Hello hello!
Spring is here, and so to is another instalment of The Journal; where I look forward to letting you in on what I've been up to and bringing you all things puppies, pets and people that I meet along the way! This month is Therapy and Service Dog Awareness Month and who better to chat to than our very own Christine Balodis.
Christine recently celebrated her 10th Anniversary with Guide Dogs NSW/ACT - a huge accomplishment in any line of work, but particularly in this one. Working with animals is more of a lifestyle than pure occupation; I think it's vocational. Christine spends a lot of her time with animals; Guide Dogs by day, her two gorgeous dogs, Harper and Sally by night, and on the weekends you'll find her volunteering at the Canberra National Zoo. So what can we glean from Christine's decade of Guide Dog training? Let's find out... |
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I tagged along with Christine for a morning of work with her four Guide Dogs, Jacinda, Willis, Aileen and Franklin. Christine explains that these dogs have actually completed their training but for today, we need to "work them" to ensure we keep up their skills until it's time to be matched with their new handler. To meet the needs of their visually impaired match, more specialised training will take place in the coming weeks. Until then, they are keeping up their skills around town, much to the delight of community onlookers. Everyone respectfully notices as Christine moves through the bustling Manuka shopping precinct, she doesn't seem to notice all the warm smiles falling on her as she works with each dog. It's clear to me, they are on the job, chatting with curious members of the community will have to wait until later. I found time to pick Christine's brain for you, I certainly continue to learn a lot from her... Here are some of her insights that I hope will help you! |
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JACINDA GUIDES CHRISTINE DOWN SOME STAIRS, MANUKA, ACT, 2025. |
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THE IMPORTANCE OF PATIENCE |
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Christine explains, "I've learned the importance of working the dog that is in front of you. That means understanding canine body language and reading the signs the dog is giving me. They are communicating all the time, if you know what to look for. That might change from moment to moment each day, or be dependant on the environment we happen to be in, what level of distractions are around and a range of other factors. When you change your mindset from "my dog is being stubborn" to "my dog is struggling to understand and learn what I am trying to teach", it creates a whole different game plan. Many pet owners want to jump to the fun tricks and the cool adventures, but its so important to have a solid foundation and master the basics first." |
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CHRISTINE TALKS TO MANUKA LOCALS WHO WANT TO KNOW ALL ABOUT WILLIS' GUIDE DOG TRAINING (LEFT/TOP).
RIGHT JACINDA'S ICONIC LEATHER GUIDE DOG HARNESS (RIGHT/BOTTOM). |
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"At the end of the day, Guide Dogs have to be well adjusted dogs to be able to meet the criteria to graduate and be placed with a client. I often tell our puppy raising families to just focus on the basic's. If you have a solid foundation first, everything else will come more easily. It's much harder to train a dog to stop at a kerb if the dog is too focused on something else in the environment."
Christine says, "It's important to generalise these basic skills in as many different settings as possible. For example, loose lead walking around your residential street is one thing, but maintaining that loose lead at your local Bunnings on a Saturday morning, is quite another. The weekend escape to the coast with a range of new smells, more dogs, bikes, kids on scooters, plus a strange new location to sleep in; this is disorienting and can be very overwhelming to a young dog. Teaching the more generalised skill of remaining calm in a variety of different environments; that is what will enable you to enjoy taking your dog on weekend adventures." |
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JACINDA SITS CLOSE TO CHRISTINE IN A CAFE (LEFT/TOP).
CHRISTINE AND JACINDA FINISH THEIR MORNING TRAINING SESSION (RIGHT/BOTTOM). |
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"There are so many amazing dogs that I have gotten to work with, I could easily list off 10-20 names over the past 10 years that stood out and who were super special to me. I especially love it when I am able to follow their working journey via social media. Banner and Solo are two yellow boys who have gone on to do amazing things with their clients. They do a lot of media work for Guide Dogs, so I love it when I spot Banner on a giant billboard, or I see Solo on posters and advertising. It's such a privilege to know that I played a part in their journey."
She says, "I love getting to know each and every dog I get to train, they are all so different and whilst it can be very repetitive work, their individual needs make each training session unique; building their confidence to make choices; to see them have light bulb moments when they figure something out."
"The best memories come from seeing the difference these dogs go on to make in our clients' lives. Not only people with vision impairments, but also dogs that go on to be Therapy dogs, Ambassador's, or Breeders for our program; also, dogs who have gone on to support veterans through the Defence Community Dogs program. It makes my day when I run into one of my dogs that I have trained and I see and hear about how life changing they have been. Gino, was placed locally and it makes me proud to regularly see him trotting along with his handler here in Canberra", she says. |
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FRANKLIN, AILEEN, WILLIS AND JACINDA, INNER NORTH DOG PARK, ACT, 2025. |
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We are so lucky to have Christine available to us through Puppy Preschool. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Christine on her amazing contribution to Guide Dogs over the past ten years - what an achievement!
When you shop at The Puppy Shop, you are contributing to an annual donation that I make directly to Guide Dogs NSW/ACT. If you would like to make a donation to Guide Dogs directly, you can do so here. Stay tuned for more from The Guide Dog's centre in Sydney, where I'll be photographing some fresh new pups later this month!
Classes with Christine will resume in October. Enrol now. |
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To each and every one of you,
thank you for being here, even if just for a moment!
Until next month! |
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