My service dog scared my doctor and the staff earlier this year, when she growled and refused to let me up when the doctor wanted me to move from the chair to the examination table. She had pushed me back into the chair, and absolutely would not let me stand up..... They tested my blood sugar and took my blood pressure, because she had **never** alerted like that before... Both were crashing. If I had stood up as directed, I would have fallen, probably passed out, and potentially been hurt. Service dogs are so amazing!
your service dog was being such a good, smart, girl! She knew something was wrong and made sure you were safe. I hope she got lots of praise and maybe a treat or two for being such a good girl. 🥰
I have recently become legally blind, waiting on my guide dog. No exaggeration, but you have saved my life, and helped me through great depression. Thank you.
It must be so rough but I wish you all the best in your journey. I believe in you. Thank you for being here, even when it's hard - greater times will come 🙏
I love how educational this is for everyone. As a sighted person you just think "Oh the dog does this, this and that." and don't think about it much more than that. The footwork, praise and how he becomes a regular happy doggo when the harness comes off, but goes into business mode when it's on, is so cool. I never realized there were so many little intricacies to walking with a guide dog. Thank you for the education.
My mother is deaf blind, and Stanley, her dog, managed to wake her up and get her outside when there was a house fire. Dogs are amazing family members.
Next time my family asks me to do something and I forget I will simply tell them I’m perfecting the skill of ✨intelligent disobedience ✨ Works everytimeeeee
I taught my dog "turn left" "turn right" forward back up and so on... one day i was walking a friends dog and forgot not all dogs know those commands told the dog 3 times to "go left" 3 times before it clicked then later i tried to get the dogs to change sides and said "right side" the dog looked at me like i grew 3 heads and my dog just grabbed the other dogs leash and drug it to the right side lol
the fact that your dog not only knew the command but also knew you were instructing the other dog and then made them follow the command is so adorable lol, you have such a smart dog :P
@@tinkrebelle she really is amazing our Rescue frenchie so far seems to be at the shallow and of the intellectual pool, but she will get there.. I hope! Thank you for your kind words I'm so blessed to have such a great dog
I adopted a senior rescue last year and while he isn't a service dog, I train him like so (pretty much the same kindness, clarity and patience you show Maple). He helps me with memory and routine, so I taught him to use those speech buttons (he was neglected so severely he struggles with giving ques when he wants to potty). I was told this little guy was a problem and difficult to manage, the only "problem" is his low confidence and anxiety. So I put a lot of emphasis on praising him whenever he succeeds, I also try to make him feel safe so he can explore new concepts and integrate them. It made me feel proud when my orthopedist said he is so well-behaved he was permitted to sit in his bag during my most recent visit, instead of having to wait outside their front door.
I love that you still give Mr Maple treats periodically when he does trained behaviors correctly. So many dog owners want to know “when can I stop giving treats?” But it’s so important to have a reward that the dog appreciates to keep them happy and motivated.
It's like saying "when can I stop paying my employees," you don't! They're working dogs, they work for rewards, either praise, treats, or a favorite toy.
You stop giving occasional treats when you can honestly say you no longer appreciate someone noticing and expressing gratitude for the help you give. Same thing. Everyone likes to be acknowledged even if they really enjoy what they do.
It might be easier with larger dogs. But treats can only get so small. And at some point if given too many treats they stop eating proper food. Because, well they are full. And just like humans, dogs can't live a healthy life on just treats. But there are other rewards.
@timonix2 You are right about food treats. My daughter had a large service dog that was not food motivated. Pets and praise worked, but oddly, her favorite treat was to be allowed to smell flowers along the walk. She never tried to go over, but the longing looks said it all. Every so often, Jocelyn would detour to the pots or plot and let Jewel take a few seconds to smell the flowes. Her reaction was like she just got the tastiest yummy. Bonus nobody could be nervous of the huge dog wagging her tail like crazy at the campus flowers. She never harmed any plants and always kept most of her attention on her job.
I just want to say how much of an inspiration you two are. I’m a closeted 18 year old and I’m TERRIFIED for what the future holds for me in terms of relationships and am scared that I’ll never be able to find true love. You two really give me hope in true love. Like when I think of what kind of life I want when I get a bit older, I always think of Matthew and Paul. Thank you guys for giving me a healthy queer relationship to look up to!!
If you give love into the world you will get in return-it may take longer than you wish and appear in different forms, but please know there are friends waiting for you to share your story. And romance can be found in the oddest places, you are young enough to be surprised. I hope you find peace to be who you are and not what outsiders want you to be. Best of luck and wishing you only good things.
I have known a couple of guide dogs who have needed to be retired after they suffered dog attacks while in harness. They were both such excellent guides, and their owners were, of course, devastated (and terrified!). I'm so glad that Maple is managing to overcome his understandable fear and reticence of other dogs while in harness - and you do such a great job of reassuring him and building his confidence back up. On a lighter note, from a sample of around 30, I have yet to meet an off-harness guide dog who could resist sampling goose poop! At least he didn't roll in it, too 😂.
