What Everyone Should Know About Guide Dogs for the Blind
A working Guide Dog provides mobility and independence to the visually-impaired
user.
A Guide Dog is not a pet dog when it is working; therefore, other people must
not distract the Guide Dog. Guide dogs wear harnesses when working, and upon
seeing this, others should first ask the user for permission before touching
or distracting the Guide Dog. To distract a working Guide Dog in any way means
the animal cannot concentrate fully on avoiding potentially dangerous situations.
Some of the qualities required to make a good Guide Dog are: a quiet and calm
disposition, a high level of initiative, a high level of concentration while
working as well as a high level of willingness to work and a strong desire to
please the user.
At Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind, puppies of 7 weeks of age are placed with
foster families, called "puppy walkers", who raise the pups. The puppy
walkers socialize the puppies, which are mainly Golden Retrievers and Labrador
Retrievers, to as many different, everyday environments as possible. The outdoor
socialization begins in quiet residential areas and slowly works up to restaurants,
shopping malls, public transit, elevators and so on.
Between 12 to 18 months of age, the dogs are brought to the Training Centre
to begin five to eight months of professional training. The dog and its new
handler are then matched and are trained together, in residence, as a team.
The Guide Dog does not have any unusual gifts or powers. The dog does not "watch"
for stop lights to turn green but rather waits for a change in traffic direction.
The animal has been taught to respond to commands from the owner, such as "Forward",
"Left", "Right" and "Straight on", and will only
disregard a command when it could lead to a dangerous situation for the Guide
Dog team.
Guide dogs in general can be recognized by a harness and a handle which is held
in the owner's left hand. Guide dogs from Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind
wear a white harness.
Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind offers Guide Dog training as well as transportation
to and from the Training Centre, room and board while the client is on class,
for the symbolic cost of $1. The client is responsible for the care, feeding
and veterinary costs of their Guide Dog after they graduate.
In Canada, all provinces have adopted specific statutes to grant Guide Dog users
the right of access. In most provinces, the statutes specifically state that
no special conditions, terms or fees can be imposed on a Guide Dog user because
of the presence of a Guide Dog.