Guide dogs

http://www.disability.vic.gov.au/dsonline/dsarticles.nsf/pages/Guide_dogs?OpenDocument

Guide dogs
Guide dogs are specially bred and trained to enable people who are blind or vision impaired to achieve independence and enjoy equal rights and responsibilities. Throughout the world, the preferred breed for a guide dog is the Labrador. The Labrador is a responsive, intelligent and placid dog that learns quickly.

It takes approximately one and a half years to train a guide dog and, over the course of its working life, a professional guide dog costs Guide Dogs Victoria around $25,000. Guide dogs are provided free of charge to Victorians who are blind or vision impaired, without discrimination.

Breeding and puppy raising
Guide dog puppies are born and raised at the Guide Dogs Victoria Breeding Centre in Kew. At seven weeks of age, the puppies are placed on the Puppy Raising program. With regular support from puppy raising supervisors, volunteer puppy raisers nurture and socialise the puppies until the age of 12 months. When they're not producing litters, the stud dogs and breeding bitches live with boarding families.

Guide dog assessment
At 12 months, the puppies return to the Guide Dog Centre for a health examination and a week-long assessment of temperament. This involves testing each dog's reaction to other dogs, animals, distractions and situations that may commonly produce an anxious reaction in other dogs. Guide dogs are bred to inherit characteristics such as fearlessness, indifference towards other dogs and animals, an even temper and the ability to focus and concentrate. Test standards are high, since the safety of vision impaired people is at stake.

About half of the puppies are ultimately selected for guide dog training. The remainder are trained as 'companion' dogs, 'pets as therapy' dogs or offered as pets to good homes.

Guide dog training
Dogs that pass the rigorous assessment undergo a five-month intensive training program. Each guide dog instructor handles six to eight dogs. Eighty sessions cover a range of situations in a variety of settings, such as residential, city and rural areas. The lessons include:
· Walking in a straight line.
· Ignoring distractions.
· Stopping at a curb.
· Learning not to react to other dogs, even if attacked.
· Learning commands such as 'forward', 'straight to the curb', 'find the door' and 'find the counter'.
· Intelligent disobedience, such as ignoring an unsafe command.
· Getting used to the body harness.
· Techniques to indicate obstacles, such as stairs.
· Walking around obstacles, including obstacles that would hit the handler's face.
· Traffic awareness and safety.
· Using public transport.
Guide dogs are trained through leadership and positive reinforcement. They are praised when they exhibit desired behaviour. The dog learns many commands, including disobeying a command if its handler (the person who is vision impaired) has not heard approaching traffic. Each dog is trained to recognise the height and width of its handler to avoid obstacles such as overhanging trees.

Training for the guide dog handler
The handler and their guide dog work as a team, with the dog obeying the handler's commands. The handler undergoes one month of intensive training with their guide dog at our residential training centre in Kew. The guide dog team is given support to settle into their own home, and an instructor will ensure they become familiar with their local environment. They will learn how to safely negotiate their most often-used travel and transport routes for work, shopping and personal needs.

By law, guide dogs are permitted to travel in taxis and on public transport, and are allowed in all public places such as restaurants and hotels.

Guide Dogs Victoria provides follow-up sessions for each guide dog team after one, three, six and 12 months, and annually thereafter. On average, a guide dog will work for about eight to 10 years. When the dog is around eight years old, Guide Dogs Victoria and the handler start preparing for the changeover to a replacement guide dog.

Suggestions for sighted people
A guide dog isn't always 'on duty'. When its body harness is removed, the dog understands that it can relax and play. However, for the safety of the handler, you should never distract a guide dog while it is working. General cautions include:
· Don't pat guide dogs.
· Talk to the handler, not the guide dog.
· Don't whistle to a guide dog.
· Don't offer food.
· Keep your own dog on a leash, away from the guide dog and under effective control.
Where to get help
· Your doctor
· Guide Dogs Victoria Tel. (03) 9854 4444
Things to remember
· Guide dogs are specially bred and trained to enable people who are blind or vision impaired to achieve freedom and independence.
· It takes approximately one and a half years to train a guide dog, at an average cost of $25,000 over the course of its working life.
· Do not distract a working guide dog in harness.
· By law, guide dogs are permitted to travel on public transport, including taxis, and are allowed inside all public places such as restaurants and hotels.

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