My seizure and cardiac alert service dog tells me when it's time to sit down before a life threaten situation happens. I wouldn't be alive today without her and her amazing predecessor.
Seattle is so beautiful! It looks like my kind of city! I'm going to have to put it on my bucket list for the next time I go to the US. I loved San Diego for that reason too! Lots of park areas, it was spacious and you have a beautiful seaside area and a nice downtown area that feels actually safe. Seattle kind of a little bit reminds me of Wellington, New Zealand with the housing in the hills and some of the busy roads but there's beautiful walkways by the harbour area and a cute city centre area no far either. ❤ If you guys ever got the chance to fly to New Zealand, I think you'd love Wellington, especially on a Sunday when it's a bit quieter or in the middle of a workday during the week. You guys might also love Melbourne, Australia, but it is a little busier but you have a similar vibe.
I have such respect for guide dogs. Watching you train, walk, and talk with Mr. Maple is a beautiful thing. Business 1st, then puppers time. Thank you. It's wonderful 🫶🐾🐾
I love the stories you share! I’m legally blind from wet macular degeneration after I received a blood infection while in the hospital which caused bleeding in both of my eyes! I have been having such a hard time getting acclimated to the vision loss in my right eye and the blurry vision in my left eye. I was a nurse before this and being able to see a vein to start an IV even though I’ve gotten pretty dang good at finding and tracing a vein and starting an IV by touch! Other staff actually call me to start IV’s especially when they can’t “see” a vein! But even though I get a lot of compliments from patients on how “super friendly” they find me, I keep being told I have a “resting B face” because of the way I have to position my head in order to see them. I’ve found you to be such an inspiration and just love the stories about Mr. Maple and Matthew! The way you two get along is amazing and y’all should consider doing family or marriage counseling so couples can inspire to have a relationship like y’alls!
One of the cities I lived in had different tones at each crosswalk when the walk signal was green. I was told that it was to make easier for a blind person to know which intersection they were at. I do know that my non-guide dog instantly knew it was time to look to cross when he heard the signal.
Beautiful. Matthew being silent the whole way. Maple, dogs like you give me such hope and happiness. Love from Toronto, On, Canada. Dogs are truly amazing.
My service dog can call 911. She is the best! I love how you are showing its an ongoing relationship that you continue to build with the dog. Does Mr. Maple know the leave it command? That might help with eating the poop. That was a huge skill for my dog to learn as i often would drop meds. She know to leave them and find it is another wonderful command that helps if i drop things. She even has a tiny backpack she can bring me with meds and a small water. It has some treats for her too.
It was really cool seeing how a guide dog works in action and having it explained, thank you for sharing the knowledge and experience (always love seeing mr maple as well, he’s such a good boy😊)
My husband's guide dogs were all great. It gave him independence and gave me peace of mind he was safe. He always was safe until his last guide dog retired and he got hit by a car and forever changed his life.
In graduate school in Phoenix, Arizona, I had a friend who had a lovely yellow lab guide dog. She said in summer school, her dog would go from shady-spot to shady-spot on campus, so she would get turned around and have to ask people "where are we?" - Now, with temperatures increasing drastically in Arizona, I'm guessing Guide dogs have to wear booties to avoid burning their feet! I also got to play with her dog out-of-harness at her home. The next time I saw her in class, she wagged her tail Very hard, and I felt so bad I had to ignore her!
I have a retired mobility lab named Annie. She is still able to complete all of her tasks, but now gets to sniff while working with me. Sniffing is her life! You are a great team!
Maple is such a good boi (apart from when he was in regular dog mode and eating goose poop) and I love seeing him in business mode. I like how you show the best way to respond when he makes a mistake and how to reassure him around dogs after being bitten. It's really important for people to see that, for dogs in general.
I'm a sighted person (just regular glasses for nearsightedness) and the intersections in downtown Seattle still terrify me sometimes 😅 I can't even imagine navigating the area while visually impaired or blind, especially with the way people drive here. I'm so glad you have Mr. Maple to guide and protect you! 🖤
I've done agility training and competitions with my dogs and one of the first things you learn is how important the placement/direction of your feet is! All dogs read what we are doing with our feet! I think more people should understand this. I think it's really fabulous that guide dogs are trained with this in mind as well.
I love how his tail is wagging while he’s working. Happy boy!!! And it’s great to hear how having him has widened your world and independence. I’m sorry to hear his confidence near dogs got shaken.
This is very educational and I love your content so much, but PLEASE let us know if people saying Hi are distracting for you or Maple! The last thing I think any of us want is to interfere with his job and your safety❤
\When crossing a street, you shouldn’t distract a guide dog or the handler, or a person with a cane. We use our ears, so if you’re talking, I can’t hear. If you’re just walking along, it depends on the person and their preference, but a rule of thumb is that a guide dog in harness should be dispatched.
