's really inspiring and then having to give them up, but being able to now see what Mabel is up to and stuff. I hope that gives her a bit of a bit of joy going into. I know she's got Mabel's sibling now, a younger puppy from a different letter, and we're going to meet up soon again to let the pups play together.

S1

Oh, lovely. It is quite special to meet the handlers. I will say, as someone who's prepared before, it's quite a special thing to be able to, I guess, put a face to the name of like, you know, the person you can imagine that your dog might go to in the future.

S2

Yes. Oh, it's really important for me. And like I'm a dog person from way back and just just put all the pieces in place. Meeting her.

S1

I suppose getting the dog is kind of a natural thing then if you're really a dog person as well as that, you know, desire for a mobility tool to.

S2

Yeah. Yes. I thought I didn't actually understand the whole process. When I when I started this process, I was thinking I was so much a dog person, I'd be able to skip the whole cane bit and go straight to the dog. But going through the process, they'll know that's not how it all works. Now you've got to go through the whole process.

S1

It's the mobility bit of the dog.

S2

That's the Yeah, yep, can do the dog bit. But and we're still learning from each other every day. It's still new.

09:58

S1

So what are your favorite things about Mabel and why do you think that you might have been matched?

S2

Oh, so Mabel was quite with the harness off, she's full puppy. Very playful. She's got this biggest tail that makes a whole body shake when she wags it. She's a happy, happy dog. I think. One of the things that I've been told that they match you with is the pace that you walk. As well as sort of a personality traits, I suppose. Mabel's a goofball and she's fun. But you put the harness on her and she's very serious. So I don't know. I think it's a good match.

S1

So what was the kind of process applying other than that kind of having to do the the the cane training? Did you find it kind of easy or quite, you know, complicated?

S2

Oh, quite complicated, really. So it took a before I even started with the mobility training with the cane, I had to get onto the NDIS and that that's an issue in itself. And I had some people help me do that, which was helpful, but it still took a long, long time. So once you get through that and then start the process, then you, um. They told me waiting time for a dog was going to be about a year. And I think Mabel came to me just before that. That time was up... 

S1

Do you... 

S2

Sorry.

S1

Oh, sorry. I was going to say, Do you kind of remember what class was like or when you were doing that client train? Did you come down to the facility at Kensington?

S2

Oh, no training? No. I had a trainer come to Bendigo and we did two weeks full-on training. We've walked everywhere. I walk in Bendigo, went to all the shops to go to. Basically we got Mabel familiar with, sorry about my dog barking, that's Polly waffle. Basically getting Mabel familiar with Bendigo and what I needed to do. We got on the train, we... cars. We did everything that pretty much I'd need as basic training. I've since had two other sessions with the trainer just to keep me sort of going. My last one was in Melbourne, which was a pretty intense training.

S1

What did you do down to Melbourne?

S2

Oh, we did everything from just walking in a busier place. We were in the city, we did escalators, lifts, lots of stairs because I've got a little bit of residual vision, I think that. I'm not relying on... I'm not putting all my trust in Mabel because I can still do a little bit of myself. So my trainer took me to places where I couldn't rely on my own vision and had to trust her. So we did a bit of that. Trams. The whole lot. It was pretty intense a couple of hours that day, but it was I learnt a lot from it.

S1

And I suppose the idea of that is that having all of that full trust in her means that in the future, when it's needed, you'll feel much better about it.

S2

Exactly right. Yeah. Yeah. And that, I think that trust can only come with time and I'm getting there. Yeah, definitely getting there.

S1

So I think we kind of spoke about kind of a typical day in the life of you and Mabel. Are there any particular kind of best outings that you've done? Anything particular? I know it's pretty fresh, so there's maybe nothing that springs to mind, but...

S2

Actually you've got to you've got me on a good day for this. I've just had an amazing gastronomical birthday week. So all the fine dining fancy restaurants in Bendigo, and Mabel's been with me the whole way and she has not put a foot wrong. So it's been really good actually.

