Guide Dog Training
Assessment
After 10 months on the Puppy Raising program, at around 12 months of age, the young dogs return to the Training Centre for a vigorous physical and temperamental assessment. On arrival our Veterinarian gives them a thorough health examination.
They complete a one week temperamental assessment during which the instructors note the dog's reaction to different situations that are common in many environments. For example they will assess their reaction to other dogs and cats. They also assess whether they are distracted by food, noise or other circumstances that would be likely to produce an anxious reaction in the average pet dog. The criteria for selection are extremely stringent as the personal safety of their future vision impaired handler is paramount. This is why just under fifty per cent of pups are accepted into the Guide Dog program.
Dogs assessed as having the potential to train as Guide Dogs then undertake five months intensive Guide Dog training. Dogs which are unsuitable for Guide Dog work may go on to become Pets as Therapy (PAT) dogs, Companion Dogs or they may be offered for sale to the Puppy Raiser or members of the general public as pets.
Guide Dog Training
Each Guide Dog Instructor will work a group of 6-8 dogs and during the training period they will develop a detailed understanding of each dog's physical, temperamental and working abilities.
During more than 80 training sessions with the Guide Dog Instructor, the dog learns to walk in a straight line; ignore distractions like cats, food and other dogs; indicate a curb by stopping, and the meaning of many commands such as "stop", "forward" and "straight to the curb". The dogs are trained under various conditions: in suburban residential, semi-business, city and rural conditions. A fully trained Guide Dog will have had experience in guiding a vision impaired handler whatever their home locality is likely to be.
During the second month of the training program, the dog is introduced to the body piece of the harness (without handle). At this time the instructor is teaching the dog what it will be expected to do - e.g. go around obstacles such as overhanging trees, rather than walking their handler into them. When the dog is demonstrating the correct behaviour, it receives lavish praise and encouragement.
During the final stages of Guide Dog training, the dog is checked for traffic safety. The instructor will work with the dog on a number of routes where its guiding ability can be demonstrated and assessed. It will experience walking to a railway station, boarding a train to the city, travelling up to street level from the underground, and finding its way to a city destination such as Melbourne Central. It will experience getting on and off a tram and perhaps returning via bus to the starting point. This training simulates the reality of the guiding work that the dog will be required to do when it is matched with a blind or partially sighted person.
After around 20 weeks the dog has learned to respond confidently to around thirty commands by word, hand or foot, sometimes refusing to obey for safety reasons. The graduate Guide Dog is now ready to be matched with its future partner, to whom it will be a companion and best friend for the next eight to ten years.