@@isaacmcburneysame goes for any service dog. Great of you to ask such a thoughtful question! Best rule of thumb is to pretend the dog isn’t even there. It’s safer to chat with the person when we are sitting around waiting somewhere, but otherwise, always ignore the dog because the SD and handler are trying to focus on our each other’s cues (which could be spoken commands, hand signals, and other unspoken, non-obvious gestures), even while we are sitting and taking a break. If we miss each other’s cues, one or both of us could get hurt. Even when my service dog is sleeping, he’s actively listening and paying attention for commands and other possible things I may need help with (except for while he’s having a dream and shaking). I don’t want people to teach him that being in his harness is play and socialization time because it could unwind his training. Some people have service dogs that can’t interact with others even while not in their harness. Although it’s more relaxed, they’re technically working 24/7/365, and some dogs can’t stay focused on their person when other people start to give them attention. My boy is mostly like that. He loves his job, and I had to make a difficult decision not to let him interact with mostly everyone, minus my nieces and nephews who are too little to understand not to bother him while he’s in the harness, but I can control my boy better in those situations because he’s learned to look at me when the children tried to pet him or give him a toy - and I’m teaching the children to remember to ask before they try to play with him, even when he’s not in the harness. But overall, it took a long time to get my boy to look at me because he came from farm town, PA and I live in NYC where there’s always gonna be distractions from people. So I had to make a ground rule that nobody pets or plays with him even out of harness until it’s his time to retire (which will be in the next 1-2 years cause he’s 9 and still healthy and loving his job). He’s perfectly happy and doesn’t even try to interact with anyone. Every situation is different, but it’s always best to only talk to the person and pretend the dog isn’t even there as a rule of thumb - meaning don’t make eye contact, high pitched noises, etc. You can look and admire our dogs, but do it from afar and indirectly in a way that won’t distract the dog. I love when people come up to me to give me a compliment about my boy, but it’s very dangerous when people start distracting him directly. Even the best trained service dogs will eventually have trouble resisting the temptation if it keeps happening. I trained my boy to look at me when someone tries to talk to him or pets him when I turn my head (despite the “do not pet” sign all over his harness lol), but there have been times where people are over the top and he just can’t resist - they are still dogs, not robots. It’s unsafe and not fair to put these working dogs in that position. People don’t seem to understand that they can’t be treated like pets. Anyway, I appreciate that you asked and just wanted to clarify that it’s the same general rule for any kind of service dog and not just guide dogs. I wish more people would be educated and thoughtful enough to understand and ask questions like this!
Some people will say that Intelligent Disobedience is one of the most important skills to be taught to a Service Dog, Service Dogs and Guide Dogs are such a good Service Team thanks to their thinking and choice making abilities, what I love about Service Dogs in relation to other Working Dogs is how much respect they get for their Free Will, they’re empowered little fellas and I am very happy to see dogs getting mutual respect and recognition for the amazing things they can do!
I never had a guy dog myself but I grew up with several of them as both of my parents were also blind. I also spent some time at the GDB campus while they were getting their new dogs and I've been around several other guy dog owners at NFB and ACB conferences. All that to say, from the small slice I see here, you are one of the best, most informed, and most responsible guide dog users that I have yet come across. I am very happy to have you representing us in this, and I think you did an excellent job demonstrating a good range of situations while explaining what was going on in a thorough but understandable way. Definitely the best I've seen on TH-cam so far. Thank you Paul!
Mr. Maple was smart to get you across the street without a verbal command because that was such a wide intersection. Good Dog! Ahh, Lake Union. I miss Seattle.
Thank you for sharing all these experiences for those of us who don’t understand how the world is different for those who have limited or no vision. This is a wonderful service to humanity! ❤
My girl is being self-trained with some help and when she loses confidence, I always have her stop, and I give her some praise. You can tell she immediately feels better. A little bit of loving goes a long way.
I'm so sorry to hear that you've been through the hole dog acttack situation. I'm a fellow service dog handler who had to retire due to dog attack. i'm glad you didn't have to retire maple.
I've been an Extended Video Member for five months - the best financial choice I ever made. My family always seems to get colds or the flu during the holidays, especially Christmas, and your videos have got me through many long hours on bed feeling tired - thank you for entertaining me and helping me learn simultaneously!
Wow that video was actually the sweetest and uplifting video I’ve seen. At the end I started to tear up a little. Dogs are such a blessing and I’m so happy that Paul has maples 😭😭😭🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
I've learned more about guide dogs in the last month that I discovered your channel than I had in my entire 32 years of life! Thank you so much for showing us a bit of your life while also educating all of us who have very few encounters with guide dogs.
Thanks for the walking tour of newer parts of Seattle I’ve not enjoyed yet! Once I oriented to where you were, (via the Queen Anne TV towers) it got even more interesting. I was born in Seattle and spent some of my childhood years there, but don’t get there often anymore, so this was a special treat. You and Mr Maple are such a joy to watch. 😊😊
Just got my Mr. Maple 2025 calendar! It's beautiful, Paul you have amazing talent. I'm so glad that you, Matthew & Mr. Maple share your life with us. God Bless❤
Mister Maple is such a sweetheart! Well trained yes, but you can also tell he has an emotional intelligence as well and he’s obviously very attached to Paul as well!
Camera fail???!? LOL! Seriously, I'm sooo glad you have Mr. Maple. It's also wonderful to see so many people on your route who are fans of both of you!