S1

So kind of guiding you appropriately to the chair and sleeping under it whilst you get to enjoy all of the food.

S2

Absolutely. Yeah. And all the places we've been, the people have been fantastic letting us just be, um. Yeah, it's been a really good experience this last week.

S1

So do you have any kind of particular plans for the future or any specific, you know, trips that you would like to do?

S2

I've got nothing booked at the moment, but I I'm a mad chem traveler and a a big foodie, so I like to come down to Melbourne, even if it's just by myself and go out for lunch and things like that. So I think she will just as things go on, she'll make it life easier to do that.

S1

Hopping hopping on the line to access kind of the best of Melbourne is actually not all too hard, is it?

S2

No, I live quite close to the train station, so it's a pretty easy thing to jump on and head down for the day.

S1

Beautiful. It's very nice to be able to do that independently, too. Yeah. Well, you know, as a team, I suppose. Independently as a team.

S2

Yes, that's it.

15:12

S1

Do you have any kind of funny memories or stories that you'd like to share?

S2

I was thinking about this, and because she's so new, every time I go out, I suppose I'm concentrating so hard and trying to get it right that I haven't actually got anything particularly funny at the moment other than when she's a goofball at home and she's playing around with my other dog and they really goofball it together. Funny Waffle acts like she's only one and a half sometimes...

S1

I mean...

S2

Sorry.

S1

Oh, you can say that in itself is quite impressive for her to actually have kind of won her over to that extent that quickly.

S2

Really true, Actually, yes. Because she's an old lady. She doesn't get run over by too many.

S1

Is there anything that you wish that the general public knew about seeing dogs or blindness and their vision?

S2

Yeah. Don't touch my dog. I've had people just... and it's hard not to touch because she's... She looks up at you adoringly. It's like, Look at me. Look at me. I'm here, but I can't see you touching my dog. So it's just, just don't touch my dog. Really? Any. What else? Okay? Yes. What I got from the graduation, too, is that out of the 14 people that were there, graduating blind looks different to everybody. So I suppose blind is a real spectrum and it can go from where I am to no vision at all to and everyone's got their own different story.

S1

I think that's a really good point because there is that thing, isn't it? You know, you have the kind of stereotype of someone who wears dark glasses and a cane. Yeah, but it's not just that, is it? I know lots of people that have said they don't know, you know, oh, you know, someone who say doesn't look blind. But that's not really it. That's not a thing, is it?

S2

No. Like I always feel like I'm being judged if I'm walking along with Mabel and then pull out my phone to look for directions or like, I feel like people think I'm a fake sometimes because I can actually, I do actually have a bit of usable vision.

S1

But for anyone who doesn't know, retinitis pigmentosa is one of those conditions that's kind of tunnel vision, right? Where you can focus on something close and central.

S2

Yeah, close and central. So I know no peripheral vision. So what I see is not too bad, but it's very it's like looking through a straw and trying to navigate through a straw, which is tricky at times, but we'll get there.

S1

It's one of those things where I suppose, you know, that's where the mobility aid comes in, where, you know, you can keep your shoulders safe and your extremities because actually you can see on either side now or, you know, you can sense on other side.

S2

Yeah. Yeah. I actually yeah, feel more comfortable out and about with Mabel than I ever have. Even when I was using the cane.

S1

Well, that's really good to hear. Are there any other other messages to kind of finish off that you'd like to share with, you know, for example, donors, volunteers or supporters of senior dogs?

S2

Yeah. I'm grateful for everybody that's had any piece to do with myself getting Mabel. I think I'd like to say to puppy carers, I suppose that like for someone like me to be independent because of what they've done, I'm so grateful. Thank you. And probably the Vision Australia and Seeing Eye Dogs - like, Thank you.

S1

Well, thank you so much for coming on the show and and kind of sharing a bit of your story. Looking forward to hearing what you guys get up to in the future.

