About Us

My name is Lolly Lijewski. I am working with my fifth Seeing Eye Dog, Brook. She is a six year old female black Labrador Retriever.

GuideBrook Productions is named after Brook. She is my inspiration to learn more about how dogs learn, think and behave, and how those processes affect the human canine bond.

I created GuideBrook Productions (GBP) to share information on retirement, adoption and euthanasia for guide dog handlers, and to offer continuing education workshops to guide dog handlers and guide dog instructors.

I saw some unmet needs within the guide dog handling community, and now seek to fill those needs through GBP.

In 2004, I retired my forth Seeing Eye Dog and returned to The Seeing Eye to meet my fifth dog, Brook.  My instructor at The Seeing Eye used primarily Positive training and management techniques with my class.  This gave me my first in depth exposure to this training methodology.

We learned about shaping behaviors, back chaining, counter conditioning and targeting.

I discovered that while Brook would work for me if I used traditional training, she enjoyed positive training techniques much more, and she became an active learner as a result of my utilizing those techniques.

In 2005, I attended my first Clicker Expo in Minneapolis.  There I participated in workshops given by Karen Prior, author of “Don’t Shoot The Dog,” and widely acclaimed guru of clicker training.  This experience peeked my interest to learn as much as I could about Positive Training.

In 2007, a member of Minnesota Guide Dog Users (MNGDU) and I organized and conducted a Clicker Training workshop in Minneapolis for 24 guide dog users.  Three guide dog schools participated in the two day workshop.  That same year, Guide Dog Users Inc. an affiliate of the American Council of the Blind held its national convention in Minneapolis, with a focus on Clicker Training.

In 2009, I created GBP. Through the past five years, I found there is a community of guide dog users who are interested in exploring more about how dogs think, learn and behave. In addition, I saw a need to provide information for guide dog handlers on the complex issues they face during life transitions with their dogs, such as; retirement, adoption, euthanasia, and imminent death.

My hope is that guide dog handlers will find GBP a valuable source for information and learning.