I love your dog, Paul. Mr Maple is just one of the very best doggies. Hero dog for doing such an important-life changing job. You go Mr Maple. Im a huge fan. And Paul you make being blind look so cool. This is really a complement and coming from a place of love. I know you would rather have vision, but right now Your journey is taking you in this direction.
I love the work ye guys do in bringing awareness on disabilities, showing yer beautiful relationship as a couple and the blessing of guide dogs! Thank you so much, this warmed my heart today.✨💙
German shepherds used to be allowed a ‘more forward heel’ on obedience trials. Watching Maple with the harness and need to block- his heel is forward. It makes perfect sense that shepherds had this allowance given their history as guide dogs and protectors.
I’ve been bit before by a dog, and needed 2 hours of reconstructive surgery to my eyelid/tear duct (which was shredded and had two stents in it for 3 months) because of it. Mr. Maple may have a little ptsd from it, but the fact that he still is confident, and can work through it shows just how amaing, and well trained service dogs are 🩷 I still work with animals, dogs primarily, even though I have some ptsd because of it all, but my end goal is to train service dogs, and have an animal sanctuary!!!
Maple is just such an awesome dog!! Thank you for sharing your journeys with us and showing the world your fascinating and amazing life! You guys are wonderful!
I loved this video! I used to walk dogs for a lady who trained dogs for Guide Dogs for the Blind but I’ve never really seen a guide dog in action. Mr Maple is incredible! My love for him just quadrupled 😍
My service dog scared my doctor and the staff earlier this year, when she growled and refused to let me up when the doctor wanted me to move from the chair to the examination table.
She had pushed me back into the chair, and absolutely would not let me stand up.....
They tested my blood sugar and took my blood pressure, because she had **never** alerted like that before...
Both were crashing. If I had stood up as directed, I would have fallen, probably passed out, and potentially been hurt.
Service dogs are so amazing!
They absolutely are! I worked in a rehabilitation facility and every service animal I met blew my mind with how smart they are.
your service dog was being such a good, smart, girl! She knew something was wrong and made sure you were safe. I hope she got lots of praise and maybe a treat or two for being such a good girl. 🥰
@@captsparrowslady, we also have to say that pets in general are so fun to have around!
@@captsparrowslady absolutely!
Holy cow, that's incredible!! It blows me away how perceptive dogs can be trained to be. That's wild.
I have recently become legally blind, waiting on my guide dog. No exaggeration, but you have saved my life, and helped me through great depression. Thank you.
SAME!! ❤❤❤
It must be so rough but I wish you all the best in your journey. I believe in you. Thank you for being here, even when it's hard - greater times will come 🙏
@@sindiandersen2139 Tgank you!
Best wishes to you as you navigate this new phase of life. ❤❤❤
@@c.a.parker5036 Thank you.
I love how educational this is for everyone. As a sighted person you just think "Oh the dog does this, this and that." and don't think about it much more than that. The footwork, praise and how he becomes a regular happy doggo when the harness comes off, but goes into business mode when it's on, is so cool. I never realized there were so many little intricacies to walking with a guide dog. Thank you for the education.
❤️❤️❤️
Thank you you and Maple Are wonderful lots of love from New Zealand
Soo true !!!!
My mother is deaf blind, and Stanley, her dog, managed to wake her up and get her outside when there was a house fire. Dogs are amazing family members.
Maple immediately eating the goose poop as soon as he was off harness! Oh man, what is it with dogs and eating poop?? Little stinkers (literally) 😂
😂😂😂
The really considerate ones roll in the poop, making sure to really get it deep in their fur.
@spacelasertech8359 especially when they've got thick and/or long fur!
LOL!! Paul was telling him not to eat the goose poop at the EXACT moment Maple was eating the goose poop. LOL
I love that the fan asked "is that Mr. Maple?" instead of "are you Paul castle?"
Next time my family asks me to do something and I forget I will simply tell them I’m perfecting the skill of ✨intelligent disobedience ✨
Works everytimeeeee
😂😂😂
Mr. Maple is so photogenic and has no bad angles.
I'm so sad to hear Mr. Maple was recently bitten. I hope he's able to regain his confidence around stranger dogs 💚
That makes me so sad, too. Mr. Maple is such a good boy.
I love how he helped Maple with his confidence
I taught my dog "turn left" "turn right" forward back up and so on... one day i was walking a friends dog and forgot not all dogs know those commands told the dog 3 times to "go left" 3 times before it clicked then later i tried to get the dogs to change sides and said "right side" the dog looked at me like i grew 3 heads and my dog just grabbed the other dogs leash and drug it to the right side lol
the fact that your dog not only knew the command but also knew you were instructing the other dog and then made them follow the command is so adorable lol, you have such a smart dog :P
@@tinkrebelle she really is amazing our
Rescue frenchie so far seems to be at the shallow and of the intellectual pool, but she will get there.. I hope! Thank you for your kind words I'm so blessed to have such a great dog
direction commands are really useful for dogs regardless of work status. when i get one, im going to train these fundamentals
@@someonessidechannel1485 💯 I always feel so much joy when people train their dogs this
Drug? Or dragged?? Sorry if this is like a comment that is bothering
I have spelling problems so this is no hate on your comment ❤❤❤❤
Poor Mr. Maple! Hopefully he didn't get hurt too bad by the dog that bit him.