S2

Thank you very much for having me on.

19:17

S1

You've been listening to the singer talk show on Virgin Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my interview with Clare Opie. If you'd like to find out about seeing dogs or becoming a dog eyed handler, if you're blind or have low vision, please contact us by calling 1800 037 773 or emailing info-at sedum-dot-org. 

Now here is my interview with Paige talking about managing multiple dogs in a household I hope you enjoy. So what are the potential challenges for people with more than one dog in their house?

S3

If you've got a young dog and you get a puppy alongside it, it can be a little bit of double trouble because one dog will go, This is a good idea, and the other one goes, I've never thought of that. And then they can get up to a bit of mischief if they're left unattended. But the great thing about seeing eye dogs is that we provide you with equipment to help support you and support the puppy to prevent them from making mistakes like that. So the crate and the tether to use when the puppy can't be supervised by someone else.

S1

I have to say, I think one of the probably the greatest things that I've enjoyed about puppy caring is learning some of the things that I would I wouldn't have thought about setting up a puppy really kind of quite well from, from from day one with even things like home behaviour. And if you hadn't had a dog before, you know, maybe you're, you can kind of prevent some of the things that a pet dog would otherwise kind of get up to mischief with.

S3

Yeah, that's exactly right. And even if you've got a puppy as a pet dog and then you go off to work during the day, taking your kids to school, all those, you know, normal life things that we do, Usually the puppy has to stay at home and they have to occupy themselves, whether that's, you know, in your backyard or locked in your laundry while you're out for eight plus hours of the day. And they can, of course, get up to a bit of mischief if they're left to do so, but are seeing eye dog because they go with you, whether it's to the school, drop off to the kids activities, going to work, going to your gym or your classes, whatever it is that you do in your life, them going with you keeps them out of mischief because they're busy and then they're tired, so they just sleep.

S1

And then by the time that by the time that they go to a client, they're, they're kind of the home behaviour is so nice. What a benefit. Yeah.

S3

Yeah. And they're well prepped for life as well because with a client they could be doing all of those things. The client could have children, they will probably be working, they will have hobbies that they want to attend and they want the dog to be well behaved while they do those. And of course, being well-behaved in the home, every everyone wants a well-behaved dog in the home, even a pet owner.

S1

So when you are introducing a new dog into the home, how do you start that kind of matching between a visitor or a new arrival and and the residents?

S3

Yeah, it's always good to have another family member or friend give you a hand just in case things go a little bit pear-shaped. I'd also recommend having both the dogs on lead. Probably outside of the home, maybe at the front of the home before you enter or even with this little seeing eye dog puppy, you could have it in the crate and let your other pets. Maybe it's your cat or maybe it's your other dog. Sniff the puppy through the crate just in case anyone gets a little bit upset. Then nobody's going to get hurt. Very unlikely. 

And of course, when you're interviewed for the process of becoming a carer, your puppy development trainer will come out and have a look at your animals. And sometimes we bring a dog if we're raising one ourselves and see how your pet interacts with that dog before having another pet introduced or working dog introduced, I should say.

S1

I guess I think cats are probably one of the one of the harder ones, but I guess it's always going to be one of those cases of kind of starting slow and gradually introducing with an animal like a cat.

S3

Yeah, that's exactly right. I mean, my cats have grown up around dogs, so a new puppy comes and they sort of just roll their eyes and then go to sleep on top of the crate to taunt the puppy. Harsh. But if a cat hasn't had a puppy before in the house, the main thing is just making sure the cat has its own separate space that can be away from the puppy and also just making sure it gets one on one time with you as well. So it still feels a special part of the family.

S1

If you've got a temporary dog like a relief or foster care. Do you have any tips on settling in a dog into a new environment? It's obviously can be kind of either really smooth or a little bit challenging for that dog. Any tips?

