Hi Chris, As a newly blind person I take my hat off to you. Going out with your guide dog like that is very good, it takes courage. I can tell you that it gets easier as you build it up between you and your dog. I have had three guide dogs and we went all over the country together.Glad you didn't fall in the pond though you might have wakened the ducks up. Malcolm from Hyde. Cheshire. England. Skype name. malcolmbo1