I adopted a senior rescue last year and while he isn't a service dog, I train him like so (pretty much the same kindness, clarity and patience you show Maple). He helps me with memory and routine, so I taught him to use those speech buttons (he was neglected so severely he struggles with giving ques when he wants to potty). I was told this little guy was a problem and difficult to manage, the only "problem" is his low confidence and anxiety. So I put a lot of emphasis on praising him whenever he succeeds, I also try to make him feel safe so he can explore new concepts and integrate them. It made me feel proud when my orthopedist said he is so well-behaved he was permitted to sit in his bag during my most recent visit, instead of having to wait outside their front door.
This is great, thank you for building up his confidence ❤
I love that you still give Mr Maple treats periodically when he does trained behaviors correctly. So many dog owners want to know “when can I stop giving treats?” But it’s so important to have a reward that the dog appreciates to keep them happy and motivated.
Irregularly rewarding after training is successful encourages the dog to repeat the trained behavior, because they don't get rewarded very time.
It's like saying "when can I stop paying my employees," you don't! They're working dogs, they work for rewards, either praise, treats, or a favorite toy.
You stop giving occasional treats when you can honestly say you no longer appreciate someone noticing and expressing gratitude for the help you give. Same thing. Everyone likes to be acknowledged even if they really enjoy what they do.
It might be easier with larger dogs. But treats can only get so small. And at some point if given too many treats they stop eating proper food. Because, well they are full. And just like humans, dogs can't live a healthy life on just treats.
But there are other rewards.
@timonix2 You are right about food treats. My daughter had a large service dog that was not food motivated. Pets and praise worked, but oddly, her favorite treat was to be allowed to smell flowers along the walk. She never tried to go over, but the longing looks said it all. Every so often, Jocelyn would detour to the pots or plot and let Jewel take a few seconds to smell the flowes. Her reaction was like she just got the tastiest yummy. Bonus nobody could be nervous of the huge dog wagging her tail like crazy at the campus flowers. She never harmed any plants and always kept most of her attention on her job.
I adore how Mr. Maple had subtle tail wags when he was being talked about. Still all buisness but also so happy to be praised
What a sweet boy ❤
I just want to say how much of an inspiration you two are. I’m a closeted 18 year old and I’m TERRIFIED for what the future holds for me in terms of relationships and am scared that I’ll never be able to find true love. You two really give me hope in true love. Like when I think of what kind of life I want when I get a bit older, I always think of Matthew and Paul. Thank you guys for giving me a healthy queer relationship to look up to!!
All the best for you! Hope you find a great community.
If you give love into the world you will get in return-it may take longer than you wish and appear in different forms, but please know there are friends waiting for you to share your story. And romance can be found in the oddest places, you are young enough to be surprised. I hope you find peace to be who you are and not what outsiders want you to be. Best of luck and wishing you only good things.
@@Spoonie86 thank you so much!
@@tarahobson1525 you don’t know how much this means to me. Thank you so much. Much love
I have known a couple of guide dogs who have needed to be retired after they suffered dog attacks while in harness. They were both such excellent guides, and their owners were, of course, devastated (and terrified!).
I'm so glad that Maple is managing to overcome his understandable fear and reticence of other dogs while in harness - and you do such a great job of reassuring him and building his confidence back up.
On a lighter note, from a sample of around 30, I have yet to meet an off-harness guide dog who could resist sampling goose poop! At least he didn't roll in it, too 😂.
My seizure and cardiac alert service dog tells me when it's time to sit down before a life threaten situation happens. I wouldn't be alive today without her and her amazing predecessor.
It sounds like Mr Maple needs a cape.
~Edna Mode voice~ NO CAPES!
But maybe we could make an exception for Mr. Maple. He definitely deserves one.
Not all heroes wear capes
I love how aware you are of Mr. Maple's frame of mind and are so loving with him. It's probably a main reason why you're so in tune with each other.❤
Thanks for taking us on a walk with you and Mr. Maple it was really nice and what a beautiful bond you 2 have love all 3 of you have a GREAT day ❤
Seattle is so beautiful! It looks like my kind of city! I'm going to have to put it on my bucket list for the next time I go to the US. I loved San Diego for that reason too! Lots of park areas, it was spacious and you have a beautiful seaside area and a nice downtown area that feels actually safe. Seattle kind of a little bit reminds me of Wellington, New Zealand with the housing in the hills and some of the busy roads but there's beautiful walkways by the harbour area and a cute city centre area no far either. ❤ If you guys ever got the chance to fly to New Zealand, I think you'd love Wellington, especially on a Sunday when it's a bit quieter or in the middle of a workday during the week. You guys might also love Melbourne, Australia, but it is a little busier but you have a similar vibe.
I have such respect for guide dogs. Watching you train, walk, and talk with Mr. Maple is a beautiful thing. Business 1st, then puppers time.