S3

Absolutely. So some of the biggest tips I've got for you is just taking things a little bit back to basics. Even if you're looking after a dog that's, say, maybe a ten month old dog or even if you've got a breeding dog coming into your home, but you've never met this dog before, treating them as if they're a baby puppy and giving them lots of rewards and lots of praise for things that you like, that they're doing behaviors that you want them to repeat. This also helps build the bond with that dog doing things like basic obedience, so easy things that they're confident in doing that can help them get it right. I wouldn't take that dog into off leash areas and expect them to come back when you call them because this dog doesn't know you anymore.

S1

And I'm guessing even your yard kind of to some degree, if there's anything that you're a bit of a, you know, aware of that might be, you know, sticks and leaves to eat, they may not come back to you.

S3

Yeah, that's exactly right. And even if this dog has grown up. As an example with we'll go back to the cat example. If it's growing up with cats in its house and you bring it into your house and and expect that it'll behave well in front of your cat, it may not. Maybe your cat will react different to the way its cat reacts. And they may have a different relationship. So I would always anticipate that the dog will react to those things. So whether it's getting really excited and trying to play with your cat or trying to chase your cat as an example, I would have the dog on a lead when introducing to new family members, even things like kids and adults that are other members of the household as well.

25:16

S1

If you've got two dogs in particular, and I actually have two dogs with me in the studio here, a 16 week and a 16 month old, they can get a little bit silly and there is a bit of kind of playing and it's all very nice. But, you know, sometimes they get a bit silly. How do you manage a kind of rest and downtime with two dogs that are keen on playing when one other you need to kind of concentrate and rest or they do, but you know, still thinking that they should be playing.

S3

Yes. So I know with your dogs, Harriet, that they're seeing eye dog. So you can, of course, have them both crated separately so then they know when it is rest time and when when they're out and they go outside, that can be their playtime. Or you can have one tethered and one crated. If you have a pet dog and seeing eye dog again, I'd recommend creating the seeing eye dog and it's game over with my dogs at home. 

I let them play and wrestle outside. They know not to do it inside, so they'll take themselves out to open back door and go have a wrestle. And then when they come in, it's quiet time. It's walking around the house, it's lying on your bed, and they know that they'll get told off if they try and wrestle and run into things throughout the house.

S1

Yeah. No zoomies indoors?

S3

No.

S1

That's how things get broken.

S3

Yeah. That's why we can't have nice things.

S1

This is why we kind of have nice things. It's dogs. I knew it. So just to kind of finish off, if you've got one dog who's play is a bit, you know, overly energetic or rough. And I think, you know, a lot of people with labs would potentially understand this one. And they're still friendly, but they're a bit boisterous and you've got a kind of another dog who is a bit less. How can you encourage more gentle play?

S3

Yep. So as soon as the play gets a little bit rough, I would be removing that dog from the situation. So as soon as they get a bit silly they'll learn. If you don't give them chances, it's a one chance only if they get silly, the play is over and you can reward that dog by allowing them to keep playing. If they're playing nicely and telling them they're a good dog, rewarding them, saying, Good boy, that's lovely. Well done. Giving them a pat, reinforcing the behavior you want to repeat and then removing them from the situation that you where there's behavior you don't want them repeating.

27:44

S1

You've been listening to the show on and stray radio. Hope you enjoyed my interviews with Opie, talking about her life as a singer handler and the Life Changing Connections graduation event for 2023 and with Paige Coleman, puppy development trainer in the Geelong Surf Coast and Bellarine Peninsula regions, talking about managing multiple dogs in a household. 

If you'd like to find out more about seeing our dogs, the work we do or how I can help. Head to our website at Vision australia.org. If you are interested in becoming a dogs handler yourself, if you are blind or have low vision, why not head to our website at Vision Australia? Org to find out more. Or you can inquire about applying by contacting us on 1800 037 773 or emailing info-at-cederberg. Thank you for listening and don't forget to tune in same time next week for another episode of the radio show.