Thank you. It's wonderful 🫶🐾🐾
Happy Pride Month 🏳️🌈
Y’all are awesome and thank you for the fun and supportive community you’ve fostered.
I love the stories you share! I’m legally blind from wet macular degeneration after I received a blood infection while in the hospital which caused bleeding in both of my eyes! I have been having such a hard time getting acclimated to the vision loss in my right eye and the blurry vision in my left eye. I was a nurse before this and being able to see a vein to start an IV even though I’ve gotten pretty dang good at finding and tracing a vein and starting an IV by touch! Other staff actually call me to start IV’s especially when they can’t “see” a vein! But even though I get a lot of compliments from patients on how “super friendly” they find me, I keep being told I have a “resting B face” because of the way I have to position my head in order to see them. I’ve found you to be such an inspiration and just love the stories about Mr. Maple and Matthew! The way you two get along is amazing and y’all should consider doing family or marriage counseling so couples can inspire to have a relationship like y’alls!
One of the cities I lived in had different tones at each crosswalk when the walk signal was green. I was told that it was to make easier for a blind person to know which intersection they were at. I do know that my non-guide dog instantly knew it was time to look to cross when he heard the signal.
Beautiful. Matthew being silent the whole way. Maple, dogs like you give me such hope and happiness. Love from Toronto, On, Canada. Dogs are truly amazing.
Maple looks like he is having a great time.
He's so beautiful. Not just physically but his sweet temperament makes him very precious 💖
My service dog can call 911. She is the best! I love how you are showing its an ongoing relationship that you continue to build with the dog. Does Mr. Maple know the leave it command? That might help with eating the poop.
That was a huge skill for my dog to learn as i often would drop meds. She know to leave them and find it is another wonderful command that helps if i drop things. She even has a tiny backpack she can bring me with meds and a small water. It has some treats for her too.
Intelligent disobedience! I love it! I love how the fan base is growing and he gets greetings out in public more and more often!
It was really cool seeing how a guide dog works in action and having it explained, thank you for sharing the knowledge and experience (always love seeing mr maple as well, he’s such a good boy😊)
My husband's guide dogs were all great. It gave him independence and gave me peace of mind he was safe. He always was safe until his last guide dog retired and he got hit by a car and forever changed his life.
“Intelligent disobedience” that is exactly what a guide dog should do
In graduate school in Phoenix, Arizona, I had a friend who had a lovely yellow lab guide dog. She said in summer school, her dog would go from shady-spot to shady-spot on campus, so she would get turned around and have to ask people "where are we?" - Now, with temperatures increasing drastically in Arizona, I'm guessing Guide dogs have to wear booties to avoid burning their feet! I also got to play with her dog out-of-harness at her home.
The next time I saw her in class, she wagged her tail Very hard, and I felt so bad I had to ignore her!
He’s so smart. He’s such a good boy ❤😊
What a wonderful trip! Thank you for taking us along! 🥰
Glad you enjoyed it!
Dang, i need someone like Paul to give me a treat and encourage me when i start to feel a little dejected. Lucky Maple!
I have a retired mobility lab named Annie. She is still able to complete all of her tasks, but now gets to sniff while working with me. Sniffing is her life! You are a great team!
And she likes goose poop too!
Awwww I love Mister Maple!!! ❤❤❤❤❤
Maple is such a good boi (apart from when he was in regular dog mode and eating goose poop) and I love seeing him in business mode. I like how you show the best way to respond when he makes a mistake and how to reassure him around dogs after being bitten. It's really important for people to see that, for dogs in general.
I'm a sighted person (just regular glasses for nearsightedness) and the intersections in downtown Seattle still terrify me sometimes 😅 I can't even imagine navigating the area while visually impaired or blind, especially with the way people drive here. I'm so glad you have Mr. Maple to guide and protect you! 🖤
Well... He can't see the way ppl drive tbf
Mr. Maple, great job taking good care of Paul ❤🐕❤🐕❤🐕
I've done agility training and competitions with my dogs and one of the first things you learn is how important the placement/direction of your feet is! All dogs read what we are doing with our feet! I think more people should understand this. I think it's really fabulous that guide dogs are trained with this in mind as well.
And shoulders too! My dog always attends to whatever my shoulders are squared up to.
Which toy to fetch? The one my shoulders are facing!
Thanks for inviting us along on your morning walk, Paul, Matthew & Mr Maple. I'm fully awake, now!
Maple got bit 😭😭 I hope he gets his confidence back walking around the city with you two
I love how his tail is wagging while he’s working. Happy boy!!! And it’s great to hear how having him has widened your world and independence. I’m sorry to hear his confidence near dogs got shaken.
This is very educational and I love your content so much, but PLEASE let us know if people saying Hi are distracting for you or Maple! The last thing I think any of us want is to interfere with his job and your safety❤
\When crossing a street, you shouldn’t distract a guide dog or the handler, or a person with a cane. We use our ears, so if you’re talking, I can’t hear. If you’re just walking along, it depends on the person and their preference, but a rule of thumb is that a guide dog in harness should be dispatched.
@@isaacmcburneysame goes for any service dog. Great of you to ask such a thoughtful question! Best rule of thumb is to pretend the dog isn’t even there. It’s safer to chat with the person when we are sitting around waiting somewhere, but otherwise, always ignore the dog because the SD and handler are trying to focus on our each other’s cues (which could be spoken commands, hand signals, and other unspoken, non-obvious gestures), even while we are sitting and taking a break. If we miss each other’s cues, one or both of us could get hurt. Even when my service dog is sleeping, he’s actively listening and paying attention for commands and other possible things I may need help with (except for while he’s having a dream and shaking). I don’t want people to teach him that being in his harness is play and socialization time because it could unwind his training.
Some people have service dogs that can’t interact with others even while not in their harness. Although it’s more relaxed, they’re technically working 24/7/365, and some dogs can’t stay focused on their person when other people start to give them attention. My boy is mostly like that. He loves his job, and I had to make a difficult decision not to let him interact with mostly everyone, minus my nieces and nephews who are too little to understand not to bother him while he’s in the harness, but I can control my boy better in those situations because he’s learned to look at me when the children tried to pet him or give him a toy - and I’m teaching the children to remember to ask before they try to play with him, even when he’s not in the harness. But overall, it took a long time to get my boy to look at me because he came from farm town, PA and I live in NYC where there’s always gonna be distractions from people. So I had to make a ground rule that nobody pets or plays with him even out of harness until it’s his time to retire (which will be in the next 1-2 years cause he’s 9 and still healthy and loving his job). He’s perfectly happy and doesn’t even try to interact with anyone.
Every situation is different, but it’s always best to only talk to the person and pretend the dog isn’t even there as a rule of thumb - meaning don’t make eye contact, high pitched noises, etc. You can look and admire our dogs, but do it from afar and indirectly in a way that won’t distract the dog. I love when people come up to me to give me a compliment about my boy, but it’s very dangerous when people start distracting him directly. Even the best trained service dogs will eventually have trouble resisting the temptation if it keeps happening. I trained my boy to look at me when someone tries to talk to him or pets him when I turn my head (despite the “do not pet” sign all over his harness lol), but there have been times where people are over the top and he just can’t resist - they are still dogs, not robots. It’s unsafe and not fair to put these working dogs in that position. People don’t seem to understand that they can’t be treated like pets.
Anyway, I appreciate that you asked and just wanted to clarify that it’s the same general rule for any kind of service dog and not just guide dogs. I wish more people would be educated and thoughtful enough to understand and ask questions like this!
@@MashaT22That’s such a great Public Service Announcement! Thanks for putting in the work to write that out!
Some people will say that Intelligent Disobedience is one of the most important skills to be taught to a Service Dog, Service Dogs and Guide Dogs are such a good Service Team thanks to their thinking and choice making abilities, what I love about Service Dogs in relation to other Working Dogs is how much respect they get for their Free Will, they’re empowered little fellas and I am very happy to see dogs getting mutual respect and recognition for the amazing things they can do!
Thanks for the tour. I think my favourite part was Mr Maples being recognised. What a 🌟
I never had a guy dog myself but I grew up with several of them as both of my parents were also blind. I also spent some time at the GDB campus while they were getting their new dogs and I've been around several other guy dog owners at NFB and ACB conferences.
All that to say, from the small slice I see here, you are one of the best, most informed, and most responsible guide dog users that I have yet come across.
I am very happy to have you representing us in this, and I think you did an excellent job demonstrating a good range of situations while explaining what was going on in a thorough but understandable way. Definitely the best I've seen on TH-cam so far.
Thank you Paul!
Mr. Maple was smart to get you across the street without a verbal command because that was such a wide intersection. Good Dog! Ahh, Lake Union. I miss Seattle.
I work as a DEI Expert and your videos give me so much information so I can teach these things to others. ❤
Thank you for sharing all these experiences for those of us who don’t understand how the world is different for those who have limited or no vision. This is a wonderful service to humanity! ❤
You are so welcome!
Paul explains everything very clearly and funny, he would be a very good and loved teacher!
What a lovely walk. Thanks, Mr. Maple, Paul & Matthew 🥰
My girl is being self-trained with some help and when she loses confidence, I always have her stop, and I give her some praise. You can tell she immediately feels better. A little bit of loving goes a long way.
I'm so sorry to hear that you've been through the hole dog acttack situation. I'm a fellow service dog handler who had to retire due to dog attack. i'm glad you didn't have to retire maple.
I love that the moment you took his harness off he IMMEDIATELY ate goose poop 😂
Mr. Maple is such a good boy! He loves Paul so much!
Mr. Maple, thanks for giving Paul back his independence ! You're awesome!!❤❤
"It was supposed to be sunny today but its a typical grey day here..." IDK Paul, looks pretty sunny to me! 😂
😂😂
Haha yes, perfectly blue skies 😂
I've been an Extended Video Member for five months - the best financial choice I ever made. My family always seems to get colds or the flu during the holidays, especially Christmas, and your videos have got me through many long hours on bed feeling tired - thank you for entertaining me and helping me learn simultaneously!
Wow that video was actually the sweetest and uplifting video I’ve seen. At the end I started to tear up a little. Dogs are such a blessing and I’m so happy that Paul has maples 😭😭😭🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
Mr Maple is way more focused on his work than any human I know, and I can tell he loves it too ❤ If only we all had such job satisfaction lol
Love seeing these videos! I volunteer for Guide Dogs for the Blind and love seeing a dog help you!
Wonderful!
Beyond excellent. Thank you. Mr. Maple is amazing.
Our pleasure!
I've learned more about guide dogs in the last month that I discovered your channel than I had in my entire 32 years of life! Thank you so much for showing us a bit of your life while also educating all of us who have very few encounters with guide dogs.
Thanks for the walking tour of newer parts of Seattle I’ve not enjoyed yet! Once I oriented to where you were, (via the Queen Anne TV towers) it got even more interesting. I was born in Seattle and spent some of my childhood years there, but don’t get there often anymore, so this was a special treat. You and Mr Maple are such a joy to watch. 😊😊
You should come back and visit soon! ❤️
@@MatthewandPaulOfficial True, I only live an hour south, and I do get there occasionally - just not that part yet.
Just got my Mr. Maple 2025 calendar! It's beautiful, Paul you have amazing talent. I'm so glad that you, Matthew & Mr. Maple share your life with us. God Bless❤
Mister Maple is such a sweetheart! Well trained yes, but you can also tell he has an emotional intelligence as well and he’s obviously very attached to Paul as well!
Oh I just love him. ❤️ 🐾🐾💕🥰😍😘💨
Love watching Paul and Mr. Maple bopping around town. Beautiful boy, I mean boys lol.
What a beautiful city! 🇨🇦🇺🇸
Camera fail???!? LOL!
Seriously, I'm sooo glad you have Mr. Maple. It's also wonderful to see so many people on your route who are fans of both of you!
Lovely Ones!!!! Always!!!! With Lovely Cute Maple!!!! Always!!!!
This was a great video watching Maple's guiding techniques. He truly is a precious good boy 🦮🦴.
I love your dog, Paul. Mr Maple is just one of the very best doggies. Hero dog for doing such an important-life changing job. You go Mr Maple. Im a huge fan. And Paul you make being blind look so cool. This is really a complement and coming from a place of love. I know you would rather have vision, but right now Your journey is taking you in this direction.
What a wonderful dog, Mr. maple is!
I absolutely loved this video! Mr Maple is such a smart guy! Very interesting learning many of the ins and outs of guide dog!
I love the work ye guys do in bringing awareness on disabilities, showing yer beautiful relationship as a couple and the blessing of guide dogs! Thank you so much, this warmed my heart today.✨💙
"Don't eat the goose poop," and 5 minutes later gives doggie kisses. 😂 Dog lovers understand
German shepherds used to be allowed a ‘more forward heel’ on obedience trials. Watching Maple with the harness and need to block- his heel is forward. It makes perfect sense that shepherds had this allowance given their history as guide dogs and protectors.
We love you Mr.Maple. Such a good boi helping your daddy. Much love to you both dear. ❤
Mr Maple is an amazing dog
Maple doesn't have great boundaries 😂😂
It's great to see so many people recognize him. Lots of fans!
You and Mr. Maple are such a perfect pairing. He's so protective of you, and you protect him too.
Me: *Watching and internally praising Mr. Maple for being so good and smart.*
Mr. Maple: *Immediately eats goose poop off harness.*
🤦♀
Hi to my fellow Canadian! I pray for you and Matthew and of course Mr. Maple!
It’s very cool to learn more about how Mr. Maple does his job! He takes his responsibilities so seriously, what an amazing and sweet guy.
Mr. Maple, you're such a wonderful boy. Thank you for keeping our Paul safe. ❤
I’ve been bit before by a dog, and needed 2 hours of reconstructive surgery to my eyelid/tear duct (which was shredded and had two stents in it for 3 months) because of it. Mr. Maple may have a little ptsd from it, but the fact that he still is confident, and can work through it shows just how amaing, and well trained service dogs are 🩷
I still work with animals, dogs primarily, even though I have some ptsd because of it all, but my end goal is to train service dogs, and have an animal sanctuary!!!
Blind dogs are amazing for sure
Maple is just such an awesome dog!! Thank you for sharing your journeys with us and showing the world your fascinating and amazing life! You guys are wonderful!
Paul, you are showing the ultimate -- the teamwork that a guide dog and partner find that suits their specific needs and abilities! Love it!
i love that you care so much about mapels feelings as well you are so sweet keep up the great work
Thankyou for sharing this day in your life ❤
It was super cool to see how you deal with things sighted people take for granted. Mr. Maple is the best of boys!
Perfect partnership between a dog and his master. He respect Paul and so Paul for him. That is awesome. I love it
I loved this video! I used to walk dogs for a lady who trained dogs for Guide Dogs for the Blind but I’ve never really seen a guide dog in action. Mr Maple is incredible! My love for him just quadrupled 😍